Curated OER
Achievers Club
Students research a person, present or past, who has accomplished great goals. They report on their person to the class.
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: Inventive Women Part 1
Students will learn about female inventors and their contributions to American technology.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: You, Too, Can Be an Inventor!
How have inventions changed the world? This unit focuses on the importance, the process and the creativity involved in inventing. Through the study of inventions and inventors, students learn how inventions are created and the...
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Comparing & Contrasting Inventors
What do inventors have that are alike? How are they different? Why do they invent? Learning about them may inspire you to invent new technology! In this instructional activity, students will compare and contrast key details in two texts...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Alexander Graham Bell: Scientist, Inventor, and Teacher
Using a short video and two primary sources, students will learn about Bell's inventions and his work with the deaf community.
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Telephone and Light Patent Drawings
A lesson plan about Alexander Graham Bell's patent for the telephone and Thomas Edison's patent for the electric lamp. Contains good background information and historically pertinent documents. It also discusses the role corporations...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: American Inventors
Students will learn about 8 American inventors from the 1800's. They will use the internet of encyclopedia disc to research and print pictures and information about these people.
Council for Economic Education
Econ Ed Link: Economic Spotter: Inventors and Entrepreneurs in the Industrial Age
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...
Council for Economic Education
Econ Ed Link: Peanuts, Pecans, and Peas, Please (Lesson)
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.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: History Comes Alive: Developing Fluency and Comprehension
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...
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: Inventors and Inventions 2: Air and Space
After discussing important flying inventions, students explore technological design by making paper airplanes.
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress and inventor who pioneered the technology that would one day form the basis for today's WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth.
University of Illinois
University of Illinois Extension: Character Education "I Would Invent"
Excellent resource for empowering students to become better learners. This lesson includes encouraging students to develop an interest in science, to promote critical thinking skills, and to enhance reading and writing skills.
Council for Economic Education
Econ Ed Link: Inventors and Innovators Improve on the Original
This lesson plan focuses on discussion of inventions, brainstorming new products or improvements, and identifying the protection, production, and marketing processes.
Council for Economic Education
Econ Ed Link: Peanuts, Pecans, and Peas, Please
George Washington Carver, a great scientist, changed the economy of the South with his agricultural knowledge. This lesson will investigate how the lowly peanut kept the cotton farmers from losing everything.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: America in Class: The Airplane as a Symbol of Modernism
Through art and text, lesson explores Modernism through the airplane as a symbol in the 1920s. Content includes questions for analysis and discussion, follow-up, and guide for discussing art.
Other
African American Inventors Who've Changed Your Life (Pdf) [Pdf]
Integrated lesson plan focusing on the contributions that African American inventors have made to modern society. Includes rationale, day by day plan, links, and other information.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: What Edison Teaches Us About Success
In this interactive lesson, students examine Thomas Edison's character traits and how they contributed to his becoming one of the greatest inventors in history. In this interactive lesson, students watch videos to gather evidence about...
Ohio State University
Osu History Teaching Institute: Alexander Graham Bell Primary Source Activity
Eighth graders will critically examine primary sources to gain a better understanding of Alexander Graham Bell and the impact of his inventions.
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: Inventors and Inventions 1
Pupils research and explore the importance of two inventions that people use every day: sticky notes and Velcro.
BioEd Online
Bio Ed Online: The Science of Microbes: Milestones in Microbiology
Middle schoolers read about six important discoveries in microbiology and put them on a timeline. They develop an understanding of how these discoveries connect to the invention of new scientific tools and technology. The lesson and...
National Geographic
National Geographic: American Genius: Perseverance
Students investigate the importance of failure to the process of innovation by investigating several items that were invented by accident. They share one "failure to success" story by creating a 3-panel comic strip poster, and then write...
Library of Congress
Loc: Learning Page: Thomas Edison
This resource provides lesson plans and information about Thomas Edison and his inventions.
Ohio State University
Osu History Teaching Institute: The Industrial Revolution
Explores the development of the textile industry in Great Britain, focusing on the invention of various machines. Also,discusses the social effects of the Industrial Revolution and the connections between the Industrial Revolution and...