Social Studies Research and Practice
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Notable Trade Book Lesson Plan
Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci
Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin
Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives
Written by Gene Barretta
Jenna Morgan
Ruby Pickens Tartt Library
Chafony Poole
East Central Community College
Lynn Kelley
University of West Alabama
Jodie Winship
University of West Alabama
Gene Barretta’s books Neo Leo: The ageless ideas of Leonardo da Vinci, Now & Ben: The
modern inventions of Benjamin Franklin, and timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison changed
our lives give us a glimpse into the famous inventors’ lives and introduce us to their incredible
inventions. Neo Leo immerses readers in Leonardo da Vinci’s world as an artist, inventor,
engineer, and scientist. Leonardo da Vinci wrote and drew detailed pictures of innumerable
inventions, but never had the chance to build many of them. Now & Ben chronicles the life of
Benjamin Franklin who used his common sense and innovative thinking to design inventions that
changed society and our culture. Timeless Thomas provides readers with the opportunity to
examine Thomas Edison’s inventions and how they have changed over time. The following
lessons were designed to introduce the young child to the world of inventors and challenge them
to invent.
Lesson Plan 1
Title of NCSS
Notable Trade
Book:
Book Summary:
Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci
By: Gene Barretta
ISBN: 978-0—8050-8703-1
Book Ages: 5-9
Henry Holt and Company
New York
2009
This lesson should take approximately 45-60 minutes.
Designed for second grade or for Buddy groups.
In Neo Leo Barretta gives readers a look at Leonardo da Vinci as an
artist, inventor, engineer, and scientist. Leonardo da Vinci wrote and
drew detailed pictures of various inventions, but never had the chance
to build or test many of them. Examples of these include: robots,
cooking rotisseries, automobiles, gliders, airplanes, and more.
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NCSS Standards:
Materials:
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Culture
Time, Continuity, and Change
People, Places, and Environments
Production, Distribution, and Consumption
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Neo Leo
Pictures of drawings of Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions
Composition notebooks for each student
Pencil, markers, and crayons
Chart paper
Invention materials: paper, paper clips, rubber bands, wooden
craft sticks, pipe cleaners, scissors, and glue.
1. Students will demonstrate that anyone can be an inventor.
2. Students will explain how Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions
helped modern society.
3. Students will explain how Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings
emerged from everyday experiences.
4. Students will demonstrate an ability to apply information
about connections between Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions
and modern inventions.
5. Students will record ideas and attempts to create or invent in
their journals.
Objectives:
Procedures:
Exploration/
Introduction:
1. Ask, “What is an invention?” “Who can make inventions?”
“How would you make an invention?” “Who was Leonardo
da Vinci?”
2. Record each question on a separate chart with students’
answers on the corresponding chart.
Assessment: Check the charts for prior knowledge and understanding.
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Lesson
Development:
1. Read Neo Leo.
2. Read the book again, discussing Leonardo da Vinci’s
drawings of inventions and asking students after each set of
pages if they have seen some of these inventions today. (In
the book, the page on the left shows the invention or explains
a process that is understood today and on the right page is
Leonardo da Vinci’s illustration of the future invention or
process.)
3. Use one of Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings of an invention
from the book to compare and contrast to the model we use
today. (All of the drawings in the book were eventually used
or built, even though many of his inventions were never
constructed.)
4. Emphasize the importance of record keeping, referencing
Leonardo da Vinci’s meticulous inventory of his drawings
and how that information was useful in the planning of
several inventions.
5. The teacher will choose a topic such as paper flying
machines.
6. Have the students work in small groups and brainstorm how
to create a new paper flying machine. The groups will discuss
how it will work and what it can do.
7. Students will create group drawings of their inventions on
chart paper.
8. They will share their drawings with the class.
9. The students will attempt to build their flying machines out of
available materials.
Closure. The students will share drawings and models of their flying
machines, discuss any changes that may have occurred in the design,
and why it is important to keep notes.
Assessment: Use anecdotal records to record student learning.
1. Give each child a composition book to keep as their Inventions
Notebook.
2. Students should draw, write, and photograph their inventions,
storing all information in their notebooks.
3. Have each student brainstorm their own paper flying machine
recording their ideas in their notebooks.
4. Students may build their own paper flying machines.
5. They should record any changes or improvements. Share with
the class.
Lesson summary. Have students bring together the ideas developed
on journaling, inventors, and inventions. Clear up any misconceptions
that may occur.
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Assessment:
Using the following checklist to assess student learning:
Name
Student explains that anyone can be an inventor.
Student identifies Leonardo da Vinci.
Student explains what inventions are.
Student explains how inventions occur from needs
in everyday experiences.
Student explains his invention through drawings,
print, or sharing details.
Suggested
Extension
Activities:
Additional
References &
Web Links
Yes
No

Preview first and if appropriate for your students, show the
following video: Renaissance Artist Leonardo da Vinci.
