ES Literacy Reading Grade 4: Inventions

We believe that students need a base of knowledge, often referred to by scholars and education experts as “core knowledge,” to learn and explore topics at a more sophisticated level. For example, if you do not know anything about the Bible or Greek Mythology, it is nearly impossible to understand anything about the history of Western Art.

An increasing number of kids today have extreme deficits in core knowledge which impede their further acquisition of knowledge and understanding. They do not know anything about the Founding Fathers and the key debates of the Revolutionary War period; therefore, it is very difficult for them to understand the Civil War.

We address the challenges of core knowledge deficits primarily through reading (which is why it is so imperative that your kids read voraciously at home and at school), but we also address it through deliberate efforts to give our scholars quick hits of background knowledge, through what we call core knowledge units.

Inventions are a fascinating lens through which scholars can study history. Our scholars are always curious to hear about how people have lived in the past. Examining the creation of various inventions allows scholars to imagine and understand the past more concretely.

Scholars will learn about how several key inventions (including the telephone, electricity, and cars) changed and revolutionized Americans’ lives. Scholars will also investigate the negative effects of inventions, such as pollution and waste.

If you do your job well, your scholars will understand:

• Key inventions of the 19th century.
• How inventions changed and revolutionized American lives.
• The unintended, negative effects of inventions.

As in all reading units, your job as a teacher is to ensure that your students are reading at home and at school. Meet with the parents of scholars who are falling short on their at-home reading. If you cannot convince parents to ensure that their children are keeping up with their homework, you need to manage up to leadership.

It is your responsibility to ensure that ALL of your scholars are reading 6 days a week at home!

Scholars will explore and learn about inventions through two exciting projects.

• A Letter to Ford
  • Scholars write a letter to the Ford Motor Company proposing a solution to the pollution that cars create. They must convince the company that their proposed solution is the best option, explaining why it will be successful in curbing or stopping pollution and how the company can adopt it.
• An Invention of Your Own + Commercial
  • Scholars identify a problem in our daily lives, and create an invention to solve it! They will bring their inventions to life in 3D using a variety of art supplies that fit their needs.
    They will then script a commercial for the invention, which will be filmed.

Every day you will have 2 hours for your scholars to become investigators of inventions.

Some days the focus is investigating and studying to learn more, while other days center around project work.

Your day might include:

• Launch (5–7 min.): This is brief. You need to quickly set your scholars up for success, without unnecessary teacher talk. Your purpose here is to allow your scholars to start working independently, as quickly as possible. If you can do it in 5 minutes, do so!
• Read to Learn (45 min.): Through Read Alouds (30 min.) and Shared Texts (15 min.), you will model how to research and develop expertise about a topic.
• Writing (30 min.): Through writing, scholars will further develop their expertise by recording the details and big ideas they have learned.
• Independent Reading (30 min.): Scholars will have time to both explore the topic through core knowledge-related texts and to read their just-right books.
• Project Work (45 min. or more): Scholars engage in the topic through hands-on, first-hand experiences and create projects to share and communicate what they have learned.

Facilitating meaningful learning through a core knowledge unit is challenging, because there are materials to manage and the work is open-ended. But this is the very reason why it is valuable and engaging for our scholars.

Your level of preparation and your clarity of purpose make all the difference. You also need a North Star. You need to know what excellent fourth-grade work for this unit looks like. Fortunately, we have many samples. Study them and know what you are shooting for. You need to know what the work should look like, and you need to be striving to get ALL your kids’ work there!

Guard against exploration without rigor! Scholars’ experiences should spark questions and further investigation about the topic.

Museum: The study culminates with an exhibition, or museum, showcasing scholars’ work, and most importantly, all that they’ve learned about inventions. This is a great opportunity to get parents invested in their scholars’ academic work.

• Before the unit begins, you must plan backwards from your museum. The work scholars do daily will be the crux of the exhibition.
• Use project work time to check in with scholars to make sure their work demonstrates what they have learned. Is their work accurate? Is it neat and detailed? Does it demonstrate their best effort?
• Communicate with families early on about your museum so they can make plans in advance to attend and support it.
• Make a plan to prepare scholars to present their museum to visitors, guiding guests on a tour of their projects and demonstrating their excitement and expertise about the topic with clarity.

Effective Materials Management: Scholars will work with a variety of materials as they create their projects. Plan how you will manage the materials, but keep the focus on the content! Ask your art teacher for advice on managing the materials and when working with any unfamiliar medium.

