For a Google version of this lesson plan, click here. (Note: you will need to make a copy of the document to edit it).
Overview
In this lesson, students will learn about the invention process — a system for designing and improving big ideas. Students will focus on drawing a design or building a prototype and providing feedback to make their invention better. Students will interview each other about their inventions sketches and ways they could continue to improve their designs.
Essential question:
How can the invention process help students design solutions to problems in their communities?
Objectives
- Students will learn about the invention process.
- Students will practice sketching, drawing or designing basic prototypes to everyday challenges.
Subjects
Science, CTE, social studies, STEM, humanities
Grade levels
Grades 6-12
Estimated time
One or two 50-minute class periods
Supplemental links
Introduction
Have you ever had a great idea for a new invention? Or maybe you’ve just felt that a tool you use on a regular basis should work better. These ideas are what inspire new inventions. So, how do you turn an idea into something that actually works.
Teacher preparation for the lesson
- Adjust teacher presentation as needed to fit your classroom needs
- Materials to print (optional)
- Warm-up activity printed questions (½ sheet per student)
- Collect materials for building/designing. Can use whatever is at hand, including paper/pen, scrap cardboard, building blocks or other readily available materials in the classroom. For the suggested scenario in this lesson, rubber bands, paper or binder clips, cardboard tubes, tape, string or construction paper might be helpful. Collect them in a clear location or table in the classroom for the students to access.
Materials
Adjust teacher presentation as needed to fit your classroom needs.
- Paper and pencil or other sketching materials
- Student warm-up handout (optional)
- Materials for building/designing. Can use whatever is at hand, including paper/pen, scrap cardboard, building blocks or other readily available materials in the classroom. For the suggested scenario in this lesson, rubber bands, paper or binder clips, cardboard tubes, tape, string or construction paper might be helpful. Collect them in a clear location in the classroom for the students to access.
- Internet connection for the warm-up activity
Warm-up activity (10 minutes)
- What is the invention process? Choose one of the following videos to find out:
The Engineering Design Process: A Taco Party (3:38)
Spark!Lab Smithsonian presents the Invention Process (8:56)
- As the video plays, have students write down answers to the questions below and share out after the video (optional: printable version can be found here).
- What is the invention process?
- How does the process help inventors develop their ideas?
- Why are feedback and tweaks to original designs essential to the process?
Main activity (30 minutes)
Now, students will have a chance to create their own inventions using the invention process.
Note: The following activity is just one suggestion for a quick, fun invention that helps students understand the invention process. You can use a different challenge, including ideas students generated on their own from one of our earlier lessons.
Read or adapt the following scenario as needed to better fit the age and experiences of your students:
Your friend has injured their hand in gym class and can’t close their grip to hold a pencil. The friend has a big test coming up in science class in 30 minutes, and as it stands the friend won’t be able to write answers very well. How can you help them out?
By using the invention process, you will come up with a design using objects and materials at the front of the room to make it possible to write with a pencil without being able to hold the pencil with a firm grip.
Build (5 min)
Organize the class into teams of two. Give students just 5 minutes to play with available materials and a pencil to brainstorm ideas for their invention. Remind them that they don’t have to make the design perfect right away.
Feedback (2 min)
After 5 minutes have students freeze on their build find a partner team and describe what they were creating (1 min to describe per partner). What was working and what was going wrong? Be sure to set a timer and remind the students to switch. After both partners have shared give the students 2 min to talk about how the designs could be improved.
Sketch (5 min)
Now ask the students to sketch out their invention, including demonstrating how it would fit comfortably in their friend’s injured hand (take no more than 5 minutes).
Build (5 min)
Students can finish building their assistive devices.
Feedback (5 min)
After students finish the build, have them work with a partner or in a small group. Taking turns, students should explain the design and then let their partner try out writing with their device.
The partner should try out the device and then offer constructive feedback. Have them consider these questions or any others they think of:
- Does the device hold a pencil firmly?
- Can you write well with it?
- Does it seem stable, like it could hold up through a whole test?
- Is it comfortable to use?
- What could make the experience of using it better?
Build
Using their partners’ suggestions, students take another 5 minutes to tweak their inventions to make them work better.
Debrief (10 minutes)
As students are sharing with their partners, pick 3-4 students to share their designs. Look for students that leaned into the process even if the end result is less than ideal.
Discuss:
- What were some of the things that failed or didn't work in the original idea?
- What were some of the improvements they made in the second phase of the building process?
- If they had access to any materials, how could they make their device even better, or even something that they could produce for others that needed it?
- What other ways could their device be used to make people’s lives easier?
- Discuss how the invention process, including feedback and tweaks, helped make the inventions better.
Extension activities
- PBS NewsHour Classroom has developed a series of lessons to get your students started working through the invention process. Other lessons in the series include problem identification, seeing yourself as an inventor , pitching your invention and patenting your invention.
- Here you will find a comprehensive list of invention education resources that support the work you are doing in the classroom.
Standards
NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
Engineering and Design High School
HS-ETS1-1: Analyze a major global challenge
HS-ETS1-2: Design a solution to a complex real-world problem
HS-ETS1-3: Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem
- Engineering and Design Middle School
MS-ETS1-1: Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem
MS-ETS1-2: Evaluate competing design solutions
MS-ETS1-3: Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences
*Note: Depending on what invention the students are working on, other NGSS will apply. You can follow our links for a highlighted PDF of the standards that could be applied for your specific classroom: Middle School NGSS and High School NGSS.
Common Core
Common Core: English Language Arts
RI.4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text
SL.1: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations
SL.2: Integrate and evaluate information
SL.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence
SL.5: Express information and enhance understanding of presentations
L.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown words
Common Core History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects
RH.4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text
RH.7: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats
WHST.8: Gather relevant information and integrate the information
MP3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3)
NCSS C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards
D4.2.3-5: Communicating conclusions and taking informed action
D4.2.6-8: Communicating conclusions and taking informed action
D4.2.9-12: Communicating conclusions and taking informed action
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