Exploring Invention with Picture Books

Recently my sixth graders began researching ancient civilizations, and one topic which seemed to excite them was the inventions created thousands of years ago that we still use today. That's not surprising; children, after all, are born creators. So what better way to end the school year than by giving students opportunities to be artists and inventors?

Recommended Books

The best way to get students excited about invention is to provide loads of fabulously illustrated books on the topic. One of my new favorites is A Native American Thought of It: Amazing Inventions and Innovations, by Rocky Landon and David MacDonald (Annick Press). By now we all know that moccasins, canoes, and snow shoes were invented by Native Americans, but how many of us knew that these amazingly adaptive people also created syringes, diapers, and hockey? This inviting book contains lots of awesome pictures and just enough information to get students hooked.

Equally exciting is the companion book The Inuit Thought of It: Amazing Arctic Innovations by Alootook Ipellie and David MacDonald (Annick Press). In a land where it rarely gets above freezing, and much of each apart of the year is spent in either 24 hour darkness or light, you need to be pretty clever in order to survive with the limited resources nature provides. In addition to being fantastic reads for an invention theme, both of these picture books fit in well with the theme of survival.

Invention, of course, goes beyond rudimentary survival. Later scientists and inventors would seek to improve upon the ways that people live and work. Alfred Nobel: The Man Behind the Peace Prize, for example, is a short yet intriguing account of the man who invented dynamite. From the inside cover:

Alfred Nobel was born in Sweden in 1833. A quick and curious mind, combined with a love of science and chemistry, drove him to invent numerous technological devices throughout his long life. But he is perhaps most well known for his invention of dynamite.

Intending it to help safely advance road and bridge construction, Nobel saw his most famous invention used in the development of military weaponry. After reading a newspaper headline mistakenly announcing his death, Nobel was inspired to leave a legacy of another sort.

Even middle school students will appreciate how author Kathy-Jo Wargin and illustrator Zachary Pullen capture Nobel's life story in concise picture book format. As an extension activity, students might research a winner of the Peace Prize (all listed in the back of the book) and create a similar picture book format biography. (For other extension ideas, visit the Sleeping Bear Press site for the free, downloadable teaching guide to accompany the book).

Closer to the heart of many children (certainly my own!) would be The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth, written by Kathleen Krull and illustrated by Greg Couch (Knopf Books for Young Readers). For many years Farnsworth's innovations and discoveries went unheralded, and yet he was truly a pioneer in his field (there's an inside joke there if you've read the book).

In addition to the supplemental materials at the book's end, be sure to check out the teacher's guide for this book, which includes an interview with the author. You might recall that Kathleen Krull is the talented author of Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (and the Country); I recommended that title in a post about persuasive writing. She's also the author of four fab titles in the Giants of Science Series: Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, and Sigmund Freud. Yes, we've seen all of these folks written up before, but Krull's approach is a fresh one that makes these "old, dead scientists" come to life for today's students.

Recommended Sites and Activities for Observing and Researching
(Stuff to Read and Discuss)

History of Invention
The History of Invention shows students just how old some of our innovations are! What invention, not pictured at the site, will your students investigate?

PBS Technology at Home
Take an interactive tour through the 20th century to see how technology changed the American home.

Inventive Kids
Cool interactive games to learn about inventors and inventions (lots of women inventors!).

PBS Kids Wayback
At Wayback, Students learn about tech circa 1900. Many fascinating innovations came about at this time!

The Secret Life of Scientists
I recently blogged on The Secret Life of Scientists at my Teaching that Sticks site. Kids will dig learning how modern, real-life scientists are putting their passions to work in the field. By way of example, check out scientist Nate Ball.

New Scientist Video
New Scientist video channel at Youtube features short video features of the latest in scientific advances.

Franklin's Interactive Lifetime
An interactive timeline about Benjamin Franklin's amazing life and inventions. Lots to see and do here!

Franklin Institute
Online and off-line activities for science learning from the Franklin Institute.

Kid Inventors' Day
Kid Inventors' Day is January 17 each year (mark that on your calendar!). This site features some ways to observe it. You can find more neat videos and ideas for this annual event at the Meet Me at the Corner site.


Recommended Sites and Activities for Playing and Learning
(Stuff to Do Online)

Launchball
At Launchball, students learn about the common properties of objects as well as electronics as they attempt to meet the challenge of each level in this addicting, physics based game.

Bloxorz
Addicting to say the least, Bloxorz requires that students manipulate various elements of a levitating path to move a block to its destination. Easier said than done, and twice as fun.

EdHeads
Edheads features cool, interactive, online explorations with simple machines (and some other neat experiments as well).

Invention Playhouse
The Invention Playhouse features cool ideas to explore online.

Recommended Sites and Activities for Doing and Learning
(Stuff to Do Hands-On, Off-Line!)

Instructables
Instructables are easy-to-do, fun experiments, explained through whole-page, full-color cartoons. (Check out the cool Underwater Viewer pictured here).

Whelmers
Whelmers are really cool science activities which require minimum materials to achieve maximum wow effect.

