Inventions and Inventors Teacher Resources

Find Inventions and Inventors lesson plans and worksheets
Showing 1,102 resources
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Handout
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Selected Essays on Barbed Wire: Brief History of Barbed Wire

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides information on the development and use of barbed wire. Includes biographies on Joseph F. Glidden, Jacob Haish, and Isaac L. Ellwood, who were instrumental in its invention and marketing. For more information on barbed wire,...
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Handout
Energy for Sustainable Development

Esd Bulgaria: Kids & Energy: Energy Pioneers: Michael Faraday (1791 1867)

For Students 3rd - 8th
A profile of Michael Faraday, a British scientist who discovered electromagnetic induction, which made it possible to develop the technology for generating electricity. He produced many other inventions, some of which are described here.
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: Resistance to Technological Innovation

For Students 9th - 10th
Hinderances to technological advances included poor education and hostility to innovation and experimentation. See how this opposition was overcome by the many smalltime tinkerers and inventors who ignited people's interest in technology.
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Handout
PBS

Pbs: Who Made America?: Innovators: Thomas Edison

For Students 9th - 10th
The "Wizard of Menlo Park" brought the world electric light, recorded music, and the movies, among other things, and turned innovation into a science by inventing the research laboratory.
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Handout
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Magnet Academy: James Watt

For Students 9th - 10th
The Scottish instrument maker and inventor James Watt had a tremendous impact on the shape of modern society. His improvements to the steam engine were a significant factor in the Industrial Revolution, and when the Watt engine was...
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Article
Famous Scientists

Famous Scientists: Stephanie Kwolek

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about the life and work of Stephanie Kwolekbest, known for inventing the first of a family of synthetic fibers of exceptional strength and stiffness.
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Handout
Ohio History Central

Ohio History Central: Granville T. Woods

For Students 9th - 10th
A biography of Granville T. Woods, who used his knowledge of machinery to establish his own company and invent many different improvements for the railroad.
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Child's Play

For Teachers 3rd
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text and interview with a girl named Kylie Copenhagen who invented a board game. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
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Handout
PBS

Pbs: Who Made America?: Innovators: Cyrus Mc Cormick

For Students 9th - 10th
A Virginia farmer invented a mechanical reaper, then harvested profits in the Midwest's exploding grain belt, innovating credit, service, and sales practices that became essential parts of American big business.
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Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Jan E. Matzeliger (1852 1887)

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief encyclopedia entry about the life of inventory, Jan Matzeliger, whose invention revolutionized the shoe-making industry.
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Article
Famous Scientists

Famous Scientists: Frank Hornby

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn how Frank Hornby managed to excel in toy invention based on engineering principles.
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Activity
Smithsonian Institution

Lemelson Center: Spark!lab: Invent Your Own Gelatin Dessert

For Students 3rd - 5th
Students learn about the history of Jello and create their own dessert. They analyze the success of their dessert afterwards and make suggestions on how to improve it. They are also invited to take a photo of their creation and email it...
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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.
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Handout
Other

Plastic

For Students 9th - 10th
This site has an overview of the history of plastic.
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Website
PBS

Pbs: A Science Odyssey

For Students 9th - 10th
Website for the PBS series "A Science Odyssey." Numerous opportunities to explore the people and discoveries of science.
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Website
Other

How Products Are Made: Air Bag

For Students 9th - 10th
Discover the science behind this common fixture in cars. Learn what it is and how how scientists came up with the idea.
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Handout
American Chemical Society

American Chemical Society: The Bakelizer [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out all you want to know about the revolutionary development of Bakelite, the first plastic created entirely from chemicals. Included is a biography of the inventor of Bakelite, Leo Baekeland.
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Unit Plan
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Progress: The Meaning of the Machine: Thomas Edison

For Students 9th - 10th
A photograph of Edison and an interview of Edison by Theodore Dreiser that displays the inventor's convictions about progress in America.
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Handout
The Franklin Institute

The Franklin Institute: A Century of Development

For Students 9th - 10th
The Franklin Institute looks at the invention of the Brownie camera, which helped put photography into the hands of amateurs and allowed the middle class to take their own snapshots as well in the early 20th century.
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: History Comes Alive: Developing Fluency and Comprehension

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
Let the power of imagination and inference serve as a "time machine" to bring Benjamin Franklin into the classroom! History and science come to life in a dialogue with Franklin the inventor, developed through lesson activities that...
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Handout
Other

The Daguerreian Society: l.j.m. Daguerre

For Students 9th - 10th
Originally printed in the The Illustrated London News (July 1851), this article pays tribute to Louis Lacques Mande Daguerre and his discovery, the Daguerrotype. Learn about the styles and techniques employed in some of his famous...
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Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Willard Libby Carbon Dating

For Students 6th - 8th
Use this site to learn about radiocarbon dating and the scientist who discovered it, Willard Libby (1908-1980 CE).
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Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: George Westinghouse

For Students 3rd - 8th
This brief article on the life and contributions of George Westinghouse (1846-1914) includes a picture. Read about his air brake as well as his development of the alternating current system.
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Handout
Ohio History Central

Ohio History Central: James Ritty

For Students 9th - 10th
Biography of James Ritty, the inventor of the cash register.

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