• Scholars will use core knowledge journals and folders for their research and writing. Prepare these beforehand, making them special and exciting for scholars to use.
• You will need lots of space! Make sure you have a plan for how to use your classroom, including wall space within and outside of your four walls, to display scholar work and an Inventions word wall.

What makes for a successful invention?

How have inventions changed people’s everyday lives?

How can we teach others what we’ve learned?

Below is a list of additional resources not included in the lessons, which you can use to build scholars’ content knowledge.

Read Aloud:

• Going Up: Elisha Otis’s Trip to the Top
• Alexander Graham Bell (Science Biographies)
• Thomas Edison (Science Biographies)
• Transportation: From Walking to High-Speed Rail
• Work: From Plows to Robots
• Tales of Invention: The Car
• Tales of Invention: The Computer
• Tales of Invention: The Lightbulb
• Tales of Invention: The Telephone

What Does Success Look Like?

What makes for a successful invention?

Success is when scholars are able to describe why some inventions failed while others thrived.

Day 1

Engage — 1 minute

• Highlight that this unit will be an opportunity to learn how and why inventions were made, and what life was like before some inventions, such as the telephone and electricity!

Read to Learn — 15 minutes

• Show the Shared Text “Failed Inventions and Successful Inventions” under the ELMO. Scholars turn and talk to discuss why some inventions failed and some thrived.
• Read the Shared Text “Picture This.” Discuss how the camera changed, and why.

Writing/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Scholars each choose an article and write about what it taught them.
• Spend the first few minutes making sure all kids are on task. Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his writing goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
• Have scholars tell you their big ideas. Can their big ideas be made stronger? Do they support their ideas with evidence? Is their writing simple and clear? Do they reread their writing?
• Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals.
• Listen to scholars articulate and watch them write their ideas. Hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
• Choose two scholars who have strong ideas to share their paragraphs under the ELMO.
• Give scholars time to go back, reread, and revise their writing.

Read to Learn — 20 minutes

• Read the first few pages of the Shared Text “Inventing the Electric Light.”

Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
• Scholars must sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
• When kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone, spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify her reading level goal and what’s holding her back.
• Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding. Do they need to envision more? Do they need to stop after each paragraph and think about what the big idea is? Do they need to work on their fluency?
• Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

What Does Success Look Like?

What makes for a successful invention?

Success is when scholars are able to describe why some inventions failed while others thrived.

Day 2

Engage — 1 minute

• Engage scholars by telling them that today they’ll learn about the invention of something they’ve all probably ridden on—a bicycle!

Launch — 5–7 minutes

• Tell scholars that they’re going to first see, then read about, the invention of the bicycle, and how this piece of technology has changed over the years, just like the camera has.
• Each scholar creates a T-chart in his or her journal that lists “What we learned” and “What that makes us think.”

Virtual Field Study — 20 minutes

• Watch this short animated video, which uses artwork to portray the invention and evolution of the bicycle.
• Stop the video at key points to discuss how the bicycle changed, and why. Scholars take notes in their journals on the key changes they notice as the bike evolves.
• Have scholars turn and talk to discuss key changes the bicycle underwent over the years, and how these changes helped it become more user-friendly.

Read to Learn — 30 minutes

• Read the Shared Text “Bicycle.”

Writing/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Scholars first review their journal entries from yesterday on the invention of the camera, then write about how the designs of the bicycle and camera changed over time.
• Get your scholars focused and ensure that the room has a hushed tone. Narrate scholars who are meeting your expectations.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his writing goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
• Have scholars tell you their big ideas. Can their big ideas be made stronger? Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals.
• Listen to scholars articulate their ideas. Hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
• Choose two scholars who have strong ideas to share their journal entries under the ELMO. Give scholars time to go back, reread, and revise their writing.

Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
• Scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
• When kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone, spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify her reading level goal.
• Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding.
• Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

What Does Success Look Like?

What makes for a successful invention?

Success is when scholars are able to describe why some inventions failed while others thrived.

Day 3

Engage — 1 minute

• Engage scholars by telling them that now they’re going to look at a few failed inventions, and consider why they weren’t successful.

Launch — 5–7 minutes

• Scholars watch a video on a few famously failed inventions. They jot notes on why each invention failed, and how it could be improved.

Read to Learn — 30 minutes

• Give scholars a transcript of the video, and have them use it to complete their notes.
• Have scholars pick one invention that they think they could improve or redesign, and turn and talk to brainstorm about how they’d alter it.

