One of the concepts that we focus on so much in the spring is RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!
To align with our standards on covering good citizens, I spend three weeks covering famous American Inventors including both men and women of all backgrounds.
To kick off, I cover the more well-known figures first including Alexander Graham Bell, Garrett Morgan, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Edison. Below are the anchor charts that I have made so far!
I also cover other inventors including Henry Ford, the Wright Brothers, George Washington Carver, and Bill Gates.
After reading and studying about these inventors using short biographies, BrainPop, Brain Pop Jr, and PebbleGo, the students and I begin making notes and recording facts on each of them.
You can find the graphic organizers, writing templates, and signs that I use by clicking on the graphics below.
I am also committed to spend a full week on female inventors this year! Finding short biographies on female American inventors is the hardest! However, I have been lucky to find a few resources from our school library and PebbleGo! So, please do come back for their anchor charts later this month!
Once our class research is complete, students will be encouraged to research an American inventor of their choosing to complete the “Hole-in-the-Poster” Project.
For this project, students will research and share some facts on their inventor on a poster, which will have a hole in the middle for the kids’ face. To present, the kids will hold the decorated poster to their face and present as they are the inventor while sharing some facts to the class.
The research of this project is done at school and then the students are encouraged to complete the poster at home with their family. If needed, I also provide the poster and markers for some of my students who may need the supplies.
This project is one of my favorites since the kids’ posters are so adorable, and they have so much fun with it!
If you need resources to introduce some famous American inventors to your students, check out my Famous Inventors Packet below! This set includes signs, graphic organizers, and writing activities that can be combined into a student booklet!
