Learners research the advances of an invention's industrial design over decades or centuries. They project improvements and innovations for the future in drawings and descriptive prose. Automobiles are used as an example.

Students examine buoyancy and fluid pressure. They conduct a series of fun experiments to discover the effects of pressure and explore how pressure differences can be used to float, lift, transport, or hold a material in place.

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 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 consider the meaning of innovation and analyze the design of objects. In this object design lesson, students examine revolutionary objects and their design. Students complete discussion activities for objects like Band-Aids,...

Sixth graders gain an appreciation for the traditions and vast contributions of the Chinese culture in this unit of lessons.

Students explore the movement to design low-cost solutions for the world's population and create a graph to represent the information. In this design and graphing lesson, students review the concepts of graphing and visit the...

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.

Students study the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the inventions of Thomas Alva Edison. They design an infomercial to sell a product or a service for an invention. They create an invention that improves the world and write an...

Learners explore printmaking which began with the ancient Chinese who carved seals from stone, inked them and used the seals as identification symbols. They produce a print in this instructional activity.

Learners investigate the First U.S. Industrial Revolution. They identify positive and negative effects of early industrialization, read first-hand accounts, role-play and interview individuals, and participate in a debate.

In this developing a résumé worksheet, students fill in the blanks in the employment information, volunteer work information, school data, and activities data fields in order to arrange a résumé.

Learners investigate the effects of time and distance for the creation of a successful railroad.  In this railroad instructional activity, students recognize the railroad's need for an exact time schedule was the cause for the...

Students investigate the contributions of African Americans throughout history. They research and identify accomplishments of various African American Scientists/Innovators in recognition of Black History Month.

Students develop a creative building design. In this technology lesson plan, students create a model of their building using a computer software. They present their final product in class.

Young scholars explore the scientific career of Benjamin Franklin. For this science lesson, students discuss Franklin's correspondence with other scientists and write letters describing Benjamin Franklin's experiments.

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.

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...

The Anasazi Indians of Mesa Verde are the focus of this art and social studies lesson. Working in pairs or groups of three, young scholars utilize computers and go online to search for websites about the Anasazi. Students will choose two...

Students practice measurement and geography in this lesson. They build a Lego vehicle using an RCX. They predict how many seconds it will take their vehicle to reach a specific state on the United States of America map that each group of...

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.

Students build Lego cars with attached light sensors. They program the car to enter a tunnel and reverse out when it records a darker light reading.

Students study deceleration devices like parachutes and parafoils.