Students collaborated with the USS Midway museum to capture the stories of Naval Aviators and celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the “Wings of Gold” insignia. In humanities, students read Unbroken and interviewed current and retired aviators to capture their stories involving call signs and moments of courage. In science, students learned about Newton’s Laws and the forces of flight in order to build flying vehicles for the the San Diego Air and Space Museum’s “Fly Your Ride” competition. Students also created a digital scratch project to showcase photos and mementos of the aviators’ experiences. This project culminated in an exhibition onboard the USS Midway Museum.

Teacher Reflection:

Though the project centered around aviators, the heart of the project was looking at human experiences and the importance of telling and archiving stories. The students and aviators each created lasting impressions on each other, and having an authentic audience drove students to produce high quality portraits and stories that both students and aviators were proud to stand next to. We were proud of our students’ growth mindset in planning, designing, building, testing, and revising their vehicles for the competition at exhibition. This was a great project to apply NGSS 3 dimensional learning.

Student Reflections:

My partner and I made our flying vehicle thinking it was going to work with no problem, but we were wrong. We used our original vehicle to look at the flaws and how to improve it. Then we made a second, third, and fourth draft, each time looking through every flaw. We eventually made a working vehicle and were proud that we kept working on it until we got it right.

—Canon

I now have a different perspective on the people that serve our country. I saw war through their eyes, and it really made me appreciate everything that they do for our country.

—Dani

To learn more visit: 8thgradehumanitiesjacob.weebly.com/call-sign-courage.