Writing/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Scholars write about how they’d change one invention to make it more successful.
• Spend the first few minutes making sure all kids are on task. Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his writing goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
• Have scholars tell you their big ideas. Can their big ideas be made stronger? Do they support their ideas with evidence? Is their writing simple and clear? Do they reread their writing?
• Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals.
• Listen to scholars articulate and watch them write their ideas. Hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
• Choose two scholars who have strong ideas to share their paragraphs under the ELMO.
• Give scholars time to go back, reread, and revise their writing.

Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
• It is critical that scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
• When kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone, spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify her reading level goal and what’s holding her back.
• Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

What Does Success Look Like?

How have inventions changed people’s everyday lives?

Success is when scholars are able to articulate what electricity is and how it has changed people’s lives.

Day 4

Engage — 1 minute

• Tell scholars you’ll now be focusing on a few inventions that irrevocably changed people’s lives for the better. The first is one they all use daily—the lights!

Read to Learn — 15 minutes

• Read pages 15-16 from the Shared Text “Inventing the Electric Light.”
• Scholars turn and talk to discuss the information they’re learning, and what this makes them think.

Writing/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Scholars write about how the public reacted to the introduction of the electric lightbulb, and why.
• Spend the first few minutes making sure all kids are on task. Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his writing goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
• Have scholars tell you their big ideas. Can their big ideas be made stronger? Do they support their ideas with evidence? Is their writing simple and clear? Do they reread their writing?
• Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals.
• Listen to scholars articulate and watch them write their ideas. Hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
• Choose two scholars who have strong ideas to share their paragraphs under the ELMO.
• Give scholars time to go back, reread, and revise their writing.

Read to Learn — 20 minutes

• Read the first few pages of the Read Aloud What Color Is My World? by Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
• It is critical that scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
• When kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone, spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify her reading level goal and what’s holding her back.
• Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding.
• Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

What Does Success Look Like?

How have inventions changed people’s everyday lives?

Success is when scholars are able to articulate what electricity is and how it has changed people’s lives.

Day 5

Engage — 1 minute

• Tell scholars that today you’ll continue learning about an invention that changed the world for the better—electricity!

Read to Learn — 15 minutes

• Read pages 17-18 from the Shared Text “Inventing the Electric Light.” Scholars turn and talk to discuss the information they’re learning, and what this makes them think.

Virtual Field Study — 20 minutes

• Source a video clip (from the History Channel) which describes how and why the electric lightbulb was invented.
• Stop the video at key points to discuss how Thomas Edison thought of and created the lightbulb. Scholars take notes on the important details in their journals.
• Have scholars turn and talk to discuss what they learned from the video, and what that makes them think.

Writing/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Scholars write about how life changed after the invention of electricity.
• Spend the first few minutes making sure all kids are on task. Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his writing goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
• Have scholars tell you their big ideas. Can their big ideas be made stronger?
• Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals.
• Listen to scholars articulate and watch them write their ideas. Hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
• Choose two scholars who have strong ideas to share their paragraphs under the ELMO.
• Give scholars time to go back, reread, and revise their writing.

Read to Learn — 20 minutes

• Continue to read aloud What Color Is My World? by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
• It is critical that scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
• When kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone, spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify her reading level goal and what’s holding her back.
• Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding.
• Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

What Does Success Look Like?

How have inventions changed people’s everyday lives?

Success is when scholars are able to articulate what electricity is and how it has changed people’s lives.

Day 6

Engage — 1 minute

• Tell scholars that today is the last day they’ll be learning about electricity. We will focus on how electricity is produced today, and how that may be problematic for our environment.

Read to Learn — 15 minutes

• Read “Fossil Fuel Facts,” and have scholars turn and talk to discuss the information they’re learning, and what this makes them think.

Virtual Field Study — 20 minutes

• Watch this video, which describes what fossil fuels are, and how they’re affecting our environmental future.
• Stop the video at key points to discuss. Each scholar makes a chart in his or her journal with one column for “What I’m learning” and one column for “What this makes me think.”
• Have scholars turn and talk to discuss what they’ve learned about fossil fuels, and how this has affected their views on the benefits of electricity.

