1. WATCH A VIDEO
(10 MINUTES)

Show the Earhart video. Then have students share with a partner one fact they learned, one question they have, and one fact they found interesting.

2. INDEPENDENT READING
(15 MINUTES)

Have students read the article on their own, writing down any comments or questions.
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3. CLOSE-READING QUESTIONS
(15 MINUTES)

Have students write their answers to each question, or use these prompts to guide discussion.

• CITING TEXTUAL EVIDENCE: What details support the theory that Earhart crash-landed on Nikumaroro? (Researchers have found artifacts such as a pocketknife. Nikumaroro is near Howland Island. Days after Earhart disappeared, radio operators reported hearing distress calls.)
  

• DRAWING CONCLUSIONS: Why might many historians think Earhart crashed into the ocean and died at sea?
  (Earhart has never been found. Most of her route to Howland Island was over open sea. Her plane was probably running low on fuel. The sky was overcast, so finding a landing place might have been difficult.)
  

4. READING A MAP

Assign the skills sheet Reading a Map: Direction and Distance. Review the answers as a class.