Blog 12
My paper is going to be an expository paper that informs people about the Wright Brothers. I didn't realize it when I started it, but it is turning out to be a biography. I have learned so many interesting facts about the brothers that most people wouldn't know. I think it's interesting that before the boys were even teenagers they both knew that they wanted to build a plane to carry somebody in the air. Another thing I found astonishing about them was that neither of them even completed high school. If it wasn't for their parents believing in them so much, I'm not sure they could have ever come this far.
I thought about doing a persuasive paper after I had worked on my anti-paper. My anti-paper was about Glenn Curtiss since him and the Wright's had become rivals. If I would have done this I would have taken the Wright brother's side because everything they did came before Glenn Curtiss' work. Although, I do feel bad for Glenn Curtiss because he was never recognized at all until after his death. It's interesting thinking of how my paper would have ended up if I would have chosen him. When I did the two page paper on him it was harder to find as much information about him. I'm glad I didn't pick him because I think it would be a stretch trying to find all the information about him that I would need. The Wright brothers have a millions of web pages to go to and I'm a lot more confident that I can make the research paper about them.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Summery: Part II
(Blog 11: Who, What, When, Why, Where, and How Continued)
So what are the other accomplishments they Wright's have done? Well ever since they were young they studied hard and always wanted to know more. As they got older, they got into the printing business. This led to them becoming writers and editors, which was somewhat successful, but not as successful as they would have liked. They went back to being printers until they got caught up in the new bicycle craze. They started repairing bikes, and also ended up building their own to sell. They started getting interesting in people, mostly French men, attempting to fly. They began to do research and their own testing.
So why and how did these boys succeed in everything they did? Well, ever since they were young their family had encouraged the kids to study and investigate anything that interested them. They put a lot of effort into everything they did. With their work on the plane, they started small. First, they used kites to start their test. Then in 1899, the brothers built their first glider.
They choose Kitty Hawk, North Carolina as their testing spot because of the strong, steady winds and the level ground. The land also had few trees and it, for the most part, had good weather conditions. The sand could also somewhat softened the landing. They completed several tests there starting in 1900. On December 17, 1903, the brothers finally succeeded in successful and controlled flight in a biplane they had built. The flight lasted twelve seconds and the longest that day was fifty-seven seconds. This was the beginning of successful and controlled flight.
So what are the other accomplishments they Wright's have done? Well ever since they were young they studied hard and always wanted to know more. As they got older, they got into the printing business. This led to them becoming writers and editors, which was somewhat successful, but not as successful as they would have liked. They went back to being printers until they got caught up in the new bicycle craze. They started repairing bikes, and also ended up building their own to sell. They started getting interesting in people, mostly French men, attempting to fly. They began to do research and their own testing.
So why and how did these boys succeed in everything they did? Well, ever since they were young their family had encouraged the kids to study and investigate anything that interested them. They put a lot of effort into everything they did. With their work on the plane, they started small. First, they used kites to start their test. Then in 1899, the brothers built their first glider.
They choose Kitty Hawk, North Carolina as their testing spot because of the strong, steady winds and the level ground. The land also had few trees and it, for the most part, had good weather conditions. The sand could also somewhat softened the landing. They completed several tests there starting in 1900. On December 17, 1903, the brothers finally succeeded in successful and controlled flight in a biplane they had built. The flight lasted twelve seconds and the longest that day was fifty-seven seconds. This was the beginning of successful and controlled flight.
Summery
Blog 10: Who, What, When, Why, Where, and How
My final paper for my English class is going to be about the Wright brothers. It will not only be about their world changing work on the plane, but all their accomplishments. The Wright's were an average American family. Wilbur Wright was the third child of seven born in 1867 near Millville, Indiana. Orville was the sixth child and was born in 1871, in Dayton, Ohio. The Wright family moved twelve times before finally settling in Dayton. Their father was a clergyman, so around the neighborhood they were known as "the bishop's kids."
They began their interest in flight at a very young age. Their father had bought the boys a toy helicopter that had been designed by Alphonse Penaud. Wilbur was twelve and Orville was eight when they began building copies of this toy. Their copies had worked just as well as the one made by Penaud, but when they tried to make a larger scaled one, it failed to work as well. They didn't understand why at the time and lost interest. In 1896 they regained their interest in flight when they read numerous articles on Otto Lilianthal and his experiments and his unfortunate death. The brothers looked to find books on flight, but couldn't find as much information as they would have liked. By 1899 they found a book they especially liked on ornithology (if you don't remember or haven't read previous blogs, this is the study of bird flight). They realized it wasn't the flapping motion that kept birds up, but that they soared through the air without using muscles to keep them up.
This is Orville's sketch of they toy helicopter.
Picture was originally found at http://www.first-to-fly.com/History/Wright%20Story/special.htm
My final paper for my English class is going to be about the Wright brothers. It will not only be about their world changing work on the plane, but all their accomplishments. The Wright's were an average American family. Wilbur Wright was the third child of seven born in 1867 near Millville, Indiana. Orville was the sixth child and was born in 1871, in Dayton, Ohio. The Wright family moved twelve times before finally settling in Dayton. Their father was a clergyman, so around the neighborhood they were known as "the bishop's kids."