Writing/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Scholars write about the negative consequences of using electric lightbulbs.
• Spend the first few minutes making sure all kids are on task. Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his writing goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
• Have scholars tell you their big ideas. Can their big ideas be made stronger? Do they support their ideas with evidence? Is their writing simple and clear? Do they reread their writing?
• Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals.
• Listen to scholars articulate and watch them write their ideas. Hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
• Choose two scholars who have strong ideas to share their paragraphs under the ELMO. Give scholars time to go back, reread, and revise their writing.

Read to Learn — 20 minutes

• Finish reading aloud What Color Is My World? by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
• It is critical that scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
• When kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone, spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify her reading level goal and what’s holding her back.
• Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding.
• Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

What Does Success Look Like?

How have inventions changed people’s everyday lives?

Success is when scholars are able to articulate why the car was invented and how it changed people’s lives.

Day 7

Engage — 1 minute

• Tell scholars you’ll now focus on a different invention that has also had a great impact on our lives—the car!

Virtual Field Study — 20 minutes

• Watch this animated video, which shows how transportation has evolved over the past few centuries.
• Stop the video at key points to discuss the evolution of transportation over time. Scholars use journals to note key changes, or new means of transportation that were invented.
• Have scholars turn and talk to discuss what they’ve learned about the evolution of transportation, and how this has affected their own daily lives.

Read to Learn — 15 minutes

• Read the Shared Text “America Takes to the Road and Mass Producing the Car.” Scholars turn and talk to discuss the information they’re learning, and what this makes them think.

Writing/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Scholars write about why the car was invented.
• Spend the first few minutes making sure all kids are on task. Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his writing goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
• Have scholars tell you their big ideas. Can their big ideas be made stronger? Do they support their ideas with evidence? Is their writing simple and clear? Do they reread their writing?
• Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars articulate and watch them write their ideas. Hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
• Choose two scholars who have strong ideas to share their paragraphs under the ELMO.
• Give scholars time to go back, reread, and revise their writing.

Read to Learn — 20 minutes

• Read aloud the first few sections of Inventions, by Glenn Murphy.

Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
• It is critical that scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
• When kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone, spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify her reading level goal and what’s holding her back.
• Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding.
• Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

What Does Success Look Like?

How have inventions changed people’s everyday lives?

Success is when scholars are able to articulate why the car was invented and how it changed people’s lives.

Day 8

Engage — 1 minute

• Tell scholars we’ll continue to study the car, and today we’ll determine how so many were made so quickly!

Virtual Field Study — 20 minutes

• Watch this video of a documentary that describes who invented the automobile, and how it changed the lives of many.
• Stop the video at key points to discuss the inventor of the automobile, and its effect on people’s lives. Scholars each make a “What I’m learning” and “What that makes me think” chart.
• Have scholars turn and talk to discuss what they’ve learned about the development of the car, and people’s reaction to its invention.

Read to Learn — 15 minutes

• Read the Shared Texts “Car” and “Inventing the Car.” Scholars turn and talk to discuss the information they’re learning, and what this makes them think.

Writing/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Scholars write about how the invention of the car affected people’s daily lives.
• Spend the first few minutes making sure all kids are on task. Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his writing goal and what’s holding him back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
• Have scholars tell you their big ideas. Can their big ideas be made stronger? Do they support their ideas with evidence? Is their writing simple and clear? Do they reread their writing?
• Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals.
• Listen to scholars articulate and watch them write their ideas. Hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
• Choose two scholars who have strong ideas to share their paragraphs under the ELMO. Give scholars time to go back, reread, and revise their writing.

Read to Learn — 20 minutes

• Read aloud Inventions, by Glenn Murphy.

Independent Reading/Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
• It is critical that scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
• When kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone, spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify her reading level goal and what’s holding her back.
• Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding.
• Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

What Does Success Look Like?

How have inventions changed people’s everyday lives?

Success is when scholars are able to articulate why the car was invented and how it changed people’s lives.

Day 9

Engage — 1 minute

• Tell scholars that today they’ll get to study how cars have solved people’s problems, but have also created a few more.

Launch — 10 minutes

• Read the Shared Text “Cars and Pollution” under the ELMO. Have each scholar create a T chart in his or her journal, describing the benefits of cars on one side, and the drawbacks/problems with cars on the other.

Read to Learn — 20 minutes

• Read the Shared Text “Pollution: Possible Solutions.” Have scholars turn and talk to tell their partners which solution seems like the best one to them.

