Inventions Module Grade 6
DRAFT
July 2012
The Howard County Public School System • Ellicott City, Maryland
Renee A. Foose, Ed.D., Superintendent
Board of Education of Howard County
Sandra H. French
Chairman
Frank J. Aquino, Esq.
Vice Chairman
Ann De Lacy
Brian J. Meshkin
Cynthia L. Vaillancourt
Ellen Flynn Giles
Janet Siddiqui, M.D.
Cole T. Rosenberg
Student Member
Renee A. Foose, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Copyright 2012 FOREWORD The project-based innovation and inquiry modules provide
opportunities for students to apply specific disciplinary literacy skills to
real-life situations. Students explore interest areas that are not
otherwise addressed within the middle school curriculum. The myriad
of offerings are designed to provide opportunities for students to
problem solve, develop research skills, and extend both critical writing
and thinking skills across curricular content. Module choices include
the following areas: literature/humanities, science, social studies, and
technical subjects. Each stand-alone offering is designed to require
students to work both collaboratively and independently.
Renee A. Foose
Linda Wise
Superintendent of Schools
Chief Academic Officer
Zeleana Morris, Coordinator
Secondary Curricular Language Arts Office
Clarissa B. Evans
Executive Director
Secondary Curricular Programs
Acknowledgements
The Curriculum for the Inventions Module, Grade 6, was prepared under the
direction of Zeleana Morris, Coordinator of Secondary Language Arts, and
Sharon Stein, Instructional Facilitator for Secondary Reading.
Special appreciation is extended to the following curriculum writer:
Melissa Mack, Secondary Reading Resource Teacher in the Secondary
Language Arts Office Grade 6 Module: Inventions
Overview
This module is designed to encourage students to think creatively and explore
that creativity through different learning styles. Students develop their
understanding of the invention process through recognition of innovation,
creativity, and problem solving as integral aspects of the course.
Students understand how one becomes inspired, applies the decision process
model to inventions and innovations, and learns about inventions in order to
produce their own products. They study government regulations regarding
copyrights and patents. Students create a product that enhances and improves
or replaces an existing product, tests and records findings, and explains how to
improve the inventions. In the culmination of the inquiry project, students use
speaking and listening skills to present their product/idea to a panel of selected
members.
Essential Questions
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How does change impact our lives?
How did particular inventions develop?
What is the process for inventing something
What are the most important inventions?
How have inventions improved people's lives?
Which factors influence or inspire inventors?
How are new inventions and innovations promoted?
How does technology affect the creation of a product and its advertisements?
Course Considerations
It is important for students to understand that invention is a process
people engage in every day. Students learn to value their own ideas and the
ideas of others. This unit is designed to encourage students to think creatively
and explore that creativity through different learning styles. Students develop
their understanding of the invention process and their ability to brainstorm and
think in new ways because innovation, creativity, and problem solving are an
integral part of any course of thoughtful study.
The lessons in this unit involve group work. Teachers should involve
students in a discussion of group work norms and procedures. Some of the
lessons also involve technology. The instructor should view the scope and
sequence in order to ascertain the days in which technology will need to be
available to the students.
Standards for Reading Informational Text
RI.6.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as
well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.6.2 Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through
particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or
judgments.
RI.6.3 Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced,
illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).
RI.6.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.
RI.6.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and explain how
it is conveyed in the text.
RI.6.7 Integrate information presented in difference media or formats (e.g.,
visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding
of a topic or issue.
RI.6.8 Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text,
distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims
that are not.
RI.6.9 Compare and contrast one author’s presentation of events with that of
another (e.g., a memoir written by and a biography on the same person).
Standards for Writing
W.6.1. Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant
evidence.
W6.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas,
concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of
relevant content.
W.6.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and
organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.6.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and
strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or trying a
new approach.
W.6.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as
well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command
of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of three pages in a single sitting.
W.6.7. Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several
sources and refocusing the inquiry when appropriate.
W.6.9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis,
reflection, and research.
Standards for Speaking and Listening
SL.6.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in
groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and
issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.6.2. Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g.,
visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or
issue under study.
SL.6.4. Present claims and findings, sequencing ideas logically and using
pertinent descriptions, facts, and details to accentuate main ideas or themes; use
appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
SL.6.5. Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, sound)
and visual displays in presentations to clarify information.
SL.6.6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating
command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
Standards for Language
L.6.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar
and usage when writing or speaking.
L.6.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English
capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
L.6.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking,
reading, or listening.
L.6.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words
and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a
range of strategies.
Project Choices
• Inventive Thinking Project – students will work in a group to design an
invention that either solves a problem or makes something better. This
project involves 7 parts that can be assigned to each group member.
• Design a Rube Goldberg Machine – students work in a group to design a
Rube Goldberg machine which is an elaborate contraption designed to
complete a simple specified task in the manner.
The machine will execute one of the following six tasks:
• Apply toothpaste to a toothbrush
• Place a stamp properly on an envelope
• Put coins in a child’s coin bank
• Turn off a ringing alarm clock
• Pour equal amounts of milk and cereal in a bowl
• Turn on a radio
Inventor’s Notebook
Keeping accurate records of he research and experimentation process is an
essential part of scientific investigation. Students must develop a sense of the
importance of recording the development of their scientific inquiries. Labeled and
scale drawings, charts, graphs, data, thoughtful entries describing the results of
brainstorming and discussions are all examples of information students might
record in the notebook and serves as a tool for developing and encouraging
academic discourse. Individual inventor’s notebooks also give the student a
strong sense of ownership regarding his or her ideas and the invention process.
Requirements
1. Students will keep accurate and complete records of the data drawings,
research, and results of the activities.
2. Students will assemble this information in a three-ring “inventor’s notebook”
during the module.
3. Students will keep their inventor’s notebook current and make sure their
inventor’s notebook is available to the teacher throughout the module for
assessment purposes.