Amy Johnson complete lesson for KS1 pupils.

Amy Johnson complete lesson for Primary pupils.
Learning objectives
To talk about Amy Johnson’s life.
To know why Amy Johnson is famous.
To explain an event that Amy achieved.
To look at pictures and other sources to gather information about Amy Johnson.
To give reasons why Amy Johnson’s life is still important today.

The lesson includes information about Amy Johnson’s life and how she became a pilot, her flying records, her life after flying and her time as a civilian pilot in WW11 . There are opportunities for pupils to work in paired tasks to discuss the type of plane flown by Amy, how it differed from planes today and what it would have been like to navigate and fly in the 1930’s. The lesson covers Amy’s record-breaking solo flight from London to Australia and some of the dangers she encountered.
There is a list of simple questions to use as prompts for an Amy Johnson Hot Seat activity and simple teacher notes.

Worksheets include:

1. Short writing piece about why Amy Johnson was famous and what do pilots do?
2. Homework activity to be completed with a relative or friend about pilots and what they need to be good at.
3. Label the parts of a bi-plane (simple vocabulary).
4. What was it like to fly a bi-plane like Jason (Amy’s plane).
5. London to Australia map-list the stops in order.
6. Key questions about London to Australia journey using a newspaper article of the distances travelled on each stage.
7. Amy Johnson fact sheet
8. Amy Johnson timeline for cut and stick or a prompt for writing a diary or log.

There are examples of primary sources for pupils to discuss: Photos (of Amy, her husband, her plane), Amy’s pilot licence, newspaper article of distances, a link to Amy’s 20-day log of her London – Australia journey and a link to a voice recording when Amy landed in Australia.

This lesson can be edited and used as suitable for your class and time or space constraints. Can be a stand-alone lesson or linked to topics such as Famous people/Explorers, International Women’s Day, Flight, Feelings and Emotions, Going for Gold.