Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: How Containerization Shaped the Modern World

For Students 9th - 10th
Sir Harold Evans discusses the invention that changed the way we ship things across the world, containerization. [4:47]
Handout
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Education: Spotlight Biography Inventors

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides information on American inventors Benjamin Franklin, Robert Fulton, Eli Whitney, Thomas Jefferson, Isaac Singer, Wilbur Wright, Thomas Alva Edison, Elias Howe, and Alexander Graham Bell. It offers pictures from and...
Handout
BBC

Bbc: The Channel Tunnel

For Students 9th - 10th
This illustrated feature provides a history of the Channel Tunnel, the train tunnel connecting France and Britain under the English Channel, officially opened in 1994.
Website
American Academy of Achievement

Academy of Achievement: Eric S. Lander, ph.d.

For Students 9th - 10th
Biography of Eric Lander a scientist and pioneer of human gene research and medicine.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Biomimicry: Natural Designs

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students learn about biomimicry and how engineers often imitate nature in the design of innovative new products. They demonstrate their knowledge of biomimicry by practicing brainstorming and designing a new product based on what they...
Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History

For Students 3rd - 5th
At the museum's online home, find illustrated and interactive overviews of its collections and programs, along with an extensive set of innovative resources for teaching and learning about major events and themes in American history and...
Website
Other

Mit Technology Review

For Students 9th - 10th
Technology Review is a magazine by MIT which seeks to "promote the understanding of emerging technologies and their impact on business and society." It provides you with daily technology information including events, discussions, and...
Website
Other

Creative Thinking With Thomas Edison

For Students 9th - 10th
As a master inventor Thomas Edison used many techniques that helped him with his creative ideas. Learn how you can apply some of his techniques to yourself to aid you in your own creative inventiveness.
Activity
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Door Opener

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Apply knowledge of simple machines to design on paper and then construct a device that will open a door from across the room.
Website
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Philo Farnsworth

For Students 9th - 10th
Crack open a present day television today and it may not be as apparent, but every television designer is aware of the name Philo Farnsworth. Find out about the man behind the first all electric television among the 299 other patents...
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Nova: The Design Process: From Idea to Solution

For Teachers 9th - 10th
What does innovation look like, and how can one generate innovative ideas in the classroom? This collection is built around "design thinking" and is intended to help educators and learners explore the invention of real, practical...
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.
Activity
Other

Teach Preschool: Invest Time in Pretend Play

For Teachers Pre-K - K
Pretend play inspires imagination...that's where the real learning begins! This lesson centers around the book "Pumpkin Soup" by Helen Cooper. Each character has a special role in creating the soup, so centers can be set up for the...
Lesson Plan
Council for Economic Education

Econ Ed Link: Capital Chips (Part 3)

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Through the use of a historical timeline of the capital investments made by the company the resulting benefits will be examined. The benefits from the capital investments of Herr Foods, Inc. will be related to their effect on the...
Graphic
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Gallery: The Modern World

For Students 9th - 10th
Innovations in transportation, communication, and weapons transformed the world in the 20th century. The modern era is the most complex yet, and the most fragile. This photo gallery highlights some of these innovations.
Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: Rapid Prototyping Google Glass

For Students 9th - 10th
Rapid prototyping is a method used to accelerate the innovation process. Tom Chi explains how this method was used to create one of Google's newest inventions, Google Glass. [8:08]
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: An Introduction to the Song Dynasty (960 1279)

For Students 9th - 10th
The Song dynasty was the second great "medieval" period of China. Northern Song (while it lasted) and the Southern Song (from 1127 until 1279) achieved incredible feats of learning, science, art, and philosophy. International trade and...
Website
University of Houston

University of Houston: Engines of Our Ingenuity

For Students 9th - 10th
The Engines of Our Ingenuity is a radio program that tells the story of how our culture is formed by human creativity. The program uses the record of history to reveal the way art, technology, and ideas have shaped us. Episode topics...
Unit Plan
Have Fun With History

Have Fun With History: Industrial Revolution

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Multi media learning module with videos for students and teachers to learn about the Industrial Revolution and how America moved from and agricultural society to an urban machine-based production in the 19th Century.
Lesson Plan
Council for Economic Education

Econ Ed Link: Transportation: They Say We Had a Revolution (Part 1)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Advancements in transportation have played a key role in the growth of our nation. U.S.government policies have also had a considerable impact on the development of transport as we know it today. In this series of three lessons, the...
Lesson Plan
Council for Economic Education

Econ Ed Link: Transportation: They Say We Had a Revolution (Part 3)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Advancements in transportation have played a key role in the growth of our nation. U.S. government policies have also had a considerable impact on the development of transport as we know it today. In this series of three lessons, the...
Article
Smithsonian Institution

Lemelson Center: Spark!lab: Create Indoor Kite [Pdf]

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Learn how Ben Franklin, Alexander Graham Bell, the Wright Brothers, and Guglielmo Marconi used kites as tools to spur innovation. Then follow the directions provided to create your own kite for flying indoors.
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Kids: Martha Speaks: t.d. Reports: Chewing Gum

For Students 2nd - 5th
Take a walk through history with this kid-friendly, multimedia research report on the inventors of chewing gum.
Article
Other

Business Insider: 20 Everyday Things We Have Because of Nasa

For Students 9th - 10th
A list of space technologies that have been integrated into common items from invisible braces to memory foam. NASA produces a list like this every year to illustrate the benefits to the program's existence. Click on each item listed to...

Other popular searches