Retrieved from:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XseK4US_0VU&feature=
player_detailpage
 Visit a flight museum
 Create an airplane book
 Invite a guest speaker (pilot) to discuss how to prepare for a
flight and how planes fly.
Inventors from the past. (2011). Retrieved from:
http://suzyred.com/pbks2011_Neo_Leo_Leonardo_da_Vinci.html
Inventor Flashcards. (2015). Retrieved from:
http://www.timeforkids.com/homework-helper/studyhelper/famous-inventors#next
Lesson Plan 2
Title of NCSS
Notable Trade
Book:
Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives
By: Gene Barretta
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9108-3
Ages: 5-8
Henry Holt and Company
New York
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2000
Notable Book (2013)
This lesson should take approximately 45-60 minutes.
Designed for second grade or for Buddy groups.
Book Summary:
NCSS
Standards:
Timeless Thomas provides readers an opportunity to see
representations of Thomas Edison’s inventions and how they have
changed over time. Timeless Thomas is a picture text that offers the
readers illustrations of Thomas Edison’s inventions and then provides
an explanation of each invention.
 Culture
 Time, Continuity, and Change
 People, Places, and Environments
 Production, Distribution, and Consumption
Materials:
Objectives:
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Timeless Thomas by Gene Barretta
Inventions Notebooks from Lesson 1
Collections of actual objects or pictures of inventions (varies):
Musical players: Phonograph, record player, eight track player,
cassette player, CD player, IPod, Cell phone
 Items played on musical playersRecords-78, 45 and 33 1/3
rpm, CD, Cassette tape, eight track tape
 Phones – collection of types of phones over time (optional)
 Cars- Models of cars over the years (optional)
 Bikes- Models of bikes over the years (optional)
 Paper, Pencils, and marker/crayons
 Materials for creating simple instruments (optional)-Empty
bottles with lids, dried peas, rice, corn, or rocks.
1. Students will research changes over time in an invention.
2. Students will create a timeline to show changes in an invention
over time.
3. Students will compare and contrast Thomas Edison’s
inventions to the inventions of today that do the same task.
Procedures:
Exploration/
Introduction:
1. Place a collection of musical players on the table.
2. Encourage the students to observe the items on the table.
3. Ask, what these items have in common?” Tell the students
that these items are inventions that do the same task.
4. Encourage the students to identify the items on the table and to
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Development:
Expansion:
ask questions about these items. Ask, the students to put these
instruments in order from the oldest to the newest? Share
arrangement and discuss.
Assessment: Check for prior knowledge making notes.
1. Read Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our
Lives. Discuss the different inventions Thomas Edison
developed and how those inventions changed our lives.
2. Reread Timeless Thomas.
3. Ask the students if they have had experience with any of
Edison’s inventions and if so, which ones?
4. Using the collection of musical players, ask the students to put
them in order from the oldest to newest.
5. Remind students Edison invented the phonograph, one of the
first music players. It was reinvented several times to produce
a better quality of music.
6. Discuss other inventions that may have changed and ask
students why.
7. Working in groups, have each group select an invention in
which they are interested. They are to research the changes
over time in this invention.
8. Each group will pick an item in the historical timeline of the
invention. They will research, find or draw a picture, and write
about it on a sheet of paper using landscape format.
9. The group will put the pictures in the correct order and tape
them together to create a timeline. (Years may be included).
Each group will share their timeline with the class.
Lesson summary: Review any inventions discussed and why they may
have changed. Clear up any misconceptions.
Assessment. Use anecdotal records to record student learning.
1. What’s next on the timeline? What changes will take place?
2. Younger students- Make a new musical instrument using
empty bottles and putting rice, corn, or rocks inside. They may
decorate the outside of the bottle.
3. Older students-Each group of students will create a design for
a future entry on the timeline. Choosing any one of the group
timelines, the student will name, draw, and explain their
invention for the future.
4. Share.
Assessment: Make notes to record student learning.
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Use the following checklist to assess student learning:
Assessment:
Name
Student defines inventor.
Yes
No
Student identifies one of Thomas Edison’s
inventions
Student identifies self as an inventor.
Student defines invention. A new device, method,
or process developed from study and
experimentation: the phonograph, an invention
attributed to Thomas Edison.
Student explains that inventions may change.
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Suggested
Extension
Activities:
Additional
References &
Web Links
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Write and illustrate a book titled My Inventions. The book
should consist of the materials that would be used to create this
invention and why the student would invent this item.
Research other inventors, choose their favorite and create a
short video about that inventor.
