Inventors and Inventions Project

 

Subjects:  Language Arts, Science, Information Literacy, AIG

Grade:  4

Technology tools:  Laptop(s), LCD Projector

Tools used:  Interactive website, Word processing, PowerPoint, Publisher, word art, clip art, use of ctrl key

Activity type:  Lesson, Unit, Project, Teacher presentation, Research, Tutorial

Objectives/Activities:

• conduct research using online sources
• cross-reference information using print sources & other online sources
• improve word processing skills (typing, copying/pasting images and text)
• build research skills (using appropriate seach criteria, choosing appropriate sources, scanning to find information in a timely fashion)
• gather information from online and print sources to create a bibliography (MLA format)
• build knowledge of inventions and inventors
• revise and edit work
• incorporate figurative language

 

*I provided tutorials as needed during these projects. Specific tutorials included how to open programs, how to find saved documents, how to use ctrl key to copy, paste, save, add new slides, how to navigate PowerPoint, etc. I also shared exemplars of each assignment.*

To get aquainted with scanning text to find specific information, to practice entering good search criteria, and to learn interesting facts about inventions, students participated in an online scavenger hunt and raced to find the correct answer. 

WHAT AM I? ASSIGNMENT:

Each student was assigned eight topics to research using  www.enchantedlearning.com. Here they gathered basic information about each invention (who invented it; when it was invented; what it is; what it does; how it works).

Next students used other online sources as well as print text to cross reference the information they gathered from Enchanted Learning and to find interesting facts about their eight inventions. Students entered this information into a PowerPoint presentation and found an image to accompany each invention, which they copied and pasted from Google Images. This information was shared with the 4th AIG Reading class through student presentations.

Last, students chose 3 topics (from the 8) and used the information gained in their research to write riddles about their inventions that incorporated figurative language (similies, metaphors, personification, imagery, onomatopoeia), which they included in a PowerPoint presentation. The students chose one riddle to include in a newsletter that was shared with their classes and parents. The riddles were also printed and posted in the room for other students to solve.

At Oakwood, students used the information from their inventions research to create Acrostic Poems. This information was compiled into a newsletter which was shared with their classes and parents.

WHO AM I? ASSIGNMENT:

Students were assigned a famous inventor to research using online sources. They then cross-referenced the information using other online sources and print sources. Students then chose 5-7 facts about the inventor's life to include on one slide in their PowerPoint presentation. Then they created another slide that told who the inventor was, what he invented, and when he was born & died. This information was compiled into a newsletter that was shared with their classes and parents. Their slides were also printed for display in the AIG room for others to enjoy. 

While there are no grades given in elementary AIG classes, I looked for the following items when critiquing the students' work:

Completion of tasks

Thoroughness and Accurarcy of Information Provided

Creativity & Use of Figurative Language (Riddle/Acrostic Poem)

If I were to do this activity again next year, I would lessen the number of topics each student was assigned. While my intention was to offer several choices for the riddle/acrostic writing assignment, some students seemed overwhelmed by the amount of topics and some topics did not offer as much material with which to work.

 

Sarah Ashley Byrd,  Oakwood, Viewmont