ESL Writing Wizard

Lighter Than Air

This is a very interesting topic for children of all ages. They learn that a bubble of air lifted man up from the ground for the very first time. The principle that warm air is lighter than cold air is often tested in the classroom and this leads to children wanting to know how this theory developed. People had often believed that a gas that was lighter than air would float, but it took the Montgolfier brothers in 1783 to fill an enormous paper balloon with warm air and watch it rise majestically into the air carrying two men. The booklet also tells of other flights made and the development from paper balloons to silk balloons, filled not with hot air but with hydrogen gas, whch was to prove much safer.

This workbook has the following sentences:

1. In the eighteenth century, people believed that a bag filled with hot air would rise.
2. Hot air is lighter than cool air so it rises.
3. The Montgolfier brothers filled a huge paper balloon with hot air.
4. The balloon carried two men over Paris.
5. Another flight was made two weeks later.
6. This time a rubberized silk balloon was used.
7. The silk balloon was filled with hydrogen gas.
8. The balloon had a basket for passengers.
9. Bags of ballast were thrown out of the balloon to control its height.
10. Balloon races became popular in the late 1800s.

Download a workbook for the handwriting style of your choice:

• Lighter Than Air - Zaner-Bloser Print (.pdf)
• Lighter Than Air - Zaner-Bloser Cursive (.pdf)
• Lighter Than Air - D'Nealian Print (.pdf)
• Lighter Than Air - D'Nealian Cursive (.pdf)