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Handout
Great Idea Finder

The Great Idea Finder: Inventor Granville Woods Biography

For Students 9th - 10th
A detailed biography of Granville T. Woods, who was known as "the Black Edison" because of his many inventions. He is best known for greatly improving the safety of railroads by his invention of the Multiplex Railway Telegraph.
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Article
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Wilson Greatbatch

For Students 9th - 10th
Cardiac pacemaker inventor, Wilson Greatbatch, is featured in this brief biography.
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Website
PBS

Pbs Nova: The Other Elevator Inventor

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the early world of elevator technology. You will find out that there were actually two people with the name of Otis involved in the invention of the elevator: Elisha Otis and Otis Tufts. The practical technology won out. Click on...
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Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Everyday Mysteries: Who Invented the Automobile?

For Students 9th - 10th
Not an easy answer! Many people contributed to the invention of the automobile as there were many different types of automobiles and many different types of parts that went into them. Here's a good summary of the inventors.
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Article
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Invention of the Week: Robert Jarvik: Artificial Heart

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about Robert Koffler Jarvik, the "inventor of the first permanently-implantable artificial heart." This article provides a biography of the inventor, the reasons why he became interested in creating an artificial heart, and his...
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Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Robert Moog

For Students 3rd - 8th
Robert Moog fused his love music and electronics when he invented the synthesizer. This website includes background information on the creation of the synthesizer and provides several links.
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Handout
Smithsonian Institution

Lemelson Center: Inventors' Stories: Paul Mac Cready

For Students 3rd - 8th
Article on the inventions of Paul MacCready, who developed the world's first human-powered flight machine, called the Gossamer Condor.
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Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Invention of the Week: Cyrus Mc Cormick

For Students 9th - 10th
Called the "Father of Modern Agriculture," Cyrus McCormick invented the mechanical reaper, which turned the prairies of the Midwest into "the 'breadbasket' of the nation." This article, in addition to telling about the creation of the...
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Article
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Invention of the Week: Bessie Blount: Self Feeding Device for Amputees

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about Bessie Blount's contribution to medicine--her work as a physical therapist and her invention of a feeding device for amputees.
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Handout
Science Struck

Science Struck: Significant Inventions of the Industrial Revolution

For Students 4th - 8th
This resource presents a long list of important inventions during the First Industrial Revolutions, organized consecutively from 1701-1839. Includes short descriptions and images. This is followed by a table listing inventions from the...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: How an 11 Year Old Boy Invented the Popsicle by Shelby Pope for Npr

For Students 7th - 9th
A learning module that begins with "How an 11-Year-Old Boy Invented the Popsicle" by Shelby Pope, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned...
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Handout
Science Struck

Science Struck: Inventions of the 1800s

For Students 9th - 10th
Many modern items were invented in the 1800s. This resource presents a lengthy chronological list of significant inventions from the 1800s and their inventors.
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Handout
Science Struck

Science Struck: 41 Smart Inventions of the 1920s

For Students 3rd - 8th
Provides descriptions of many well-known innovations that were invented in the 1920s.
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Unknown Type
Louisiana Department of Education

Louisiana Doe: Louisiana Believes: Social Studies: Grade 4: Inventions and the Great Plains

For Teachers 4th
Read and study the sources about inventions from the late 1800s. As you read the three sources, think about the effects that the inventions had on the American economy.
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Article
A&E Television

History.com: 6 Key Inventions by Thomas Edison

For Students 9th - 10th
Edison's genius was improving on others' technologies and making them more practical for the general public. Thomas Edison applied for his first patent in 1868, when he was just 21 years old. The famous inventor's first brainchild was...
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Handout
Other

African American Inventors and Their Inventions: Granville T. Woods

For Students 9th - 10th
Here is a thorough biography of inventor Granville T. Woods, who is credited with improving railway safety for bot the trains and trainmen. Find out what concepts in railroad safety are still being used today.
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Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Granville T. Woods: The Multiplex Telegraph

For Students 9th - 10th
A description of Granville Woods' successful invention, the multiplex telegraph, which greatly improved railroad safety. From the Lemelson-MIT Project.
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Article
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Anna Keichline

For Students 3rd - 8th
At this site from Massachusetts Institute of Technology you can read about inventors, Anna Keichline and Lillian Gilbreth, who sought to make women's lives easier through their household items.
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Handout
Science Struck

Science Struck: 8 Albert Einstein Inventions That Impacted the World

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes the refrigerator invented by Einstein and many of his discoveries in physics.
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Handout
Science Struck

Science Struck: Famous Scientists and Their Inventions

For Students 9th - 10th
A long list of scientists and their world-changing inventions.
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Steps to Inventing

For Teachers 2nd Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text listing the four steps kids can follow to become inventors. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
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Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Jan Matzeliger

For Students 9th - 10th
Jan Ernst Matzeliger is remembered for his creation that had a tremendous effect on the shoe industry. He was a Surinamese inventor of the "lasting machine," patented in 1883.
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Website
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Chester Carlson

For Students 9th - 10th
Massachusetts Institute of Technology provides interesting information on Chester F. Carlson, the inventor of the photocopier. The site provides good background on the history of the photocopier, and a photo of Carlson.
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Article
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: R. Buckminster Fuller

For Students 3rd - 8th
Read about the transcendentalist and inventor, R. Buckminster Fuller, who created the geodesic dome.

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