Students compare and contrast the rhythms of marches and jazz. They watch an excerpt about Buddy Bolden from the PBS Ken Burns Jazz documentary, compare/contrast march and jazz rhythms, complete a worksheet, and notate and perform jazz...

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...

Students identify two inventors from the time period 1880-1920. They include information detailing one product or technological advancement each inventor was responsible for. Students use specific language and detail to discuss how...

Students are introduced to a groups of African American inventors. In groups, they research the role of each person in improving different industries. They also examine the barriers African Americans faced from the Civil War to the...

Sixth graders explore economic systems. In this economics lesson, 6th graders discover global markets. Students work in small groups to identify where their clothing and materials originated. Students locate countries on a map and...

Students focus on the role played by a nation's institutions in generating creativity, invention and innovation, and analyzes how innovation promotes the economic growth that raises standards of living and alleviates poverty.

Humans love to communicate and they do it in so many different ways. The class investigates how people have used new inventions and technological innovations to communicate. They are divided into groups of three or four and given...

Students examine the changes in the U.S. in the period of industrialization before the Civil War. They analyze census data, list/describe inventions and innovations, explore various websites, conduct a Factory Simulation activity, and...

Contrasting between the "Haves" and the "Have-Nots" of 18th-19th century Europe, this presentation explores the social and technological implications of the Industrial Revolution. Inventions, social trends, and scientific breakthroughs...

Students, after reading Fahrenheit 451, brainstorm inventions that could have been in the novel. They present their invention to the class and writing an expository essay about their creation.

Using primary source documents, young historians explore the strategies the US used to defeat Japan during WWII. They also learn about the American military experience, and innovations that changed the style of warfare. Learners benefit...

Here is a unique and innovative game which will help your charges learn the important skill of proofreading and editing their own writing. The class is divided up into groups, and each group uses actual samples of writing from young...

Pupils write a paragraph explaining how a technological innovation from a particular country has affected the world. Using a variety of resources, students identify a technological innovation, giving accurate historical and functional...

Students study various African American inventors and their contributions. They select their favorite invention and work in groups to research a specific African American inventor. After conducting their research, they share their...

Students explore various aspects of design innovation. In this design lesson, links are provided to three innovations from the Design for the Other 90% Web site in order for students to study and evaluate them. Students are challenged to...

Learners are introduced to technological innovations that contributed to mass production of the automobile and how this allows large numbers of Americans to afford an automobile.

Students investigate the invention of the steam engine. In this technology lesson, students investigate the advancement of technology over time. They relate science and technology together.

Learners research the origination of the expression "The Real McCoy." In this economics research lesson, students read the book The Real McCoy. Learners examine Elijah McCoy and his invention of the oil cup and how it relates to the...

Students examine recent inventions and discuss the steps the inventor had to go through to develop this product. They share their ideas with the class.

Students read a letter to Thomas Edison and search for advertisements of the period. They review primary sources and photographs of items made available in the 1920's. They interact on the American Memory Collection website.

The printing process was a technological innovation that revolutionized the modern world. Your learners with visual impairments can experience this process by creating a print by using letterpress printing. They use cardboard, glue, and...

Compound machines, nothing more than a combination of simple machines working together, are the focus of an activity that asks class members to use the provided information to take a look at the way innovators combine simple machines to...

Students explain what causes light pollution and how it can be curtailed. They consider the negative consequences of nighttime lighting, enabled by the invention of electric lights at the close of the 19th Century.

Fifth graders practice technology skills while searching online for information about inventor, Rube Goldberg. They discuss Rube Goldberg's use of simple machines, and write journal entries about their findings.