What effect did innovations like the Bessemer Process, the light bulb, and the telephone have on the industrialization of the United States? Here is a nice graphic organizer that will help your young historians approach this question.

Why did Henry Ford want to invent a car for the masses? Why did Henry Ford locate his factory in Detroit? Why did Henry Ford encourage the idea of a 5-day work week? Young innovators find the answers to these and other question in a unit...

Define the Changes in government rule that lead to some of China's most important inventions. The class explores the rise of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the first female ruler Wu Zhao, and inventions such as gunpowder, porcelain, and...

Explore the inventions of the past with a project on ancient tools. After reading an article about hunting during the Archaic period, the Late Prehistoric period, and the Historic period, kids fill in a cause-and-effect chart about the...

While a woman didn't invent the parasol, three women received patents for their improvements to the original design of umbrellas. In the first of a two-part series on inventive women, class members investigate the patent system to...

Use this lesson plan to discuss inventions that have changed your class's world and have impacted society. Middle schoolers investigate important inventions of their time and design an invention in a simulated business atmosphere. Modify...

Students identify and solve problems as they modify the design of an everyday household item. They gather and analyze information and work in collaborative teams to create a design plan for a new product.

Learn about George Washington Carver's important contributions to agriculture by studying the sweet potato. First graders read about the inventor's observations and prepare sweet potato slips for the class garden. Additionally, they...

All of the people in your class would agree that life would be different without the invention of the telephone! Study Alexander Graham Bell's most famous and influential invention through the primary source document of his...

Students examine the way various inventions have changed their lives. As a class, they create a timeline of the most important inventions during their lifetime and another timeline of how old they were when it was invented. ...

Commonplace today, the zipper and button construction of blue jeans was a major innovation. Using the patent for the J.W. Davis and Levi Strauss innovation, individuals comb an image of the fly for clues. Afterward, they discuss its...

Help your scholars get a grasp on the chronology of the Industrial Revolution with this "Innovative Inventions" activity. They discover what year various items were invented, and then create a timeline placing each invention and...

It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. Fifth graders prove this with help from three lessons that examine how ancient cultures used their needs to drive innovations. In lesson one, pupils identify main ideas and supporting...

Throughout time, innovators have taken basic ideas and changed them into creative and cutting-edge designs. Kids tackle the topic of innovations in relation to traditional or creative objects. They discuss traditional Navajo pottery then...

Learners explore innovators and inventions. For this technology lesson, students investigate the issues inventors face as they tackle new technology. Learners design their own realistic needs-based invention.

Students, while examining inventions and innovators, identify, differentiate and discuss five Canadian inventors/innovations. After applying creative thinking strategies to a promotional piece, students brainstorm patents.

Students examine the changes in the U.S. in the period of industrialization before the Civil War. They analyze census data, list/describe inventions and innovations, explore various websites, conduct a Factory Simulation activity, and...

From play pumps that provide clean water to shoes made from trash, innovators change the world one invention at a time. After researching various inventions, young entrepreneurs develop their own. Extension opportunities include prompts...

Students consider the qualities that inventors possess and explore the history and uncertain future of U.S. innovation by reading and discussing the article "Are U.S. Innovators Losing Their Competitive Edge?"

What effect could one person's invention have on the human race? In the case of the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution, small improvements in farming methods led to increased food production. The human population began to boom, leading us...

Eighth graders research how science and technology have evolved by studying inventions. In this invention lesson, 8th graders discuss inventions and work in teams to create an innovation to present at the Invention Convention. Students...

Agribusiness, human capital, productivity. Find out what your class members know about economic systems and terminology with this two-page economics worksheet that that asks kids to identify terms and concepts.

What a great project. Graphic arts students consider the social, political, and economic impact made by a chosen invention. They build an argument to substantiate their reasons for choosing said invention. They create an oral...

Students examine the Hajj preformed by the Muslims. They discover the five pillars of Islam and the Koran. They examine the major differences between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.