A two-part lesson introduces young historians to the work of famous African American inventors. Groups first research and develop a presentation of an inventor that includes biographical information and information about one of their...

Ideas take flight in an exciting activity exploring the Wright Brothers. Scholars view the Wright Brothers' patent for their flying machine and makes educated guesses as to the purpose of the document. Scholars discuss the purpose of...

Barbed wire may have made cattle farming easier, but it brought to an end the free-roaming days of the plains. No longer could Native American groups continue their nomadic lifestyle, and the days of cowboys herding large groups of...

Commonplace today, the zipper and button construction of blue jeans was a major innovation. Using the patent for the J.W. Davis and Levi Strauss innovation, individuals comb an image of the fly for clues. Afterward, they discuss its...

Believe it or not, the plugs and wires on Alexander Graham Bell's patent application for telegraph improvements has a direct connection to devices today. Young historians examine the fine details of the patent application. After they...

Watch lightbulbs go off in learners' heads as they look at a patent for Thomas Edison's most famous invention. After examining the light bulb patent, young historians speculate on how the invention changed life in the 1880s and its...

While almost forgotten today, the cotton gin could be seen as one of the causes of the Civil War. The innovation led to more cotton production, which in turn undermined political power balances in the 1800s. Individuals unpack the...

Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution expressly lists powers given to Congress. Over the years, lawmakers have expanded the enumerated powers to include powers implied by the list. To better understand the significance...

Most modern-day individuals have access to the Internet in some form. Academics learn about the creation of the World Wide Web from its inventor Tim Berners-Lee. The thought-provoking resource shares Berners-Lee's thoughts on how he...

While a woman didn't invent the parasol, three women received patents for their improvements to the original design of umbrellas. In the first of a two-part series on inventive women, class members investigate the patent system to...

Inventors with patents have a distinct advantage in the market. But what happens when the patent expires? A series of questions from College Board asks learners to consider the effects of a patent expiration. Other practice prompts...

A film history video examines how Thomas Edison, George Eastman, and the major film companies formed the Motion Picture Patents company (MPPC) and created a monopoly that controlled the production, distribution, exhibition of films. In...

The last episode in the mini-series exploring intellectual property laws recaps the major points examined in the other six videos and the problems that have developed. In addition, the narrator shares his predictions for the future of IP...

What's the difference between trademarks and copyright? The three requirements for trademarks, the process for applying for a trademark, and influencing factors like genericide (aspirin, kleenex®, etc.), are all explored in the fifth...

The big idea in the fourth of a series of seven videos about intellectual property is that patents are for things while copyright for ideas. The narrator explains the five requirements that inventors address in order to be granted a patent.

Take your knowledge of monopolies off the board game and into economic concepts with an engaging video from Crash Course Economics. It explains the philosophy behind government regulations of monopolies and horizontal integration, the...

3D printers, selfie sticks, smart watches. GPS, self-driving cars, YouTube. Imagine life without inventions. Believe it or not, these items were all invented in the last 10 years. Inventions, and the inventors responsible for them, are...

How do you get started designing a product to meet your engineering design goals? Here, learners gain understanding of an important aspect of the engineering design process: background research. Through brainstorming and worksheets,...

Curiosity gets you everything. With this assignment, inspiring minds come together to create and invent. Learn how and why we invent and what it means to patent an invention.

After reading about the history and science of personal floatation devices, patents, and intellectual property, engineering teams design a life vest for a can of soup. To evaluate which groups considered the need for waterproofing, hold...

This inventions PowerPoint includes age-appropriate text and information about what an invention is, the planning process for developing inventions, and common factors of successful inventions.  Several short biographies with text and...