Hunkin's Experiments
Hunkin's Experiments is a one-stop shop for some really cool experiments. Simple cartoons (as fun as the experiments themselves) walk you through the steps.

ADDED 5/24/10:
Surfing Scientist
Surfing Scientist is a popular show and site in Australia, but not as well known here in U.S. Really cool experiments to be done with easy-to-find objects, with full explanations of the scientific principles.

Recommended Picture Books for Black History, Part II

This post is way overdue! But the fact is, the books I'm about to share are great for any time of the year, and certainly need not be limited to Black History Month. Be sure to also check out Part One of this post for more great ideas!

George Crum and the Saratoga Chips, written by Gaylia Taylor and illustrated by Frank Morrison, is a terrific tale of invention. Having always felt like an outsider because of the color of his skin, George Crum thinks he's finally found in his place as chef at a prestigious Saratoga Springs restaurant. But when a customer's complaint makes him feel inferior, his inventiveness helps to create one of America's finest "delicacies," now enjoyed in almost every American home.

Students, of course, love to create, so some exercises in invention are in order as an extension to this fun book. There tons of sites on invention, but I'm a teacher, and I know you don't want messy, time-consuming projects to litter your classroom! Here instead are a few simple, neat web links to explore:

• African American Inventors is a site designed for upper grade students, but can be easily navigated with just a little assistance. There students can research achievements of an assigned Black American. If you need a few names to get started, see Cengage Learning's Invent-O-Rama page.
• Meet Me at The Corner is a cool virtual field trip site, and their video on Kid Inventors' Day is supplemented with some simple follow-up questions and activities.
• Whizzball allows students to either solve or create a pathway of gadgets to move a ball from one place to another in a Mousetrap-like environment. Extremely open-ended and adaptable to many skill levels.
• The History of Invention is a cool invention timeline which can be scrolled either vertically or horizontally. There students can learn about the origins of the "stuff" they use every day.

Jimmy "Wink" Winkfield is the inspiration behind The Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby, written by Crystal Hubbard and illustrated by Robert McGuire. Jimmy Winkfield is the only black Jockey to win two Kentucky Derby titles back to back, and for this honor was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs. This book chronicles his determination to win on and off the track in the face of increasing racism in the world of horse racing.

• After reading this book, students may want to explore the world of horse racing, and the Reading Recommendations page from the official Kentucky Derby Museum is a good place to start.
• For more information about black jockeys, and Isaac Murphy in particular (mentioned in The Last Black King as one of racing's most successful riders), check out the article African-Americans in Racing.
• Lee and Low books provides an interesting interview with author Crystal Hubbard. In addition to speaking about The Last Black King, Hubbard discusses what readers can learn from books about sports. Reading that interview may spark an idea for a wider reading of sports picture books (see Floyd Cooper's titles below). Also be sure to check out Hubbard's most recent book, Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl's Baseball Dream.
• And of course, here's a silly horse racing game your students will probably enjoy.

Muhammad Ali: Champion of the World, written by Jonah Winter and illustrated by Francois Roca, tells the tale of the man who would be King, not on the race track, but in the boxing ring.

This is the true Ali: proud, controversial, devastating. Roca's thick, sculpturesque paintings are the perfect complement to Winter's narrative, which echoes the language and rhythm of the Book of Genesis. All in all, a satisfying, fact-filled tribute to the Champion of the World.

Be sure to check out Ali's complete biography, as this book is certain to prompt questions from many students. From Ali's own official site, you'll find many video segments of his greatest fights.

Willie and the All Stars, written and illustrated by Floyd Cooper, is one of that author's finest titles. While many of us know Floyd Cooper as simply an illustrator, providing beautiful images for the words of others (as in Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea, by Joyce Carol Thomas), Willie and the All-Stars establishes Cooper as a double threat talent.

Young Willie dreams of playing professional baseball one day, but is dissuaded from pursuing that dream because, after all, Blacks don't play in the major leagues in 1942 America. He's close to giving up hope until one day a neighbor gives him tickets to an exhibition game between Negro League and Major League All-Stars at Wrigley Field. The Negro League players, led by Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson, quickly impress the crowd with their determination playing style, and through their grit edge the much-favored major leaguers for the win. The book ends with a glimmer of hope for Willie and boys like him as white and black players shake hands on the field at game's end. An author's note adds a bit of history regarding the Negro Leagues.

This book would, of course, be a perfect companion title to Let Them Play, mentioned in my Recommended Picture Books for Black History Month, Part I post. Let Them Play details the struggle of young players which mirrored those of their idols.

Following a reading of Willie and the All Stars, students may wish to explore the history of Negro Leagues. A good place to start would be Carole Boston Weatherford's A Negro League Scrapbook or Kadir Nelson's excellent We Are the Ship. See my Going Extra Innings with Baseball Picture Books post for questions, lessons, and more online extensions.

For further research and activities, you'll find everything you need at the Negro Baseball League site at 42Explore (Four to Explore). Using the resources there, students can create a baseball card, player biography, or team poster, or complete a webquest on Negro Baseball.