Curated OER
INVENTION CONVENTION
Students examine inventions with this lesson plan. They contract for a grade and then decide which assignments they plan on doing. There are no objectives for this lesson plan to critique or review.
Curated OER
The Mind Behind Design
High schoolers explore a design website and journal their findings. In this design and writing lesson, students analyze the design process and discuss benefits to society through design. High schoolers choose a design that they feel is...
Curated OER
Trash Inventions
Second graders develop a plan to recycle trash. For this environmental science lesson, 2nd graders sketch their invention and construct it. They present the final product in class.
Curated OER
The Need to Invent
Students create an invention. In this problem solving lesson, students share their experiences using crutches or a wheelchair and hold a discussion on how inventions are created to help those who are physically challenged. Students work...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Flight
A Reading Adventure pack focuses on the invention of flight. After reading a fiction and nonfiction book, scholars take their newfound knowledge to design a one-passenger flying device, experiment with different types of paper airplanes...
Teach Engineering
Will It Fly?
Go fly a kite, then fly a plane! The 19th part of a 22-part unit on aviation looks at the way kites and gliders help aid in the understanding of flight. Pupils discuss how engineers used kites to influence airplane designs.
DiscoverE
Tape Dispenser Challenge
Help your class get out of a sticky situation! Future engineers explore existing tape dispensers and then design a new system for dispensing tape. To put these systems to the test, they build and evaluate prototypes of their designs.
Dick Blick
ArtStraw Architecture
While architects and engineers don't often build with plastic straws and foam board, the same principles still apply. Challenging both the creativity and critical thinking of students, this engaging design project is perfect for art and...
DiscoverE
Working with Watermills
Water is a powerful force; harness it through watermills. The task at hand is to create a simple watermill that functions in flowing water for at least three minutes. Scholars work together in teams to design and construct such a...
Curated OER
Invention Project
Learners study air pollution and design inventions to prevent indoor environment problems. In this air pollution inventions instructional activity, students read about and discuss famous inventors and inventions. Learners then research...
Curated OER
Creative Inventions
Ninth graders develop ideas for an invention and write a persuasive essay explaining why their invention is best. In this invention essay lesson, 9th graders review persuasive essay writing. Students create a graphic web for an original...
Curated OER
What's Your Design?
Sixth grade students: design a stained glass window, submitting their initial plan detailing the measurements of all lines and angles. Seventh grade students: create a scale drawing of their own geometric family of four members.
Curated OER
Technology And Our Quality of Life
Eighth graders design a product or machine and determine the impact their invention has on a person's quality of life. They present their design and machine with a description of its possible impacts to an audience of peers and adults.
Curated OER
Scientific Method Project
Students apply the scientific method and create a practical invention. In this science lesson, students design an original and practical invention and present the idea to the class. Class role plays the part of a CEO and vote on which...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: A Miniature Game
Art inspires art, as children work to understand artistic forms that come from the imagination. They analyze the installation piece, Fox Games and then discuss the design process. They then use clay to create imaginative dioramas,...
Discover Da Vinci
Da Vinci: Machines Exhibition
Transportation devices, military devices, mechanical devices, entertainment devices. The inventions of Leonardo da Vinci are legendary. After viewing images of da Vinci's inventions, class members are encouraged to draft their own...
San Antonio Independent School District
Inventions and Innovation
What effect did innovations like the Bessemer Process, the light bulb, and the telephone have on the industrialization of the United States? Here is a nice graphic organizer that will help your young historians approach this question.
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Here is a good four-page learning exercise designed to get your young inventors thinking about a simple machine they could design and build. They must answer some basic questions about their machine, draw a sketch of their idea, and...
Curated OER
Broken Bones
After reading about biomedical engineering and properties of materials, collaborative groups design a cast for setting a broken bone. They test for stability and mass, and then communicate their invention by creating a poster. This...
History Alive!
Thomas Edison: Inventor, Lecturer and Prankster
It's no small wonder that a lightbulb has come to represent a bright idea. The light bulb, the bright idea of Thomas Edison, was just one of his over 1,000 inventions. A teacher's guide introduces young audiences to works of the man who...
University of Southern California
Design and Test an Air Lift Siphon
Build an air lift siphon using your mad physics skills! Learners first investigate the importance of circulating water in aquaponics systems. They then use density to their advantage as they engineer an air lift siphon
Curated OER
Invention of the Tricycle
Appreciate the power of the pedal by learning about the history of the tricycle during National Bike Month.
Curated OER
Invent a Backscratcher from Everyday Materials
Pupils explore the design process. They discuss why new products are made, examine backscratchers brought in from home and discuss why it is a useful device, and working with a partner draw and construct a backscratcher.
Curated OER
The Impact of Invention
Students explore the impact of invention. In this invention lesson, students examine how inventions are on going and affect all aspects of life in both good and bad ways. Students will research the history of invention, become an...