World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker was born in 1890.

Born Edward Vernon Rickenbacker in Columbus, Ohio, Eddie grew up to become a man who excelled in some adventuresome fields, despite the fact that he was known to have a dislike for taking unnecessary risks. As a young man, he drove a racecar, and he quickly became one of America’s leading drivers. Later, his knowledge of automobiles earned him a position as General Pershing’s staff driver in World War I. He subsequently transferred to the Army Air Corps, where he became a fighter pilot in spite of an initial bout with airsickness and the fact that he was over 25 years old, the age limit for pilots. As a flyer, he became known as America’s “Ace of Aces,” shooting down 22 German planes and four observation balloons. After the war, he returned to the private sector, working on automobiles for General Motors. In 1934, he was sent to help GM rescue its struggling Eastern Air Transport Division. He quickly helped the division become profitable, and in 1938, he collected the $3.5 million required to acquire what became Eastern Air lines, which he ran profitably for 25 years.

EDSITEment
The Curriculum Unit United States Entry into World War I: A Documentary Chronology (9–12) is structured as a Webquest. In the unit, the students are looking for primary causes and a way to understand the process by which the U.S. entered World War I.

The first lesson, Two Diametrically Opposed Views (9–12), has students begin by examining primary source documents regarding United States political leaders' views on the war and whether the United States should join the combat. This is followed by Some Hypotheses About U.S. Entry (9–12), which lists specific hypotheses as to why the U.S. entered the war and challenges students to find evidence to support or refute each one.

In the final lesson of the unit, A Documentary Chronology of World War I (9–12), student groups are challenged to create a slideshow using archival documents to tell the story of U.S. entry into World War I. Students use date-specific information to create a slide show chronicling the events leading up to U.S. entry into the war. They are challenged to cull the most essential information from the resources as well as to find additional information to support their views as they create presentations to support their hypotheses.

General Pershing's comments about African Americans in the military are among the historical resources students encounter in two lessons investigating the role of African Americans in World War I. In African-American Soldiers in World War I: The 92nd and 93rd Divisions (9–12), students discuss African-American attitudes toward serving in the military and attitudes toward African Americans serving in the military during World War I. African-American Soldiers in World War I: Had Race Relations Changed? (9–12) explores the state of race relations in the U.S. before, during and after World War I.

Students explore the historical context of World War I poetry in Poetry of The Great War: 'From Darkness to Light'? (9–12).

Science NetLinks
In What's Your Wingspan? (3–5), students measure each other's wingspan (arm span). They then record and analyze the data they have collected.

Illuminations
In National Debt and Wars (9–12), students collect information about the National debt, plot the data by decade and determine whether an exponential curve is a good fit for the data. Then, student groups determine and compare common traits and differences in changes in the National debt in three major eras: the Civil War, World War I and World War II.