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...
Handout
PBS

Pbs: American Experience: Forgotten Inventors

For Students 9th - 10th
Here is an accounting of a few inventions, most of which were invented in the 1800s, that often are overlooked. Find out about how the can opener was invented as well as that clothing staple, the denim jeans.
Website
PBS

Pbs: American Experience: Special Feature: Forgotten Inventors

For Students 9th - 10th
This fascinating site from PBS features seven inventions from the 19th and 20th centuries, along with information about the men and women who created them. Click on one of the small photos to learn more, or scroll down through the...
Handout
Other

History of Telephone Sets: Graham Bell Invents the Telephone

For Students 9th - 10th
A short summary of how Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) came to invent the telephone.
Activity
Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments: Inventors Time Line

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A time line of famous inventors.
Handout
Other

Black Inventor Online Museum: Lewis Latimer

For Students 9th - 10th
The biography of the fascinating African-American inventor, Lewis Latimer. In addition to finding out about his development of the carbon filament for the incandescent lamp, you can read about his expertise in patent law, his association...
Handout
Other

Black Inventor Online Museum: Jan Matzeliger

For Students 9th - 10th
A very complete biography of African-American inventor, Jan Matzeliger, who developed the shoe-lasting machine. Read about the development of his invention, and see pictures of the machine and the patent drawing.
Website
Other

Smith College: Museum of Ancient Inventions

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Look at these ancient inventions. Compare these inventions with ones we use today to see if you can find any similarities. Take a tour of the museum or click each invention to find out more info.
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.
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: American Inventors

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars will learn about 8 American inventors from the 1800's. They will use the internet of encyclopedia disc to research and print pictures and information about these people.
Handout
Then Again

Then Again: Web Chron: Alexander Graham Bell Invents the Telephone

For Students 9th - 10th
This site describes how Bell started out by seeking to help the deaf and ended up with a telephone. It gives brief information about his family and how he came to invent the telephone.
Article
CNN

Cnn: Toys to Tackle Climate Change: A Young Inventor Wants to Inspire Kids

For Students Pre-K - 1st
This article profiles a young woman named Ann Makosinski who has been hailed as a 'child prodigy' for her toy inventions that use renewable energy. She earlier invented, for example, a flashlight that is powered by heat from the hand and...
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...
Article
Arizona State University

Arizona State University: Why Was the Valve Invented?

For Students 9th - 10th
Dr. Ericson holds firm to his beliefs that the valve was not invented as "a mere crook changing device." Dr. Ericson embraces the idea that the "co-inventors of the valve clearly intended to perfect the brass instruments by making them...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Alexander Graham Bell: Scientist, Inventor, and Teacher

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Using a short video and two primary sources, learners will learn about Bell's inventions and his work with the deaf community.
Website
New York Times

New York Times: Crossword Puzzle: Inventors

For Teachers 9th - 10th
The New York Times Learning Network has developed interactive & printable crossword puzzles. The theme of this one is Inventors.
Website
Other

Lee De Forest, American Inventor: The Complete Lee De Forest

For Students 9th - 10th
An extensive site covering all aspects of Lee de Forest, his inventions, writings, and personal life. Find drawings and pictures of his audion tube and find out about his legacy, especially in the world of electronics.
Website
Other

Lemelson Center's Invention at Play: Alexander Graham Bell

For Students 9th - 10th
A summary of Alexander Graham Bell's telephone invention.
eBook
Other

Edison:life and Inventions/motion Pictures

For Students 9th - 10th
This page is part of an online text of a book published in 1929 by Dyer and Martin on the life and work of inventor Thomas Edison. Discusses Edison's role in the development of motion pictures, but be sure to view the rest of the book...
Website
Science Museum of Minnesota

Science Museum of Minnesota: Students as Designers

For Students 3rd - 5th
This site provides eight projects to use in an elementary classroom to encourage students to become inventors/designers. Invention, prototyping, materials exploration, creative writing, problem-solving, and group presentations are...
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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...
Website
Other

History of Recording Technology: Edison's Invention of the Phonograph

For Students 9th - 10th
Click through the pages on this site to read about Edison's development of the phonograph as well as a discussion of Edison's rivals who were seeking to develop a similar product. Read about the changes in the ways to record sound as the...
Handout
Alberta Online Encyclopedia

Alberta Online Encyclopedia: Alberta Inventors and Inventions: Sectors of Discovery

For Students 9th - 10th
The 11 Sectors of Discovery have been highlighted, with significant inventions by Albertan's highlighted in each category.
Handout
Alberta Online Encyclopedia

Alberta Online Encyclopedia: Alberta Inventors and Inventions: The Inventors

For Students 9th - 10th
Who are some of Alberta's significant persons in the area of inventions? This site by the Heritage Community Foundation provides categories, such as Agriculture, Transportation, Health, Home, and Sports, in which famous Alberta inventors...

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