Overview
Title: Invention and Innovation
Grade: 5th Grade
Duration: 45 Minutes
Standards
Science: 3-5-ETS1-2
Influence of Engineering, Technology and Science on society and the natural world.
Language Arts: LAFS.5.SL.1.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts,building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Vocabulary
Innovation • Invention • Technology • Engineering
Essential Question
What technology, new or improved, would make our daily lives better?
Background Information
Ideas start by asking questions. Curiosity has sparked some of the greatest inventions of all time. An invention is defined as something“new”that was made by following a development process. It may be something entirely novel and unique or it can simply be an improvement of something that is already in existence. Some inventions may work, while others ultimately end in failure. Many of the great, inventive minds have persisted throughout history have opened doors that only a few could imagine. Our lives have been vastly improved by inventors that had a desire to create inventions to solve a problem or make the quality of peoples’ lives better. One thing is certain,inventions have revolutionized the way that we live for hundreds of years and they will continue to do so.
Guiding Questions
- What is an invention?
- How have inventions changed our world?
- What leads people to invent?
- What are some of the mankind’s greatest inventions?
- What do you think they meant by “necessity is the mother of invention”mean?
- How do inventions change over time?
Inquiry Type
- Read, discuss and complete Two Column Notes – Energy Inventors Fact Sheets from famousscientists.org
- Class discussion on inventions using Guiding Questions.
Teacher Resources
- Read and discuss – Energy Inventors Fact Sheets from famousscientists.org
- Class discussion on inventions using Guiding Questions
Energy Inventors Fact Sheets from famousscientists.org and Guided Discussion
In the following activity students will be introduced to some of the most famous Energy Inventors throughout history:
- William Gilbert
- Otto von Guericke
- Benjamin Franklin
- Henry Cavendish
- Alessandro Volta
- Andre Marie Ampere
- Georg Ohm
- Joseph Henry
- Michael Faraday
- Samuel Morse
- Thomas Alva Edison
- Henry Ford
- James Watt
- Nicola Tesla
Materials
Procedure
- The purpose of this activity is for students to become familiar with some of the inventors that have revolutionized the field of energy.
- Teachers may choose to have students pair up or work independently.
- Assign or have students select one of the Energy Inventors mentioned above.
- Have students use tablets or computers to access their inventors fact sheet on from: https://www.famousscientists.org/list/
- If students do not have internet access, you may print the fact sheets ahead of time and distribute hard copies to the students.
- Read Energy Inventors Fact Sheets and complete two column notes about their assigned inventor.
- When completing two column notes, the left side should be for the main ideas, while the right side should be for important dates and details that should be remembered.
- After students have finished, take turns having students share 3–5 important facts about their Energy Inventor.
- After all of the students have had the opportunity to share, lead a discussion using the following guiding questions:
- What is an invention?
- How have inventions changed our world?
- What leads people to invent?
- What are some of the mankind’s greatest inventions?
- What do you think they meant by “necessity is the mother of invention”mean?
- How do inventions change over time?
- Discuss how the contributions of these Energy Inventors have transformed our lives.
- What technology,new or improved, would make our daily lives better?