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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

It's a Whatchamacallit

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Learners formulate new applications for simple machines in an original invention that solves a common problem. They brainstorm ideas for a new product using simple machines and communicate a finished project through an oral, written, and...
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Calling All Inventors: Celebrate National Inventors Month

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Start off the school year by engaging learners in a creative study of inventors and their inventions.
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Feel Empowered! Teaching About Female Inventors

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Inspire children to learn and create by teaching the history of female inventors during National Inventors Month.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Papyrus to PDA

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What a great project. Graphic arts high schoolers consider the social, political, and economic impact made by a chosen invention. They build an argument to substantiate their reasons for choosing said invention. They create an oral...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Invent It!

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students explore invention and unveiling of world's first Ferris wheel, analyze photographs and poster of first Ferris wheel, and discuss engineering achievements of Ferris wheel, including how it worked, how it was built, and its...
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PPT
Curated OER

Tools, Technologies and Inventions through the years

For Teachers 5th
5th graders will gain an understanding of how, what, and why people invent tools. This PowerPoint provides a complete description of what tools are, types of tools, why we make tools and what impact they have had on society. There are...
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Lesson Plan
Education City

Black History Month

For Teachers K - 6th Standards
New ReviewEnhance Black History Month with a twenty-page resource designed to boost scholars' knowledge of the great accomplishments made by African Americans. Learners take in fun facts about famous inventors such as George Washington Carver and...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

What is Patent Number 1,693,515?

For Students 4th - 8th
Scholars examine a document from 1928 featuring a mystery invention. Following their observations and discussion, the document reveals the invention of the permanent wave machine by Marjorie S. Joyner. Class members read about Joyner,...
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Interactive
Mr. Nussbaum

Alexander Graham Bell

For Students 4th - 6th Standards
An interactive practice challenges scholars to read an informational text then answer nine questions. The topic of the text is Alexander Graham Bell. Questions are a mix of multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank.
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Patent Analysis: Wright Brothers' Flying Machine

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Ideas take flight in an exciting activity exploring the Wright Brothers. Scholars view the Wright Brothers' patent for their flying machine and makes educated guesses as to the purpose of the document. Scholars discuss the purpose of...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit Assessment: On-Demand Note-taking and Text-Dependent Questions

For Teachers 5th Standards
Flex those brain muscles! Scholars take a mid-unit assessment, conducting research to take notes about how a particular invention helped meet society's needs. To complete the test, they work on draft sketches for their graphic novelettes. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Final Performance Task: Presenting Graphic Novelettes

For Teachers 5th Standards
Let's get graphic. Serving as the final performance task of the unit, scholars complete their graphic novelettes and design covers based on their sketches. Finally, they present their hard work to classmates. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Expert Research Groups: How the Traffic Signal and Airplane Met Society’s Needs, Part 1

For Teachers 5th Standards
Where would society be without the TV? Working together, scholars complete an anchor chart about the invention of the television. Additionally, pupils complete vocabulary cards for key terms from the unit and organize them on a metal ring. 
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Reviewing Visual Elements of a Graphic Novel: Max Axiom

For Teachers 5th Standards
Pass the tea! Using the resource, scholars participate in a Tea Party protocol to analyze text and images about inventions that helped meet societal demands. After sharing their observations with each other, they discuss visual elements...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Patent Analysis: Thomas Edison's Lightbulb

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Watch lightbulbs go off in learners' heads as they look at a patent for Thomas Edison's most famous invention. After examining the light bulb patent, young historians speculate on how the invention changed life in the 1880s and its...
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Lesson Plan
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Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary

Let’s Throw an Electric Science Party!

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Are you looking for a shockingly good lesson? Check out one that has middle schoolers recreate four of Benjamin Franklin's experiments. Groups investigate, observe, and draw conclusions about static electricity and electrical current....
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Unit Plan
Chesterfield Township Elementary School

Gifted and Talented Enrichment Curriculum

For Teachers K - 6th
Looking to start or support a Gifted and Talented program? An 80-page packet outlines grade-leveled lessons in all subject areas as school district's Gifted and Talented enrichment curriculum.
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Lesson Plan
History Alive!

Thomas Edison: Inventor, Lecturer and Prankster

For Teachers K - 5th Standards
It's no small wonder that a lightbulb has come to represent a bright idea. The light bulb, the bright idea of Thomas Edison, was just one of his over 1,000 inventions. A teacher's guide introduces young audiences to works of the man who...
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Lesson Plan
Chandler Unified School District

Art Masterpiece: Leonardo’s Inventions—Leonardo da Vinci

For Teachers 6th
Leonardo da Vinci is the focus of a hands-on activity that encourages scholars to become inventors. Pupils brainstorm and sketch their idea, compose a detailed depiction using a mirror writing technique, and antique the paper for a...
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Activity
Nomad Press

Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions: Make Your Own Plastic

For Students 5th - 12th
When you hear Leonardo da Vinci mentioned, chances are that you think of the Mona Lisa, or flying machines—but what about plastic? Learners blend heavy cream and vinegar over heat to replicate da Vinci's early organic plastic recipe.
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Activity
New Jersey Historical Commission and New Jersey Council for the Humanities

Thomas Edison: The Wizard of Menlo Park

For Teachers 1st - 6th Standards
What would change in your daily life due to a power outage? Here, learners explore the inventions brought to us by the one and only, Thomas Edison, and imagine a day without them. Scholars take part in a grand conversation and write a...
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Printables
Curriculum Corner

African American Inventors

For Students 1st - 4th Standards
Celebrate Black History Month with a packet of materials on African American inventors. Readers discover several inventors' character traits, their inventions, and their lives. They even have the opportunity to conduct further research...
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Worksheet
NEST Family Learning

Thomas Edison: Resource and Activity Book

For Students 1st - 6th
What other inventions was Thomas Edison responsible for besides the telegraph and lightbulb? Incorporate a set of worksheets into your study of Edison and other inventors. The 48-page packet includes all types of activities from word...
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Organizer
Teach Beside Me

Benjamin Franklin Lesson Ideas

For Students 5th - 8th Standards
Bring Benjamin Franklin to life in the classroom with a set of five activities. Discover the type of person he was and his accomplishments through a study of his inventions and comments about life virtues.