National Park Service. (2015). Retrieved from:
http://www.nps.gov/edis/forkids/timeline-of-edison-and-hisinventions.htm
Kids Invention Ideas. (2015). Retrieved from: http://www.kidsinvention-ideas.com/
Thomas Edison. (2015). Retrieved from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7gpF19vBo8
Thomas Edison Invention list. (2015). Retrieved from:
http://www.thomasedison.org/index.php/education/inventions/
Material list for homemade phonograph. (2015). Retrieved from:
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/sciencefairprojects/project_ide
as/Music_p032.shtml#materials
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Lesson Plan 3
Title of NCSS
Notable Trade
Book:
Book Summary:
Now & Ben: The modern inventions of Benjamin Franklin
By: Gene Barretta
ISBN: 978-0-312-53569-8
Ages: 5-9
Henry Holt and Company
New York
2000
This lesson should take approximately 45-60 minutes.
Designed for second grade or for Buddy groups.
In Now & Ben, readers explore the inventions of Benjamin Franklin.
He was an inventor who used his common sense and creative thinking
to make extraordinary things happen. In this book, the readers
investigate how each invention changed society and the world.
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1.
Time, Continuity, and Change
People, Places, and Environments
Production, Distribution, and Consumption
Now & Ben
Old objects/ New objects depicting the same invention
Maps
Glasses
Paper
scissors
Glue
Pencil, markers, and crayons
Students will identify inventions and discoveries of Benjamin
Franklin’s.
2. Students will explain how Franklin’s scientific discoveries
emerged from everyday experiences.
3. Students will compare old and new inventions.
4. Students will research and build their own inventions.
NCSS
Standards:
Materials:
Objectives:
Procedures:
Exploration/
Introduction:
1. Ask, “Who was Ben Franklin?” “What were Benjamin
Franklin’s inventions?” “What is the difference in Ben
Franklin’s original inventions to those items we use for the
same purpose today?”
2. Record students’ answers on charts.
Assessment: Check for prior knowledge as students discuss. Make
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Development:
Expansion:
notes.
1. Read, Now & Ben.
2. Revisit the book discussing his inventions and asking students
after each set of pages if they have seen some of these
inventions (the page on the left shows the item now and the
page on the right depicts the item as it was when Ben invented
it).
3. Use old objects to compare and contrast to the model we use
today.
4. Demonstrate how these inventions are used for the same
purpose but were redesigned. Provide assorted familiar board
or card games (Chutes and Ladders, Checkers, Hi Ho Cheerio,
and others).
5. Ask, “What could you do to improve these board games?”
“How could you make the games more interesting and fun?”
Tell students that they will work in groups to create new board
games for the class to play using the following guidelines to
create their games.
Title:
Brain storm ideas:
Draw design:
Build:
Test:
Improve:
6. Remind students to record all ideas and actions in their
inventions notebook.
7. Share games with the class. Add all games to the classroom
game shelf.
Closure: Revisit the initial charts. Add to or change each chart as
needed. Discuss.
Assessment: Record anecdotal notes as students share and discuss.
Working with their Buddies (upper grade partners …see link below)
or in small groups, students will:
 Identify a problem or something that is needed.
 Create a design for your invention.
 Draw how you think it might work.
 Collect materials.
 Build your invention.
 Test it.
 Make improvements.
 Share you invention with the class.
 Have an invention convention to share with the school.
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Assessment:
Use the following checklist to assess students:
Name
Student identifies inventions by Benjamin
Franklin.
Student identifies self as an inventor.
Student researches and builds new invention.
Student explains his new invention.
Suggested
Extension
Activities:
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
Additional
References &
Web Links
Yes
No
"The World's Best Invention—So Far!" Have students create a
brochure defining their thoughts on the best invention.
Research other inventors and have the children report on them.
Small group activity: Guess What Benjamin Franklin Did?
This is played like I Spy. One student thinks of an invention by
Franklin. Other students ask questions to try and identify the
invention.
Invite a guest speaker to discuss electricity and safety
precautions.
Video & Games relating to Benjamin Franklin. (2015). Retrieved
from: http://www.ushistory.org/franklin
Kid Inventions. (2015). Retrieved from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tQ1INX7-zk
Learning Buddies. (2015). Retrieved from:
http://sunnybrookschool.com/discover/student-life/learningbuddies
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Author Bios
Chafony Poole has served as the lead Pre-school teacher at East Central
Community College in Newton, Mississippi for the past nine years. Six years
prior, she taught at Newton Elementary School. Ms. Poole recently completed her
Master degree at The University of West Alabama.
Jenna Morgan is the Children’s librarian and activities director at the Ruby
Pickens Tartt Public Library in Livingston, Alabama. She is currently pursuing a
Master degree in Early Childhood/ Elementary Education at The University of
West Alabama.. Her interests include Civil War Reenactments, reading, and
painting.
Jodie Winship serves as the Department Chair of Curriculum and Instruction at
the University of West Alabama. She is an Assistant Professor of Special
Education.
Lynn Kelley is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood/ Elementary Education
at the University of West Alabama. She teaches undergraduate and graduate
classes in Early Childhood/ Elementary Social Studies methods. [email protected]
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Appendix
These students are working as a Buddy team on an invention.
Building our fish trap.
Finished Fish Trap.
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It works! These students caught fish to be transported to their pond.
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Sample Notebook Transcript
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