TeachersFirst Inventors and Inventions Resources

Invent and Innovate! This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers, parents, and students learn about inventors and inventions. Use these resources for science or social studies lessons and activities about innovation and invention, in observance of National Inventors' Day (celebrated on February 11, Thomas Edison's birthday),  or at any time during the school year. Whether you are simply learning about the history of invention or planning a schoolwide Invention Convention, these resources will provide inspiration and project possibilities.

Explore all of TeachersFirst's resources tagged inventors and inventions for more ideas. 

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Gajitz Science - Gajitz

Grades
6 to 12
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See remarkable and astounding scientific discoveries and inventions on this amazing site. Categories of science include Earth and Nature, Energy and Power, Medical Marvels, New Materials,...more
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See remarkable and astounding scientific discoveries and inventions on this amazing site. Categories of science include Earth and Nature, Energy and Power, Medical Marvels, New Materials, Quantum Leaps, Space and Time, Science Fiction, and Weird Science. Young scientists will be amazed, engineers inspired, and even the disinterested will find accomplishments to make them curious. Even middle school girls will find something that they like about science on this site. There is some advertising, but the science images and information outweigh it.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): cells (82), engineering (141), inventors and inventions (89), medicine (52)

In the Classroom

Share selected discoveries or a science-in-real-life scenario at least weekly on a projector or interactive whiteboard. Watch the site for real-world examples of your current unit, or award extra credit to students who lurk on this site to find such connections. Just as your social studies colleagues assign students to write up a current event each week, you can assign students to write a blog post or a brief explanation of a recent find on your class wiki. Be sure to include this link on your class web page for students to access both in and out of class, and include it in your emergency sub plans so students can find and explain the accomplishment of a real scientist found here. If you do a unit on science careers, this is a definite source for student projects. Why not have students create an interactive infographic using a tool like Genially about a branch of science that interests them after exploring this site?

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Design Squad Global - PBS Kids GO!

Grades
4 to 9
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Are you looking for a new way to get your students excited about science? This neat site is based on the PBS show, Design Squad, but you can easily incorporate ...more
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Are you looking for a new way to get your students excited about science? This neat site is based on the PBS show, Design Squad, but you can easily incorporate the activities and clips from the site without watching the show. There is a full educators guide available (see the Parents and Educator link) with ten engineering and inventive activities. The site also includes video clips, building activities, and interactive (educational) "games." Some of the building activities include "Watercraft," "Hidden Alarm," "Dance Pad Mania," and others. This resource also features "real life" challenges that students (or classes) are able to get involved with.

tag(s): engineering (141), inventors and inventions (89), sound (72)

In the Classroom

The possibilities at this site are "inventive." Visit the games site to learn about sound and play an interactive "string thing." Have students work in cooperative learning groups to recreate the building activities. Share the video clips (or interactives) on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Have your class complete one of the "real life" challenges together. If you can't do it during the competition months, go back and try one of the past competitions. Document it on a class wiki, then invite next year's class to do it even better by learning from "experience." Before you know it, kids will walk in the first day of school and ask when they get to try the challenge.
 This resource requires PDF reader software like Adobe Acrobat.

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DocsTeach - National Archives Foundation

Grades
4 to 12
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DocsTeach from the National Archives provides access to thousands of primary source documents, photographs, maps, posters, videos, and historical records that can be explored through...more
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DocsTeach from the National Archives provides access to thousands of primary source documents, photographs, maps, posters, videos, and historical records that can be explored through engaging, interactive learning activities. Teachers can browse resources by historical era, topic, grade level, or document type, and use ready-made lessons created by educators and archivists. The site's Activity Builder allows teachers to create custom learning experiences using tools such as Analyze, Compare and Contrast, Weigh the Evidence, Map It, and Making Connections. Students can interact directly with primary sources, develop historical thinking skills, and create their own collections and activities. Free registration allows you to save activities, organize resources, and design customized lessons using authentic materials from the National Archives.

tag(s): civil rights (223), congress (37), courts (26), first ladies (4), immigration (86), inventors and inventions (89), Juneteenth (33), lewis and clark (16), presidents (151), primary sources (143), slavery (79), womens suffrage (64), world war 1 (87), world war 2 (168)

In the Classroom

Select a document, photograph, or artifact from DocsTeach and display it without providing background information. Have students act as historians, making observations and inferences about what the source reveals before learning its historical context. Students can use the site's Compare and Contrast tool to analyze two primary sources from the same historical event or time period. Have them identify similarities, differences, and what each source contributes to their understanding. Have students select primary sources around a historical theme, such as immigration, the American Revolution, civil rights, or westward expansion. They can create a digital exhibit using ThingLink, reviewed here with titles, descriptions, and explanations of why each source is important to understanding the topic.

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Lighting a Revolution - Smithsonian

Grades
5 to 8
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This online exhibition from the National Museum of American History examines the process of invention, breaking it down into five distinct stages. Enter one of the virtual laboratory...more
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This online exhibition from the National Museum of American History examines the process of invention, breaking it down into five distinct stages. Enter one of the virtual laboratory doors to discover the similarities and differences between Edison's 19th century work on the electric lamp and the development of 20th century lighting devices. The site includes links to materials that explain the science and engineering behind electric lighting and the factors used to determine energy efficiency.

tag(s): 20th century (171), electricity (63), inventors and inventions (89), light (61)

In the Classroom

Use this resource to frame a student invention unit based on the five stages detailed on the site. Focus the invention process on current or future needs brainstormed by students in class.

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