Project Work — 60 minutes

• Scholars each choose one solution to pollution: alternative fuels, electric cars, hybrid cars, or solar cars. Each scholar writes a letter to the Ford Motor Company asking it to fund one of these solutions. Scholars propose an alternative solution to the pollution problem cars are creating, give reasons why this is the best solution, and provide ideas about how the company could make this solution a reality.
• Get your scholars focused and ensure that the room has a hushed tone. Narrate scholars who are meeting your expectations.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar what solution she is proposing, and how she’s going to convince the company to adopt it.
• Have scholars tell you their big ideas. Can their big ideas be made stronger?
• Listen to scholars articulate and watch them write their ideas. Hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
• Choose two scholars who have written convincing letters to share them with the class.
• Give scholars time to go back, reread, and revise their letters.

Independent Reading/Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
• It is critical that scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
• When kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone, spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his reading level goal and what’s holding him back.
• Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

What Does Success Look Like?
How have inventions changed people’s everyday lives?

Success is when scholars can articulate why the telephone was invented and how it changed people’s lives.

Day 10

Engage — 1 minute

• Tell scholars you’re moving on to study the last great invention of this unit, one that they also all use regularly—the telephone!

Virtual Field Study — 20 minutes

• Watch a video from AT&T, which recreates what it was like when the telephone was first invented.
• Stop the video at key points to discuss how the telephone was invented, and how it functions. Scholars each make a “What I’m learning” and “What that makes me think” chart.
• Have scholars turn and talk to discuss what the telephone is like now, and how it differs from the original telephone.

Read to Learn — 15 minutes

• Read the Shared Text “Bell’s Experiments.”

Writing/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Scholars create a timeline using “Bell’s Experiments” to document how the telephone came to be invented, and the struggles along the way.
• Spend the first few minutes making sure all kids are on task. Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify her writing goal and what’s holding her back. Kids should know and articulate their goals!
• Have scholars tell you their big ideas. Can their big ideas be made stronger? Do they support their ideas with evidence? Is their writing simple and clear? Do they reread their writing?
• Listen to scholars articulate and watch them write their ideas. Hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
• Choose two scholars who have strong ideas to share their timelines under the ELMO.
• Give scholars time to go back, reread, and revise their writing.

Read to Learn — 20 minutes

• Read the Shared Text “Innovations.”

Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
• It is critical that scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
• When kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone, spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his reading level goal and what’s holding him back.
• Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding.
• Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

What Does Success Look Like?

How have inventions changed people’s everyday lives?

Success is when scholars can generate an innovative idea for a new product that solves a problem facing today’s population.

Day 11

Engage — 1 minute

• Tell scholars that today they’ll get to work on their culminating project—an invention of their own!

Read to Learn — 20 minutes

• Read the Shared Text “The Central Exchange.” Connect these switchboards to the video from yesterday. Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of using switchboards.

Launch — 10 minutes

• Tell scholars the culminating project of this unit has arrived. They know what makes an invention succeed or fail, and they’ve studied how inventions can change lives.
• Now they get to put on their creating hats, consider a problem in our daily lives, and innovate an invention to solve it! Scholars turn and talk to brainstorm. Share a few ideas.

Project Work — 60 minutes

• Each scholar creates a new invention in response to a problem in our lives today. Scholars can use many media to bring their inventions to life, but the designs must be 3D. Open a wide variety of resources to scholars, as they will likely need different supplies to help their ideas come to fruition.
• Scholars should have pipe cleaners, different-sized and/or broken-down cardboard boxes, clay and Play-Doh, cardstock and construction paper, extra math manipulatives such as pattern blocks, wooden geoblocks, pens, pencils, watercolors, and pastel crayons.
• Scholars will script and film commercials for their inventions tomorrow.
• Get your scholars focused and ensure that the room has a hushed tone. Narrate scholars who are meeting your expectations.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar what invention she’s creating, and what problem it solves.
• Have scholars tell you about their inventions. Can their ideas for inventions be made stronger? Listen to scholars articulate and watch them write their ideas. Hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
• Choose two scholars to share who have innovative ideas for inventions. Give scholars time to go back and revise their projects.

Read to Learn — 20 minutes

• Read aloud 100 Inventions That Made History, by DK Publishing.

Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
• It is critical that scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
• When kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone, spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his reading level goal and what’s holding him back.
• Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

What Does Success Look Like?
How have inventions changed people’s everyday lives?

Success is when scholars can sell an innovative new product to today’s population.

Day 12

Engage — 1 minute

• Tell scholars that today they’ll get to sell their inventions to the public by convincing them why they need these special products.

