The Flight of the Three Animals
On September 19, 1783, an unusual group of passengers rose into the sky above Versailles, France. They were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster. They traveled in a basket suspended beneath a large balloon, while spectators watched from the grounds below.
The flight was an early test of a new invention: the hot-air balloon. Two French brothers, Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, had been experimenting with balloons made from lightweight materials. Earlier that year, they had demonstrated that a large balloon filled with heated air could rise. The flight at Versailles offered a chance to observe what happened to living passengers during a trip through the air.
Why did the balloon rise?
Air may be invisible, but it takes up space and has weight. When air is heated, it expands. A balloon filled with warm air can rise because the warm air inside is less dense than the cooler air outside. In other words, the warm air has less mass in the same amount of space. The surrounding air pushes upward on the balloon, and if that upward push is strong enough, the balloon lifts off.
- suspended:
- Hanging from something above.
- spectators:
- People who watch an event.
- experimenting:
- Trying things out to learn what happens.
- evidence:
- Facts or observations that help support an idea.
- observers:
- People who watch carefully to learn or notice something.
- demonstration:
- An event that shows how something works.
- confidence:
- A feeling of trust that something can work or succeed.
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Main Idea
Identify the central idea and explain how important details develop it.
Context Clues
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Summarize
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Purpose
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Structure
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Vocabulary
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Writing Prompts
Use the passage as a springboard for short written responses, from personal reflection to evidence-based arguments.
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1Why did the Montgolfier brothers send animals up in the balloon?
- 2How did the heated air help the balloon rise?
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About this explanatory article passage for Upper Elementary
“The Flight of the Three Animals” is a explanatory article reading passage about Early balloon flight, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 3 minutes to read (485 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.