Results Page: 82

Story of Silk

Students will:

1. Listen to and discuss The Empress and the Silkworm by Lily Toy Hong
2. Color, cut out, and arrange Silkworm Sequencing Cards (PDF)
3. Unravel a silkworm cocoon

Found in: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, February, Language Arts, Science, Visual Arts

So Many Inventions!

Students Will:

1. Listen attentively to books.
2. Bring Chinese inventions from home.
3. Observe teacher demonstrate how to make a compass.
4. Make a compass with a partner.

Found in: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, February, History, Language Arts, Science, Visual Arts

Timelines and Texts: Motivating Students to Read Nonfiction

Nonfiction texts, in many students’ opinion, lack the excitement, energy, and adventure of fictional stories. In this lesson, students use timelines to help motivate them to read more nonfiction, which will, in turn, help increase their comprehension of nonfiction. Students begin with a discussion about timelines and their use to prepare for the research activity. Using a historical timeline and the students’ prior knowledge of events, students predict when specific inventions were produced and take notes describing their reason for identifying that particular year.

Found in: 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, Character Education, February, Language Arts

The first typewriter patent was awarded in 1868.

The invention of the typewriter led to the keyboards on the computers of today. Show your class a computer and a typewriter or two if you can find significantly different typewriters, such as a manual one and an electric one. Begin an inquiry-based study that compares typewriters to computers. Students can talk about everything from the appearance of the two tools to the way that one gets the final, finished product (a piece of paper with alphanumeric figures on it) to the different ways that they might use the two machines if they were composing a paper. As a conclusion to the project, ask students to hypothesize about how the shift from typewriters to computers changes the way that work is done.

Found in: 10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade, February, History, Technology, Visual Arts

Great American Inventors: Using Nonfiction to Learn About Technology Inventions

Students use technology every day, but do they ever stop and wonder about the inventors who made certain technology possible? This lesson encourages students to investigate three American inventors-Alexander Graham Bell, George Washington Carver, and Stephanie Kwolek-through research and readings of their biographies. Reading biographies about famous inventors can bring enthusiasm and a sense of exploration to your classroom. To begin this lesson, students are divided into three research groups, and each group is assigned a different inventor. As students read, gather, and present information about Bell, Carver, and Kwolek, they learn how this trio’s inventions changed and shaped America’s past and influenced the future of technology. Further, students examine how the inventions directly impact their own lives.

Found in: 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, February, History, Language Arts, Visual Arts