5th graders will gain an understanding of how, what, and why people invent tools. This PowerPoint provides a complete description of what tools are, types of tools, why we make tools and what impact they have had on society. There are...

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...

With the help from an interactive timeline, scholars discover the time and order in which inventions came to be—popular items from eyeglasses to the compact disc. 

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,...

Students identify and solve problems as they modify the design of an everyday household item. They gather and analyze information and work in collaborative teams to create a design plan for a new product.

Technology—what exactly is it? Find out with a project designed to inspire the inner inventor in us all. The activity begins with a captivating podcast and a search of multiple websites that display different inventions and technology,...

How did the television change people's lives? Learners consider the question as they complete their storyboards about the invention of the TV, adding visual elements along the way. Then, they participate in a peer review to offer and...

Students recognize that inventions are developed to fill a need.In this inventions instructional activity, students become familiar with the inventing process and create simple inventions. Students complete a worksheet about their...

In this inventions learning exercise, students are given a list of inventions that they are to write in order of which was invented first to last. Students put 10 inventions in order.

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...

Students discover the life of Benjamin Franklin by studying his inventions.  In this biography lesson, students identify the inventions of Benjamin Franklin and their impact on society today.  Students create a commercial in an...

This site contains a variety of worksheets and activities to supplement the on-line problem-based learning activity about how imagination and how inventions are created. TheWright Brothers are used as a case study. The links and...

Students complete a web survey for Thomas Edison's inventions. In this Thomas Edison instructional activity, students visit the websites to learn about the inventions of Thomas Edison.

Learners understand that inventions fulfill a need. In this inventions lesson, students create simple designs of inventions that fill a need and understand the value of how inventions help society.

Help your scholars get a grasp on the chronology of the Industrial Revolution with this "Innovative Inventions" learning exercise. They discover what year various items were invented, and then create a timeline placing each invention...

If the walls could talk, you might hear Hugo from The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Hugo lives in the walls of a train stations in Paris. Scholars read and complete worksheet activities as they discover Hugo's secrets. They show their...

What's the story? Learners create the first of four storyboards about the invention of the television, incorporating narrative techniques and descriptive details. Next, they offer and receive feedback by participating in a peer critique...

In this research skills activity, students will look up the name of the inventor and the date each item was invented. There are 25 items to research.

In this inventors worksheet, learners read a list of 25 items and write the inventors and date of each invention. Items include a bicycle, aspirin, concrete, and Coca Cola.

For this creative writing worksheet, students pretend they are writing and illustrating an article for "New Inventions Magazine." They label the new weekly invention, draw it and write an entry about it.

Television or radio? Scholars read pages 18-28 of The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth to discover why Farnsworth thought TV was better than radio. They determine the gist of the section and then look closer...

Direct your class as they begin writing. Most slides contain questions that scholars can record and reference while they start the process of research and writing. Help learners get through writers' block, freewrite, and brainstorm to...

Scholars complete multiple reads of Ingenious Inventions by Women: The Windshield Wiper and Paper Bag machine to determine gist, use quotes, define words, and form an opinion about the importance of the interventions. Learners work...

Walk through the pictures to understand the text. Scholars analyze The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth by taking a book walk and looking at the pictures. They then do a first read of Life before Philo to...