Virtual Field Study — 20 minutes

• Watch this video on “Top 10 Infomercials,” starting at 1:52, and stopping at 4:51.
• Pause after each infomercial to discuss these questions: What makes an awesome commercial? How do these commercials convince you that you need this product? How will you use this to sell your own invention?

Launch — 10 minutes

• Tell scholars that just as all great inventors had to sell their products to a skeptical public, they’ll have to do the same!
• Each scholar will get to script and act out a convincing commercial that tells the public what his product is, what problem it solves, and why every household in America needs one! Remind them to practice, as their commercials will be filmed just like real ones would!

Project Work — 60 minutes

• Scholars review the inventions they created yesterday, and script commercials that will sell them to the public. Brainstorm how to convince people they need the invention by thinking about the problem it solves.
• Commercials should be no longer than 30 seconds. Have scholars script, then film one another delivering their advertisements.
• Get your scholars focused and ensure that the room has a hushed tone. Narrate scholars who are meeting your expectations.
• Spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar how she’s going to sell her product and convince the public they need it.
• Have scholars practice delivering their commercials. Can their commercials be made stronger?
• Listen to scholars articulate and watch them write their ideas. Hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
• Choose two scholars who have created convincing commercials to share them with the class. Give scholars time to go back and revise their scripts and advertisements.

Read to Learn — 20 minutes

• Finish reading 100 Inventions That Made History, by DK Publishing.

Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minutes

• Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
• It is critical that scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
• When kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone, spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his reading level goal and what’s holding him back.
• Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

What Does Success Look Like?

How can we teach others what we’ve learned? You’ll know you’ve been successful when scholars are able to teach others key information about inventions.

Days 13-15

Project Work — 60 minutes

• Provide scholars with work time to polish their projects and prepare the museum.
• A Letter to Ford
  • Scholars each write a letter to the Ford Motor Company proposing a solution to the pollution that cars create. They must convince the company that their proposed solution is the best option, explaining why it will be successful in curbing or stopping pollution, and how the company can adopt it.
• An Invention of Your Own + Commercial
  • Scholars identify a problem in our daily lives, and create an invention to solve it! They will bring their inventions to life in 3D using a variety of art supplies that fit their needs. They will then script a commercial for the invention, which will be filmed.
• Display and label all project work.
• Plan and practice the format of the exhibition. What role will each scholar play? How will the museum flow?

Read to Learn — 30 minutes

• Read aloud from the additional Read Alouds or Shared Texts.

Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 30 minute

• Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
• It is critical that scholars sustain focused reading for 25 minutes.
• When kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone, spend 2-3 minutes working individually with 5-6 scholars. Ask each scholar to identify his reading level goal and what’s holding him back.
• Listen to scholars read, and assess their struggles and level of understanding.
• Model and give scholars strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.

Congratulations! You’ve reached the end of Inventions! As a result of teaching this unit, you, as the teacher, have:

• Taught students about the key inventions created in the 19th century.

Your scholars can:

• Name and describe the key inventions of the 19th century— electricity, car, and telephone.
• Describe how these inventions changed and revolutionized American lives.
• Outline the unintended, negative effects of inventions.

Celebrate your scholars by acknowledging the expertise they now have about inventions and explaining what they can now do as readers and writers as a result of the study. For example, scholars know how to read nonfiction texts, using the author’s choices—such as text features, imagery, or word choice—to understand the big idea.

Invite scholars to share what was most intriguing to them over the course of the study––and what they’re going to keep investigating on their own!

Reflect on your successes and stretches, as well as those of your scholars. Look at your informal F&P results. Have your scholars grown as readers over the last month?

Scholars must read at home, as well as in school. Are 100% of your kids reading 6 days a week at home? Make sure at-home reading is happening, and meet with families who are falling short to recommit them to this team effort.

Are 100% of your kids reading fluently? Are they using all of the tools at their disposal to figure out the meaning of what they are reading?

Are 100% doing their literacy homework?

Going into the summer, make specific reading goals for scholars. Set a goal for children who are not reading at home. Who will you get to consistently read at home? Set a goal for moving any scholars who are stuck. Why are they stuck? Do they read most or all words correctly? What is their struggle with decoding? Do they understand what they’re reading? Do they understand the big idea? How will you partner with parents to support their growth?

If you are having trouble meeting your goals, do not wait until you have NOT succeeded. Consult your colleagues. Consult your leaders. ASK FOR HELP so you can meet your goals!