Important Inventions Teacher Resources
Find Important Inventions lesson plans and worksheets
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PBS
Inventions
Use this lesson plan to discuss inventions that have changed your class's world and have impacted society. Middle schoolers investigate important inventions of their time and design an invention in a simulated business atmosphere. Modify...
Crash Course
Ford, Cars, and a New Revolution: Crash Course History of Science #28
The Industrial Revolution led to technological inventions we still use today. A video presentation explains the important inventions of the Industrial Revolution. Instruction includes a thorough discussion of the advancement of the...
K12 Reader
A Great Invention
Try out a writing prompt that is great for a warm-up or an in-depth research project! Have kids describe an important invention and trace its development over the years. Use the writing prompt in a language arts class, social studies...
Curated OER
Tang and Song China: An era of Prosperity and Innovation
Define the Changes in government rule that lead to some of China's most important inventions. The class explores the rise of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the first female ruler Wu Zhao, and inventions such as gunpowder, porcelain, and...
Perkins School for the Blind
The Printing Process
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...
Curated OER
Thomas Edison Timeline
Students research inventor Thomas Edison finding his discoveries and the challenges he overcame. They compile a list of Edison's most important inventions and their dates. They explain why they think each invention was important. They...
Curated OER
Who Gets to Invent and How Do Inventors Change Our Lives?
Students examine the way various inventions have changed their lives. As a class, they create a timeline of the most important inventions during their lifetime and another timeline of how old they were when it was invented. ...
Curated OER
October 6, 1889 - 1st Motion Picture
In this writing prompt worksheet, students learn that October 6, 1889 was the day Thomas Edison showed the first motion picture using a Kinetoscope. Students write about whether they think the invention was the most important invention...
Curated OER
The World's Ten Greatest Inventions
Students review a list of important inventions from the last century and a half. They order the top ten inventions with an explanation accompanying their choices and then write a report on a selected invention.
Curated OER
Invention Timeline
In this inventions worksheet, students fill out a timeline with what they think are the most important inventions in the years between 1900 and 2000.
Curated OER
Interactions of Science and Technologies
Middle schoolers explore how science and technology interact. They discuss important inventions, discoveries and technologies. They research a specific technological advance, or invention, and prepare a presentation that includes...
Curated OER
Inventions Multimedia Time Line
Eighth graders research the impact of particular inventions on various times throughout history. They compile information from the Internet and a database to create a multimedia timeline of important inventions. The program Timeliner is...
Curated OER
From Automobiles to Cars
Students research important inventions from the last two hundred years. They explore how one invention relates to another and summarize their research in a written report and visual presentation.
Curated OER
Great Inventions
In this creative thinking worksheet, students identify and list nine of the best and most important inventions ever created. Then they list nine of the not so good inventions. Finally, students list three of their personal favorites.
Curated OER
Continuation of the Revolution
Fourth graders research important inventions from the second half of the Industrial Revolution. They summarize their research and then write and publish a newspaper style article.
Curated OER
Cotton Production and Milling
Students examine cotton production and milling. They compete in a hand-ginning contest to realize how difficult it was to separate the seeds from the fibers of cotton. They discuss why Eli Whitney's cotton gin was an important invention.
Curated OER
Inventions Over Time
Explore the inventions of the past with a project on ancient tools. After reading an article about hunting during the Archaic period, the Late Prehistoric period, and the Historic period, kids fill in a cause-and-effect chart about the...
Teach Engineering
Future Flights: Imagine Your Own Flying Machines!
What will flying look like in the future? The 21st lesson in a 22-part unit on aviation reviews the major aspects of the lesson. Pupils brainstorm ideas of a future flying machine.
Curated OER
Thomas Edison's Bright Ideas
Thomas Alva Edison may be one of the most well-known scientists to elementary or middle schoolers. Use his story to show that he invented more than just the light bulb and to inspire youngsters to work hard! You could use this on the...
State Bar of Texas
Gibbons v. Ogden
Have you ever played the game Monopoly? Do you know what it takes to win the game correctly? Scholars research the nature of outlawing monopolies in the United States while controlling trade. They investigate the court case Gibbons v....
Curated OER
Time For Change
Students examine and discuss the inventions and changes created by the Industrial Revolution. They create posters or clay models about inventions, write paragraphs about the advantages and disadvantages of the changes, and develop a...
Curated OER
Thomas Edison
In this online interactive history worksheet, students respond to 10 short answer and essay questions about the accomplishments of Thomas Edison. Students may check some of their answers on the interactive worksheet.
Curated OER
The Hunters and the Hunted: The Search for China's Past
Students discover the history of Ancient China, specifically the period beginning with the Qin Dynasty and ending with the fall of the Ming Dynasty. They study the building of the Great Wall and the defeat of the Great Khans.
Curated OER
Case Studies of American Innovation
Studnets discover how the Industrial Revolution came to be in the United States. In this technological advancements instructional activity, students research creations by Henry Ford, the Wright Brothers, and Thomas Edison. Students...