InventionsAn Integrated Thematic Unit

ByDenise Ivey

Affective/SocialStudies

Brainstorm issues or Problems in our

School, community,State, world

Art & MusicUse an art technique

in theDesign of your product

Listen to different Types of music during

Creative times

CommunicationCreate a commercial

To advertiseYour product

Language ArtsWrite a poem or letter

To explain why theIssue is important

MathDetermine the cost

And profit of Their invention

PhilosophyWrite a speech to

Share whatQuestions andAttitudes you

Have discovered

ScienceUse the scientific method

To create your invention

TechnologyCreate a power point

Presentation aboutYour invention

Inventions

GENERALIZATIONS• Inventive thinkers create inventions to meet the changing needs

of society.• Creative thinking is needed to create new ideas and solve new

problems.• Consumers need to be informed about products they purchase.• Propaganda techniques can be used to sell products.• New information can change people’s attitudes.• People are a product of their environment.• There are many problems that need to be solved or improved.• Art is a way to express one’s feelings.• Empathy requires a sensitivity to all types of people.• Effective communicators speak with expression and passion.• Technology is the bridge to the future.• Each person can make a difference in the world.• When more people work together, change can happen more

quickly.• Inventive thinking requires a process, and metacognition is

being aware of the thinking and how it occurs.

AFFECTIVE/SOCIAL STUDIES

• GOAL: Students will understand how many problems and social issues affect our lives today, but we can make a difference in changing our attitudes and others.

• OBJECTIVE 1: Students will discuss and analyze the problems associated with child abuse, hate, and transient students, and decide what we can do to help.

• ACTIVITY 1: In a whole group, students will brainstorm the issues of child abuse, hate, and transient students and analyze how different people are affected by these issues in homes, schools, communities, states, countries, and the world today while one student writes all responses on a large sheet of butcher paper. Then we will discuss ways we could change our own attitudes as well as make other people more aware of the problem.

LANGUAGE ARTS

• OBJECTIVE: Students will use their creative and critical thinking as well as language arts skills to create their own poem or letter (essay components) to send to the local newspaper’s editorial column.

• ACTIVITY: Students will be given examples of some great poems of different types as well as some letters (essay-expository mode) to look at and identify why these are great examples. Then each student will create their own poem or letter about one of the following ideas: child abuse, hate, and transient students.

SCIENCE• GOAL: The students will learn how to think like an inventor.

• OBJECTIVE 1: The students will discover common characteristics of inventors.

• ACTIVITY 1: The students will read several biographies of famous inventors and will discuss common characteristics. Students will make a chart of the characteristics discussed.

• OBJECTIVE 2: The students will understand the process used by inventors to create inventions and scientific discoveries.

• ACTIVITY 2: The students will review the Talents Unlimited Model and the scientific model and discuss how these are used to create inventions and scientific discoveries.

TECHNOLOGY• GOAL 1: The students learn more about different inventions

and how to create their own invention by using the Internet as a source of research.

• OBJECTIVE 1: The students will see how using the Internet can help them gain more information about a topic of interest.

• ACTIVITY 1: The students will use the Internet to search different links about inventions created by students. This will help them learn about the process of creating inventions. Students will decide what invention they will create, and begin drawing out a plan, deciding what materials will be needed, and determining what the price of the invention would be, and how much they will could sell the product for, thus determining the profit.

TECHNOLOGY GOAL 2: The students will learn how using and

creating a Power Point presentation can help them share information with others.

• OBJECTIVE 2: The students will learn how to create a Power Point presentation and be able to add clip art, change text, use custom animation, transition time, and create a custom slide show to share information with others.

• ACTIVITY 2: The students will create their own Power Point presentation to share with the class. A teacher demonstration will be done prior to this lesson. Students will use transitions, custom animation, add pictures, change backgrounds, make decisions about the appeal of the show, and use communication skills to share their show with the audience.

CREATIVE THINKING• GOAL: Students will learn how using

their productive thinking, planning, decision making, communication, and predicting and forecasting thinking skills can help them create their invention.

• OBJECTIVE: Students will create their own invention using their thinking talents.

• ACTIVITY: Students will plan, draw, design, and create a model of their invention to share with the class.

MATH• GOAL: The students will use math skills to

understand about costs and profits in the real world.

• OBJECTIVE: The students will determine the cost of the materials needed to create their invention, price of the product, and profit that will be made from the sale of the product.

• ACTIVITY: The students will look through advertisements with prices of the materials needed to create their products, and determine and write down the cost of the materials. Then the students will establish and write down a price for the sale of their product, and the profit for selling the product.

LANGUAGE ARTS• GOAL: The students will learn to use better

decision making and communicating skills to sell and buy merchandise.

• Objective: Students will learn how to advertise to sell products as well as propaganda techniques that are used.

• Activity: Students will be given a sheet with information about propaganda techniques. Students will write a script to use in making a commercial to advertise their invention product and share this with the class.

PHILOSOPHY• GOAL: The students will reflect about what

questions have been brought to mind that have made them question certain issues, problems,

• and the creation of certain products.

• OBJECTIVE: The students will analyze and evaluate how children who are abused must feel, as well as what would cause a perpetrator to commit such an act; why people hate others; how transient students must feel in new schools.

• ACTIVITY: The students will write a speech to convey questions that have arisen during their study and share these with the class.

Assessment• Students will be assessed

throughout the unit. A variety of assessment procedures will be used such as: self-assessment, peer assessment, teacher assessment, anecdotal notes, class discussions, observations, checklists, rubrics.

Bloom’s TaxonomyChart of Activities

Knowledge Comprehension

Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation

Create a poem or write a

letter X X X X x x

Create an invention x x x x x x

Brainstorm/ discuss

attitudesx x x x x

Write a reflective speech

x x x x x xCreate

A Power Point presentation

x x xCreate a

commerical to advertise your

product

x x x x x xRead bios andmake charts x x x

Review model and method x x