Amelia earhart
Passage Activities:

Words: 201-300

Skills: Main / Central Idea Summary

Grades: 6th 7th

Topics: History

Genres: Informational

Lexile Range: 740L - 1050L

Lexile Measure: 1000L

CCSS: Reading: Informational Text

Themes: —

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart was one of the most famous aviators of the 20th century. Students will read a passage about Amelia Earhart and her influence on the history of aviation. Students will answer questions about author’s purpose, main idea, cause and effect, making inferences, and arguments and claims.

Reading Comprehension Passage

Amelia Earhart

At the age of 23, Amelia Earhart took a ten-minute plane ride at a 1920 air show that changed her life—she knew she had to learn to fly. Because of her determination, she became a world-famous pilot. She also became a vice president in the airline industry. As a spokeswoman, she wrote and lectured about the time when flying would not be just for a few but would become an accepted part of everyday life.   

Earhart not only was inspirational to pilots, she broke down barriers for women. She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. And that was just one of the many records she set throughout her career. Included in her accomplishments was being the first person to fly from Hawaii to California. She became the first person to make solo flights across both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. All of these achievements opened opportunities for women in aviation.    

In 1937, Earhart attempted the first around-the-world flight at the equator. While attempting the stretch between New Guinea and Howland Island, a small island in the Pacific, Earhart and her navigator, Frederick Noonan, vanished. They were nearly two-thirds finished with the journey. 

No one ever found their bodies or the ultimate cause of their deaths. Recently, a piece of aluminum found on a small Pacific island called Nikumaroro is believed to match a piece that was used to repair Earhart’s plane.   

Though Earhart died, her legacy of freedom, determination, and living out your dreams has lived on.

Passage Only

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Reading Comprehension Questions

1. What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage? 



2. What inspired Amelia Earhart to learn how to fly? Cite evidence from the text.



 3. What can you infer from the piece of aluminum found on Nikumaroro? 



4. The author states that Amelia Earhart broke down barriers for woman. What supporting details does the author give to support this claim? 




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Vocabulary List

Vocabulary List

Each of the vocabulary words below are used in the reading passage. As you read the passage, pay attention to context clues that suggest the word’s meaning.

  1. determination
  2. accomplishments
  3. aviation
  4. ultimate
  5. legacy

Context Clues

Context Clues


Using context clues from the sentences in the passage, underline the correct meaning of the word in boldface.

1) "Because of her determination, she became a world-famous pilot."

a. personality     b. intelligence     c. conviction or resolve     d. navigation ability

2) "Included in her accomplishments was being the first person to fly from Hawaii to California."

a. successful acts     b. intentions or plans     c. dreams     d. disappointments or failures

3) "All of these achievements opened opportunities for women in aviation."

a. airplane cockpit     b. an oppressed time     c. employment     d. science of aircraft flying

4) "No one ever found their bodies or the ultimate cause of their deaths."

a. mysterious     b. eventual or final     c. criminal     d. unusual

5) "Though Earhart died, her legacy of freedom"

a. effect on or gift to the future     b. belief in     c. concern about     d. writings