Curiosity and Discovery: A Lesson on Inventions

EducationWorld is pleased to feature this lesson adapted from School Volunteer Handbook: A Simple Guide for K-6 Teachers and Parents, by Yael Calhoun and Elizabeth Q. Finlinson (Lila Press, 2011).

The lesson, shared with the permission of the authors, is a great example of a short activity with simple instructions that appeals to a diverse group of parent interests and teacher needs. The activity is an ideal one for implementation by classroom volunteers.

See other School Volunteer Handbook activities:
A Lesson in Character: Connect With Yourself
Be the Boss: A Lesson Plan On Managing Feelings
Lesson to Celebrate Diversity: The Unity Necklace

About the authors

Yael Calhoun, MA, MS, RYT, is an author and educator who has taught preschool through college. She also has worked as an environmental planner and has written over a dozen books. Currently, she is a cofounder and the Executive Director of GreenTREE Yoga, a nonprofit committed to bringing the benefits of yoga to diverse populations.

Elizabeth Q. Finlinson, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has worked as a school therapist, volunteer coordinator, and as a private practitioner specializing in children and families. She teaches character education and physical education and is an active school volunteer.

Subjects

• Science
• History
• Language Arts

Grade

K-6

Brief Description

Students learn about and celebrate curiosity and the process of discovery and invention.

Objectives

Students will:

• After hearing stories of discoveries and inventions, get excited about thinking and being curious.
• Celebrate the wonder that comes from observing, from questioning, and from celebrating serendipity.
   

Time: Once for three minutes; once a week for three minutes, or 30 minutes to set up a learning center.

Materials Needed

• Books on inventions (see suggestions below)
• Large envelope
• Chart with student names
• Sheet with three questions about the reading (optional)
   

Lesson Plan

Science is about using your senses to observe and then asking questions. Inventors have shown us that letting your mind wander can be a marvelous thing. Did you know that the person who invented the Nike waffle-sole sneaker got the idea as he was eating…a waffle? The man who invented Velcro got the idea by observing burrs sticking to fabric while he was taking a walk. A 12-year-old boy invented the Popsicle when he unintentionally left a can of soda outside with a stick in it.

Sharing the stories of a few inventions never fails to capture the imagination of all ages. For example, when you ask a group how many people know someone who has diabetes, a surprising number of hands may go up. Proceed to tell them the idea that led to the discovery of insulin came from a graduate student in Germany in the early 1900s. He was cleaning up after a dog who had been the subject of a lab experiment involving the pancreas. He noticed the dog urine smelled very sweet. From that simple observation and his curiosity evolved an understanding of insulin and diabetes.

Preparation

1. Books:  Find your books.
2. Format:  Decide how (and how often) you want to present the invention/discovery stories.
3. Learning Center:  Set up an “Imagine That!” learning center.

Activity

Option 1: The Three-Minute Story

Read or tell one story before every science lesson, or one morning per week.

Story suggestions:

For Younger Grades

• Imaginative Inventions by Charise Mericle Harper
• Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Barretta
• Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor by Emily Arnold McCully
• So You Want to Be an Inventor? by Judith St. George and David Small.
   

For Older Grades

• Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women by Catherine Thimmesh
• The Kid who Invented the Trampoline: More Surprising Stories about Inventions by Don. L. Wulffson
• The Kid who Invented the Popsicle by Don L. Wulffson
• Brainstorm!: The Stories of Twenty American Kid Inventors by Tom Tucker
• They All Laughed... From Light Bulbs to Lasers: The Fascinating Stories Behind the Great Inventions That Have Changed Our Lives by Ira Flatow
• Mistakes that Worked by Charlotte Jones
• Accidents May Happen by Charlotte Jone
• 10 Inventors Who Changed the World by Clive Gifford
• Almost Astronauts: 13 Women who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone

Option 2: Learning Center

Make an “Imagine That” learning center. Each week, change the half-page story copied from a book. Have the story in an envelope decorated with pictures of inventions. Have a chart in the learning center listing student names so they can check when they have completed it. There could be several questions to answer and put in a box to extend the activity.
 

Option 3: Read All About It!

For younger students, dedicate a story time to reading a picture book about inventions. For older students, read aloud from some chapter books on inventions or inventors. (See story suggestions above.)

Extend the Lesson

Science

• Invite a local inventor to speak in your classroom. (Send a home a note to parents asking if they could suggest someone who might be willing to talk to your class about what they have invented or patented. Or, contact a local university. Check with educational outreach or the outreach coordinators in any of the sciences. It is as easy as calling a department to ask.)
• Challenge students to invent a new kitchen tool, some household item, or a delivery system with moving parts to deliver mail into a box (think Legos).

Language Arts

• Have students do more research on a particular invention and prepare a report or a PowerPoint presentation.
• Have students research the patent process. If they have invented something, they can prepare a patent and present it to the class.
• After reading some books on the subject, invite groups students to make a picture book for the younger grades to enjoy. Or, older students can make a book from their own research on topics of interest: for example, medical innovations.
• Ask kids to do a book report on a book about inventions/discoveries or inventors.

Just for Fun

Plan an “Inventor Party” for which students dress up as an inventor and discuss their inventions with each other. If wearing costumes is not a possibility, students can design a paper stating who they are and what they invented and wear it on their shirts. Perhaps include the boy who invented Popsicles and serve some. You could also make a game by having students wear clues as to their identity on the fronts of their shirts.

Related resources

Lessons on Inventors and Inventions

Education World®    
Copyright © 2013 Education World