Age of Invention

Social Studies American History Civil War Through 1900 Age of Invention
Students reflect on an invention that has made a major impact on their lives. Then they work in small groups to prepare an oral presentation on an assigned nineteenth century inventor. After the presentations, they analyze how scientific inventions help individuals and society.

This learning experience is designed for device-enabled classrooms. The teacher guides the lesson, and students use embedded resources, social media skills, and critical thinking skills to actively participate. To get access to a free version of the complete lesson, sign up for an exploros account.

1:1 Devices
Teacher Pack

The Pack contains associated resources for the learning experience, typically in the form of articles and videos. There is a teacher Pack (with only teacher information) and a student Pack (which contains only student information). As a teacher, you can toggle between both to see everything.

Here are the teacher pack items for Age of Invention:

Preview - Scene 1
Exploros Learnign Experience Scene Navigation


Engage


Overview

In this experience, students reflect on an invention that has made a major impact on their lives. Then they work in small groups to prepare an oral presentation on an assigned nineteenth century inventor. After the presentations, they analyze how scientific inventions help individuals and society.

Students will collaborate in small groups for scene 2 to scene 3. There are ten possible inventors for research.

There is no quiz at the end of the experience. Instead, students will self-evaluate their work using a rubric. The rubric is available in the Student Pack for students to review before they begin work on the presentations.

Estimated duration: The duration varies from a minimum of 90 minutes up to a week, depending on your strategy. You may choose to keep the presentations short and very focused in order to cover the key historical developments. Alternately, you can use this experience to work on ELAR skills to plan, research, and orally present topics.

Objectives

  • Identify key inventors and inventions of the 19th century.
  • Analyze how scientific inventions impacted life in the United States.


The period after the Civil War was a time of rapid growth and development in many areas of U.S. life. One of those areas was the world of invention. Light bulbs, telephones, cameras—new items that had a major impact on people’s lives. In this experience, you will prepare a report on a major inventor.

Objectives
  • Identify key inventors and inventions of the 19th century.
  • Analyze how scientific inventions impacted life in the United States.


cartoon of a caveman carving a wheel from stone

Inventing the wheel


Which invention has been the most significant for your life?

Post your answer

Accept any reasonable answers. Discuss some of the most and least common of the student posts.


Divide students into their small groups for the next two scenes. Assign each group one of the following inventors to research:

  • Thomas Edison
  • Alexander Graham Bell
  • George Washington Carver
  • The Wright Brothers
  • Margaret Knight
  • George Eastman
  • Elisha Otis
  • John Pemberton
  • Whitcomb L. Judson
  • L. A. Thompson

 

When everyone is ready to continue, unlock the next scene.

End of Preview
The Complete List of Learning Experiences in Civil War Through 1900 Unit.
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Civil War Through 1900: Vocabulary
Social Studies American History Civil War Through 1900 The Civil War
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Age of Invention
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Social Studies American History Civil War Through 1900 Conflict Over Slavery
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Social Studies American History Civil War Through 1900 Reconstruction
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Social Studies American History Civil War Through 1900 The Plains Indians
The Plains Indians
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