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Inventors and Inventions
Theme Unit

Short Reading Comprehensions
Very Quick Readers
     Frisbees! (Very Quick Reader; Grades 2-4 Readability)
     What Is Braille? (Very Quick Reader; Grades 2-4 Readability)
     Gum (Very Quick Reader; Grades 3-5 Readability)
     Inventions - What Does It Do? (Very Quick Reader; Grades 3-6 Readability)

Short Readers
     Slinky: The Dropped Spring (Short Reader; Grades 3-4 Readability)
     Rubik's Magic Cube (Short Reader; Grades 3-4 Readability)
     Thank You, Mr. Bell! (Short Reader; Grades 3-5 Readability)
     The Ballpoint Pen (Short Reader; Grades 3-5 Readability)
     It's in the Can! (Short Reader; Grades 3-6 Readability)
     A Mistake That Worked (Short Reader; Grades 3-6 Readability)
     SCUBA (Short Reader; Grades 5-8 Readability)
     Jon Bohmer: The Kyoto Box (Short Reader; Grades 5-8 Readability)

Spanish
     El bolígrafo (grades 3-5)


Reading Comprehensions
Inventors
     Kid Inventors (Grades 4-6)
     Mary Anderson, Inventor of the Windshield Wiper (Grades 7-8)
     Nicholas Appert: Inventor of Canned Food (Grades 3-6)
     Alexander Graham Bell (Grades 8-9)
     Benjamin Banneker (Grades 5-7)
     Louis Braille (Grades 3-4)
     William Seward Burroughs
     George Washington Carver: The Plant Doctor (Grades 6-8)
     Joshua Lionel Cowen (Grades 4-5)
     John Deere (Grades 7-8)
     Charles Drew (Grades 5-7)
     The Duryea Brothers (Grades 3-4)
     George Eastman (Grades 9-12)
     Thomas Alva Edison - Bright Ideas (Grades 4-6)
     Thomas Edison: The Wizard of Menlo Park (Grades 7-8)
     Thomas Edison (Hi/Lo Grades 3-5)
     George W. G. Ferris (Grades 8-9)
     Henry Ford (Grades 7-9)
     Sir Alexander Fleming (Grades 6-8)
     Ben Franklin: Founding Father and Inventor (Grades 4-6)
     Benjamin Franklin (Grades 7-8)
     Johannes Gutenberg (Grades 9-10)
     Ed Headrick (Grades 6-7)
     Jack Kilby: Bringing in the Future (Grades 6-8)
     Margaret E. Knight (Grades 6-7)
     Cyrus McCormick (Grades 8-9)
     Elijah McCoy (Grades 4-5)
     Garret A. Morgan, Inventor of Safety Devices (Grades 5-6)
     Samuel F. B. Morse
     Louis Pasteur (Grades 8-9)
     Nikola Tesla (Grades 9-12)
     Jethro Tull (Grades 5-6)
     George Westinghouse (Grades 8-9)
     Eli Whitney (Grades 4-6)
     Eli Whitney (Grades 7-8)
     Granville T. Woods (Grades 5-7)
     Ed Yost, Father of Modern Hot Air Ballooning (Grades 5-6)

Inventions
     What Is Your Favorite Color? (Grades 2-3)
     The Swoosh (Grades 2-3)
     More Than Up and Down (Grades 2-3)
     Zip It Shut With Velcro (Grades 3-5)
     A Bad Trick (Grades 3-6)
     The Real Toy Story (Grades 4-5)
     Who Invented Chopsticks? (Grade 4-6)
     The Invention of Masking Tape (Grades 4-6)
     Adopting Your Own Cabbage Patch Kid (Grades 4-6)
     Is There Really a Rubik Who Invented a Cube? (Grades 4-6)
     The Polaroid Camera (Grades 5-6)
     The Inventors of Coca-Cola (Grades 5-7)
     Inventors of Recipes (Grades 5-7)
     Inventors of the Guitar (Grades 5-7)
     Get Your Pictures Instantly (Grades 5-7)
     Building a Lego World (Grades 5-7)
     The Greeks: Masters of Invention, Part 1 (Grades 5-7)
     The Greeks: Masters of Invention, Part 2 (Grades 5-7)
     Inventors of the Wheel (Grades 6-7)
     The Invention of Chewing Gum (Grades 6-7)
     Inventors of Toys (Grades 6-8)
     Steam Power (Grades 6-8)
     Building a Better Mousetrap, Part 1 (Grades 7-8)
     Building a Better Mousetrap, Part 2 (Grades 7-8)
     Inventors of the Alphabet (Grades 8-9)
     The Inventors of Penicillin (Grades 8-9)
     Inventions for Babies (Grades 8-9)
     Inventors of the Automobile Engine (Grades 9-12)
     Inventors of the Radio (Grades 9-12)
     Inventions to Overcome Disabilities (Grades 9-12)
     Mr. Spud (Hi/Lo Grades 2-3)

Spanish
     La invención de la cinta adhesiva (grades 4-6)

French
     L'invention du ruban de masquage (grades 4-6)

Italian
     L'invenzione del nastro adesivo protettivo (grades 4-6)

German
     Die Erfindung des Abdeckbands (grades 4-6)


Read and Color
            The Master of Invention
            A Hotel on Wheels
            Sarah E. Goode: Inventor of the Hideaway Bed
            John Deere
            Kid Inventor: Becky Schroeder and the Glo-Sheet
             A Tale of Two Brothers
             Going Up? The Invention of the Elevator (PDF file)
            Chester Greenwood: Boy Inventor
            Copy That: The Xerox Story
            A Soft-spoken Genius: George Washington Carver
            Taking Care of Yourself: The Band Aid
            The Big Wheel: G.W. Ferris, Jr. and the Ferris wheel
            The Amazing Tin Can


Book Units
    What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? (Grades 1-3)
    Brainstorm! The Stories of Twenty American Kid Inventors (Grades 4-6)
    The Diamond of Darkhold (Grades 4-6)
    The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Grades 4-6)
    Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident (Grades 4-9)


Science Project
    Inventors and Inventions Science Activity


Bulletin Board
       Inventors Bulletin Board (black and white)

Inventors Bulletin Board (color)


Inventors and Inventions Analogies
             Inventors and Inventions Analogies


Finish the Story
     Small Inventor Big Invention (Grades 3-4)
     Robbie's Invention (Grades 3-6)
     An Adventure in Time (Grades 3-6)
     Mousetrap (Grades 4-6)


Writing
Inventions Draw and Write
Inventions Draw and Write

Writing Prompts
     Writing Prompts - Inventors


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