Handout
Science Struck

Science Struck: A List of Famous Inventors

For Students 9th - 10th
A long list of famous inventors with some biographical information and descriptions of their inventions.
Handout
National Inventors Hall of Fame

National Inventors Hall of Fame: George Eastman

For Students 9th - 10th
Read a biography of George Eastman and find out how his inventions and innovations revolutionized photography.
Primary
Other

Lemelson Center's Invention at Play: Sketch From Bell's Notebook

For Students 9th - 10th
View a sketch from Bell's notebook from 1876. From a collection Bell's papers at the Library of Congress.
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Teenage Inventor Alexis Lewis Thinks That Kids Have the Solutions

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "Teenage Inventor Alexis Lewis Thinks That Kids Have the Solutions" by Megan Gambino, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as...
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Nikola Tesla: The Electro Magnetic Motor

For Students 3rd - 8th
Use this site to learn about the inventor of the electro-magnetic motor, Nikola Tesla. Find out why Tesla's experimentation with alternating current was so important to later inventions and use of electricity.
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Invention of the Week: George Eastman

For Students 9th - 10th
A biography of George Eastman, who revolutionized photography with his innovations in film and photograph development. From the MIT School of Engineering.
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Themes: America: What Makes America Unique?

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is a collection of Grade-Leveled texts (3-12) to address the question. "What makes America unique?" Select a grade level and a collection of on grade-level reading passages on the topic comes up. [Free account registration required...
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: James T. Russell

For Students 3rd - 8th
This site provides a biography of James T. Russell, inventor of the compact disk, and the basic ideas behind the technology.
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Jonas Salk

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about Jonas Salk and the development of the polio vaccine. This article from the MIT Invention Dimension includes several links to further information on the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis and the Salk Institute for...
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Invention of the Week: Alexander Graham Bell

For Students 3rd - 8th
This site provides a biographical sketch of Alexander Graham Bell and his inventions. Find out about Bell's patents in addition to the telephone.
Handout
Other

Ncr: James Ritty, Inventor of the Cash Register, 1879

For Students 9th - 10th
An interesting biography of James Ritty and an account of how he invented the cash register. Included are pictures of his designs and the prototypes.
Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Invention of the Week: James Ritty

For Students 9th - 10th
The interesting biography of James Ritty and his design of the first mechanical cash register. His subsequent sale of the invention to John H. Patterson blossomed into the company, National Cash Register Company.
Article
Other

Positive.news: Children's Inventions to Make the World a Better Place

For Students K - 1st
Children's imaginations are infinite - so could they help draw up the ambitious projects that we need to fight the world's challenges? A group was asked to design inventions to make society a better place. Here's how they responded.
Article
New York Times

New York Times: 32 Innovations That Will Change Your Tomorrow

For Students 1st - 9th
If you don't know that the incandescent light was a failure before it was a success, it's easy to write off some modern energy innovations like solar panels because they haven't hit the big time fast enough. Worse, the fairy-tale view of...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: You, Too, Can Be an Inventor!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
How have inventions changed the world? This unit focuses on the importance, the process and the creativity involved in inventing. Through the study of inventions and inventors, students learn how inventions are created and the...
Lesson Plan
Ohio State University

Osu History Teaching Institute: Alexander Graham Bell Primary Source Activity

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders will critically examine primary sources to gain a better understanding of Alexander Graham Bell and the impact of his inventions.
Lesson Plan
Ohio State University

Osu History Teaching Institute: The Automobile

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This activity will help students understand the different ways in which the automobile changed American society. Students will learn about Henry Ford, whose innovations transformed manufacturing and made automobiles affordable for...
Article
A&E Television

History.com: 11 Innovations That Changed History

For Students 9th - 10th
From pioneering inventions to bold scientific and medical advancements, find out more about 11 innovations that changed the course of human history.
Handout
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: Biographies: Robert Fulton

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn how the steamboat got its start at the hand of a curious and energetic inventor-Robert Fulton. (In Spanish)
Handout
Great Idea Finder

The Great Idea Finder: Invention of the Microwave Oven

For Students 9th - 10th
Site includes fascinating facts about the invention of the microwave oven by Perry Spencer in 1945.
Handout
Project Britain

Primary Homework Help: The Victorians: Inventions

For Students 4th - 7th
Find out about several major developments that made travel, communications, and trade easier for many people during the Victorian period.
Handout
PBS

American Experience: Technology Timeline: 1752 1990

For Students 9th - 10th
Short descriptions of important technological innovations produced in America and the date of their introduction.
Interactive
PBS

Pbs: American Experience: Technology Timeline 1750 1990

For Students 3rd - 8th
Did you ever wonder who invented something, and when it was invented? Go to this interactive timeline that highlights inventors/inventions from 1750-1990. Click on the topic to read a brief paragraph about that invention.
Unknown Type
abcteach

Abcteach: Inventors and Inventions

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Find several scientific inventors and inventions with activities for students in primary grades through middle school. One lesson in particular integrates technology by focusing on the invention of the...