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This lesson is for Day 10 of the unit Inventions and Inventors. Students have fun participating in a review game by identifying significant people who have made contributions in the fields of communication, technology, and science.

Found in: 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, February, Science, Technology

Invention: Computer Technology

Ask students if they know who invented the computer. If they don’t know, inform them that, in 1884, Charles Babbage, an English mathematician, tried to build a complicated machine called the “analytical engine.” It was mechanical, rather than electronic, and Babbage never completed it, but computers today are based on many of the principles he used in his design. Your students may be interested to know that, as recently as forty years ago, computers were so large that they filled whole rooms. They were so complicated that only specially trained people were able to use them.

Found in: 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, February, Technology

Inventors And Inventions 2: Air And Space

Brainstorm with students a list of products that were invented for use in space but are now marketed to Earth-bound humans as well. Examples include dehydrated foods, portable showers, pencils that write when held upside down, fabrics that retain heat, and so on

Found in: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, February, Kindergarten, Technology

Inventors and Inventions 1

In this activity, you will help students do research to find out how two indispensable tools of daily life—sticky notes and Velcro—came to be. As you introduce the subject of their investigations, invite students to add to the list any other everyday objects they may be curious about.

Found in: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, February, Kindergarten, Technology

Leonardo’s Machines

As a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist, Leonardo da Vinci is a fascinating historical figure. This lesson will highlight some of Leonardo’s futuristic inventions, introducing the elements of machines. Leonardo provides an interesting context in which students can begin to develop their ideas about the uniqueness of humans in the natural world. Our ability to use language and thought sets us apart as the only species that can think, imagine, create, and learn from experience. Humans have used this ability to create technologies and literary and artistic works on a vast scale and to develop a scientific understanding of ourselves and the world.

Found in: 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, February, Science, Technology, Visual Arts