Lesson Plan
Council for Economic Education

Econ Ed Link: Economic Spotter: Inventors and Entrepreneurs in the Industrial Age

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
The Industrial Age has also been called the Age of Edison. Edison patented more than 1000 inventions and gave rise to three industries: electric utilities, phonograph and record companies, and the film industry. This instructional...
Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

Discovery Education: An Era of Innovation

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Students research and learn about the history of transportation. Groups design and present a decade in transportation exhibits to share with the class.
Handout
Project Britain

Primary Homework Help: The Victorians: Inventions Timeline

For Students 3rd - 6th
An organized timeline featuring major developments and inventions that made travel, communications, and trade easier for many people during Queen Victoria's reign.
Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

Discovery Education: An Era of Innovation

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
Students research and learn about the history of transportation. Groups design and present a decade in transportation exhibits to share with the class.
Handout
Birmingham Museums Trust (UK)

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery: The Victorians Inventions

For Students 3rd - 7th
Try to identify the inventions form the Victorian era, and then learn more about each discovery.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: How Innovation in Renewable Energy Protects the Environment: Lesson Plan

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Picture your nearest river or lake. How do people use it? Are you happy with the way it is treated and its relationship to your community? In this PBS NewsHour instructional activity, learners will explore inventions that harness the...
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.
Study Guide
Ohio Test Prep

Ohio Test Prep: Module 6: Ohio Resources and Innovations

For Students 9th - 10th
Ohio learning module prepares students for the state test in Social Studies on Ohio inventions, transportation and industry and how it impacts the nation. Site includes video tutorials, interactive practice reviews, and assessment.
Handout
PBS

Pbs: Who Made America?: Innovators: Elmer Sperry

For Students 9th - 10th
A prolific inventor and businessman, Sperry engineered a gyrocompass that made piloting ships, airplanes, and even spacecraft more reliable. He formed eight different companies to produce his inventions, some still in use today.
Handout
PBS

Pbs: Who Made America?: Innovators: Malcom Mc Lean

For Students 9th - 10th
While his name is relatively unknown today, this North Carolina trucker invented container shipping, a method now indispensable to the modern world of global trade.
Lesson Plan
Council for Economic Education

Econ Ed Link: Peanuts, Pecans, and Peas, Please (Lesson)

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Check out this informative site that looks at the world of the peanut. This tiny nut had a great influence on our economy. Find out how George Washington Carver changed the economy of the South with his research on the lowly peanut.
Article
PBS

Pbs: Creativity and Play: Fostering Creativity

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
One of the most important types of creative activity for young children is creative play. This article discusses the benefits of creative play and other ways to foster creativity in your classroom.
Website
National Inventors Hall of Fame

National Inventors Hall of Fame: Virtual Tour

For Students 9th - 10th
Take a virtual tour of the National Inventors Hall of Fame to learn about America's rich history of invention and innovation. Here you will find the museum's online exhibits and information about America's many inventors and the products...
eBook
Other

Modern World History: The Industrial Revolution Begins in England (1760 1850)

For Students 9th - 10th
In this textbook unit, students learn the reasons why the Industrial Revolution took root in England first, and the innovations that made this possible. These included textile inventions such as the flying shuttle and the spinning jenny,...
Article
Society for Science and the Public

Science News for Students: 'Smart' Sutures Monitor Healing

For Students 9th - 10th
A medical innovation that might eliminate prolonged infections and speculated healing. Check out this new idea of 'smart' stiches that notify caregivers if something is going wrong during the healing process.
Article
How Stuff Works

How Stuff Works: 5 Strange Items Developed From Nasa Technology

For Students 1st - 9th
Review an article highlighting five inventions developed by NASA that evolved into sought after mainstreamed creations such as baby formula and Speedo swim suits.
Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: How Farming Planted Seeds for the Internet

For Students 9th - 10th
What does farming have to do with invention and innovation? Patricia Russac explores how farming was a major innovation leading to the civilization we know today. [3:59]
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.
Article
CNN

Cnn: Space Age Inventions You Probably Use (2007)

For Students 9th - 10th
Some common items that help save lives every day or make lives a little easier are compliments of NASA technologies. This article features ten of these developments
Website
Great Idea Finder

The Great Idea Finder: History of Computing

For Students 9th - 10th
The Great Idea Finder offers a timeline of the history of computers. Each innovation and invention is also click-able for more information.
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

National Air and Space Museum: Wright Brothers: Embracing the Impossible [Pdf]

For Teachers 5th - 8th
In this lesson, young scholars explore primary resources to see what people who lived in the early age of flight felt about this innovation. They then compare that response to that towards an invention of today.
Article
University of Houston

University of Houston: Engines of Our Ingenuity: No. 435: Hedy Lamarr, Inventor

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the remarkable actress Hedy Lamarr who, together with composer George Antheil, invented a technology that used frequency hopping to improve the effectiveness of Allied torpedoes during WWII. Their invention was not put into...
Handout
Energy for Sustainable Development

Esd Bulgaria: Kids & Energy: Energy Pioneers: John Frederic Daniell

For Students 9th - 10th
A profile of John Frederic Daniell (1790-1845) who was a British chemist and meteorologist. He invented the first reliable DC battery. His inventions included a hygrometer, a pyrometer, and several types of batteries.
Article
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Invention of the Week: William D. Coolidge: The X Ray Tube

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about William D. Coolidge, his education, work, and his invention--the X-Ray Tube--as well as other medical innovations he is credited with. Learn how x-rays work and how they have contributed to the medical world.

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