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Overview: Technology, invention, and innovation have greatly changed our way of life, particularly over the past century. Where did all of these inventions, gadgets, and gizmos come from? How important are they in our daily lives? Are all of the great inventions and discoveries of our time a result of strenuous trial and investigation? Or were they a result of an accident? This activity, when teamed with the book Mistakes That Worked, by Charlotte Foltz Jones, serves as an excellent introduction to a unit on Invention and Discovery, their importance, as well as their sometime uselessness, in our world.
Booklink: Mistakes That Worked, by Charlotte Foltz Jones, Delacorte Press, 1991. ISBN 0-385-26246-9
Science Activity Link: Children will have the opportunity to view and touch various gadgets and gizmos and identify, through inference, what they think each object is or how it might be used. Issues, such as the usefulness of inventions and gadgets, the difference between invention and discovery, how science and technology are related to invention and discovery, invention verses innovation, etc. can be initiated through this activity.
Objective: After viewing and manipulating various small gadgets and devices, the children will infer the name or use of each object. Obtaining an operational definition for "usefulness" can also be pursued.
Science Processes and Content: Processes-observing, inferring, classifying, communicating, operationally defining. Content-technology, inventions, simple machines.
National Science Education Standards: Unifying Concepts and Processes, (1) Science as Inquiry, (5) Science and Technology, (6) Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
Materials: Assemble a group of "mystery" items that students may not be familiar with or may have difficulty identifying. I use antique items, as well as objects that are both male and female oriented, such as hunting and fishing items, kitchen, and beauty or personal items. Items like apple corers, pickle pickers, and orange peelers work well. Make sure these items are safe and school appropriate. Number each item with a sticky note. Give each student a piece of paper on which they can record their inferences for the gadgets.
Procedure:
Set the objects out on tables throughout the room. Number the items in some fashion. (I either number each item individually or put note cards or post-it notes beside the objects.) Have the students number their papers accordingly. Inform the students that this is an individual activity; they should perform it without discussing the objects with their fellow students. Instruct the students to travel through the room, observing and manipulating each object. After observing an individual object, they should write on their papers the name of the object or infer how it is used. Explain that an inference is an explanation for an observation. For example, an apple corer may be one of the items. The student could either name the object if he/she knows what it is or infer what it may be used for. After everyone has completed their observations, have the students take their seats. Start with the first item and ask the students to share their answers. Allow time for discussion. Use a question sheet to guide follow-up discussion.
QUESTIONS:
1. Define "gadget".
2. Why are gadgets and other things invented?
3. Define "inferring" or "inference".
4. On what do you base an inference?
5. How do you define "useful"?
6. Which gadget is the most useful? Why?
7. Which gadget is the least useful? Why?
Discuss the reasons things are invented or how inventions come to be:
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To solve a problem |
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To make life easier |
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By accident |
Have the students give examples of each, using the gadgets from the activity as well as some of their own. For the most part, they will probably identify inventions or gadgets that fall under the first two categories. Discuss items that have come about by accident.
Choose one or two of the items in the book Mistakes That Worked to share with the students. I use Velcro, Post-It notes, and Chocolate Chip Cookies. Read the excerpts, leaving out specific references to the item. Have the students guess what the inventions are from what you read.
Using other resource books, have the students list inventions and gadgets they feel are useful or important in our world. After compiling a list, have the students classify each item on their list under one of the three reasons they exist. Discuss how some items may fall into more than one category, which category contains more examples, etc..
Related Books:
Accidents May Happen by Charlotte Foltz Jones, Delacorte Press, 1996. ISBN 0-385-32240-2
Smithsonian Visual Timeline of Inventions by Richard Platt, Dorling Kindersley, 1994. ISBN 1-56458-675-8
The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle by Don L. Wilson, Puffin Books, 1997. ISBN 0-14-130204-6
Steven Caney's Invention Book by Steven Caney, Workman Publishing Company, Inc, 1985. ISBN 0-89480-076-0
So You Want To Be An Inventor? By Judith St. George and David Small, Philomel Books, 2002. ISBN 0-399-23593-0
Teacher Resource Books:
Inventions by Karen J. Goldfluss and Patricia Miriana Sima, Teacher Created Materials, 1993. ISBN 1-55734-232-6
Reinvent the Wheel by Ruth Kassinger, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001. ISBN 0-471-39539-0
I Love America's Inventions by John Artman and Gary Grimm, Gary Grimm & Associates, 2001. ISBN 1-56490-151-3 |