They began their interest in flight at a very young age. Their father had bought the boys a toy helicopter that had been designed by Alphonse Penaud. Wilbur was twelve and Orville was eight when they began building copies of this toy. Their copies had worked just as well as the one made by Penaud, but when they tried to make a larger scaled one, it failed to work as well. They didn't understand why at the time and lost interest. In 1896 they regained their interest in flight when they read numerous articles on Otto Lilianthal and his experiments and his unfortunate death. The brothers looked to find books on flight, but couldn't find as much information as they would have liked. By 1899 they found a book they especially liked on ornithology (if you don't remember or haven't read previous blogs, this is the study of bird flight). They realized it wasn't the flapping motion that kept birds up, but that they soared through the air without using muscles to keep them up.
This is Orville's sketch of they toy helicopter.
Picture was originally found at http://www.first-to-fly.com/History/Wright%20Story/special.htm
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Progress
Blog 9
Up to this point I have always had plenty of sources to go to. I am a little worried about putting everything into the instant expert paper which is supposed to be a minimum of 12 pages. There is only so much you can write about two people. I think that I might have to elaborate on people that worked with the Wright's to be able to complete the paper. I think I will write a lot about their rivals and some of the accomplishments that were made in France before the Wrights even began working on the plane. I also hope to find detailed information of how they actually put the plane together.
For the opposing paper that is due Tuesday, March 13, I was puzzled what I would write about. The Wright's don't have opposing things about them. They always worked together and seemed just alike. First I thought of doing something about how the car was built, but that wouldn't have anything beneficial to my final paper and sounded pretty boring to me. Thanks to Beth, she came up with the idea of writing about the rivals. So far all my research has been promising for this paper. I think I will be able to complete it without any problem.
Overall I think everything will turn out ok. I wish I would have picked a subject that was slightly broader, such as all the accomplishments working to make the plane. Then I could have talked about several people's work. I think my subject will turn out fine; it will just be a little more work looking for the details of everything.
Up to this point I have always had plenty of sources to go to. I am a little worried about putting everything into the instant expert paper which is supposed to be a minimum of 12 pages. There is only so much you can write about two people. I think that I might have to elaborate on people that worked with the Wright's to be able to complete the paper. I think I will write a lot about their rivals and some of the accomplishments that were made in France before the Wrights even began working on the plane. I also hope to find detailed information of how they actually put the plane together.
For the opposing paper that is due Tuesday, March 13, I was puzzled what I would write about. The Wright's don't have opposing things about them. They always worked together and seemed just alike. First I thought of doing something about how the car was built, but that wouldn't have anything beneficial to my final paper and sounded pretty boring to me. Thanks to Beth, she came up with the idea of writing about the rivals. So far all my research has been promising for this paper. I think I will be able to complete it without any problem.
Overall I think everything will turn out ok. I wish I would have picked a subject that was slightly broader, such as all the accomplishments working to make the plane. Then I could have talked about several people's work. I think my subject will turn out fine; it will just be a little more work looking for the details of everything.
Blog Review
Blog 8
I have come across another person's blog that I would recommend to others. The blog is called, "Matt's Today in History." The blog covers several different articles of important dates in history in a scattered order. Now you may wonder why I would recommend a blog that seems put together in a random order. Well, I read the post called "The Wright Brothers Take Flight, December 17, 1903" and saw all the information was all accurate. This post gives an overview of the Wright brother's lives. The article seems a decent length, just long enough to hit all the high points. It seems he wrote the main points in a very summarized way, which would be helpful to many other people. Not many people will necessarily need a long eight page paper covering every little detail about the Wrights, so I find that this short eight paragraph blog would be great for the average person looking to find a little information for their own knowledge.
The only thing I didn't agree with in this post was when Matt wrote, "at first glance, the Wright brothers don’t quite seem to be the inventor type" (paragraph 2). I wondered why he said that. I am aware it is his own opinion and it is also only my opinion to disagree. The reason I disagree is because of the information I learned about their childhood. They always were curious people. They always wanted to learn something new and thought they could do anything they put their mind to. Which I happen to think the same thing after realizing everything the brothers accomplished. Other than that statement, I believe this would be overall a nicely written post that could be beneficial to people who want a quick overview of the brothers lives.
Dattilo, Matt. Matt's Today in History. "The Wright Brother's Take Flight, December 17, 1903." 18 Dec. 2005. 11 March 2007. <http://mattstodayinhistory.blogspot.com/2005_12_01_archive.html>
I have come across another person's blog that I would recommend to others. The blog is called, "Matt's Today in History." The blog covers several different articles of important dates in history in a scattered order. Now you may wonder why I would recommend a blog that seems put together in a random order. Well, I read the post called "The Wright Brothers Take Flight, December 17, 1903" and saw all the information was all accurate. This post gives an overview of the Wright brother's lives. The article seems a decent length, just long enough to hit all the high points. It seems he wrote the main points in a very summarized way, which would be helpful to many other people. Not many people will necessarily need a long eight page paper covering every little detail about the Wrights, so I find that this short eight paragraph blog would be great for the average person looking to find a little information for their own knowledge.
The only thing I didn't agree with in this post was when Matt wrote, "at first glance, the Wright brothers don’t quite seem to be the inventor type" (paragraph 2). I wondered why he said that. I am aware it is his own opinion and it is also only my opinion to disagree. The reason I disagree is because of the information I learned about their childhood. They always were curious people. They always wanted to learn something new and thought they could do anything they put their mind to. Which I happen to think the same thing after realizing everything the brothers accomplished. Other than that statement, I believe this would be overall a nicely written post that could be beneficial to people who want a quick overview of the brothers lives.
Dattilo, Matt. Matt's Today in History. "The Wright Brother's Take Flight, December 17, 1903." 18 Dec. 2005. 11 March 2007. <http://mattstodayinhistory.blogspot.com/2005_12_01_archive.html>
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