Activities inspired by children’s literature
Imaginative Inventions
By Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan
In today’s fast-growing, highly competitive global marketplace, innovative thinking is more important
than ever. Encourage your students’ creativity, imagination, and problem-solving skills with these
technological design activities. Technology involves using science to solve problems or meet needs,
and the understanding of technology can be developed by challenging students to design a solution to
solve a problem or invent something to meet a need. Inventions don’t have to be entirely new ideas.
Sometimes they can be improvements to existing inventions. In this month’s column, students in
grades K–3 improve inventions, while students in grades 4–6 tackle design challenges.
This Month’s Trade Books
Imaginative Inventions
By Cherise Mericle Harper.
Little, Brown. 2001.
ISBN 0316347256.
Grades K–4
Synopsis
This witty and informative look at the
origins of familiar inventions makes a terrific introduction to
the invention process. Find out the who, what, when, where,
and why of roller skates, piggy banks, potato chips, Frisbees,
and more through clever verses and whimsical illustrations.
Each of the 14 featured inventions is covered in a doublepage spread with fun facts inset along a border.
Professor Aesop’s The Crow and the Pitcher
By Stephanie Gwyn Brown.
Tricycle Press. 2003.
ISBN 1582460876.
Grades K–4
Synopsis
Based upon one of Aesop’s classic
fables, this clever tale features a quickwitted crow trying to get a drink of water from a nearlyempty pitcher. After several comic attempts, Crow uses
the scientific method to solve his problem: start out with
a question, gather up the facts, form a hypothesis, tackle
the experiment, review the results, and finally, “be a true
scientist and share it with the rest.” Vivid artwork, scientific
blueprints, and humorous touches, such as a “thirst-ometer” and a “pebble indicator” appear throughout.
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Science and Children
Curricular Connections
The design process in technology is the parallel to inquiry in science. In scientific inquiry, students explore
ideas and propose explanations about the natural world,
whereas in technological design students identify a
problem or need, design a solution, implement a solution, evaluate a product or design, and communicate
the design process. The principles of design for grades
5–8 do not change from grades K–4, but the problems
addressed should become more complex. In grades
K–4, the Standards suggest studying familiar inventions
to determine function and to identify problems solved,
materials used, and how well the product does what it is
supposed to do. Explorations of common inventions are
featured in this month’s trade book–inspired investigations for grades K–3. In the older grades, students can
begin to differentiate between science and technology
by complementing their scientific investigations with
activities that are meant to meet a human need, solve
a problem, or develop a product. Design challenges at
this level should cover a range of needs, materials, and
aspects of science. A variety of engaging design challenges are featured in this month’s trade book–inspired
investigations for grades 4–6.
Karen Ansberry ([email protected])
is the elementary science curriculum leader at Mason
City Schools in Mason, Ohio. Emily Morgan (emily@
pictureperfectscience.com) is the science consultant
at the Hamilton County Educational Service Center in
Cincinnati, Ohio. Special thanks to second- through
fourth-grade teachers at Mason City Schools in Mason,
Ohio, for field-testing some of these design challenges.
For Grades K–3: Improve an Invention
Engage: Introduce the author and illustrator of
Imaginative Inventions. Build connections to the
author by reading the inside flap of the book about
Cherise Mericle Harper’s favorite invention (“…muffins, which taste a lot like cake, but you get to eat them
for breakfast!”). Select several of the inventions to
read about. As you read each two-page spread, leave
out the name of the invention and instead say “this
invention.” Have students make inferences about the
identity of each invention using clues from the text
and illustrations. After reading each poem, reveal
the name of the invention and then have students
identify the need or want in each situation.
Explore: In advance, collect several versions of
one of the inventions in the book. For example,
borrow (or have students bring in) some variations
of the original flying disc, such as the Glow-in-thedark Frisbee, the oval Infinity Frisbee, the ringshaped Aerobie, flying discs made for dogs, foam
flying discs, sports boomerangs, etc. (You can also
use different kinds of the other inventions featured
in the book: potato chips, chewing gum, eyeglasses,
and so on.) Provide enough products so that each
team of two to four students can have a version
to study. Explain that instead of coming up with
completely new inventions, inventors often think
of ways to make an old one better. Give students
plenty of time to explore the “new and improved”
or “add-on” versions of the original invention.
Evaluate: Have each team create an advertisement,
commercial, or jingle for their improved invention
and present it to the class. Students should be able to
answer questions about their improved inventions and
explain why the invention is better than the original.
Connecting to the Standards
This article relates to the following National
Science Education Standards (NRC 1996):
Grades K–8
Content Standards
Standard A: Science as Inquiry
• Understanding about scientific inquiry
Standard E: Science and Technology
• Abilities of technological design
• Understanding about science and technology
Explain: Next, have teams explain how their product was modified and whether they think the change
made the original invention more fun or useful.
Elaborate: Now go back to Imaginative Inventions and write each invention on the board. Have
teams choose one of the inventions from the book
and brainstorm ways that they could improve that
invention. Then have them select one of their ideas
and draw a labeled picture of it. They should also
write how their improved invention is more fun or
more useful than the original.
NSTA Connection
See photographs of this activity and student
posters by clicking on this article at www.nsta.
org/elementaryschool#journal.
Summer 2006 13
For Grades 4–6: Design Challenges
Engage: Show students the cover of The Crow and
the Pitcher and point out that it is “interpreted” by
Stephanie Gwyn Brown. The original story is one of
Aesop’s fables, but it has been modified to focus on
the “scientific method.” Read the first 11 pages of
the story aloud and then stop after reading “After
several attempts, he gave up in despair.”
Explore: Ask students if they can help the crow
solve his problem. Have students record their solutions in words and pictures. After students have
had several minutes to brainstorm, write, illustrate,
and share their solutions, read the next two-page
spread explaining the crow’s idea of dropping pebbles in the pitcher. Provide each team of two to four
students with a narrow-necked container of water
and some pebbles, and have them test and then
evaluate Crow’s solution. After teams have shared
their results, read the rest of the book aloud.
Explain: Discuss the technological design process
as presented in the National Science Education Standards: Identify a problem or need, design a solution,
implement a solution, evaluate a product or design,
and communicate the design process. Ask students
to identify each phase of the design process as it is
described in the story. Then re-read “The Scientific
Method According to Crow” on the last two pages and
compare/contrast the design process to the scientific
method. Have students debate whether the fable better
illustrates the design process or the scientific method.
Elaborate: Present teams of students with one
of the design challenges described below. Then
explain that technological designs almost always
have constraints that limit choices, such as cost,
time, or materials, and describe the constraints for
the task. Sample design challenges (with suggested
materials in parentheses) are as follows:
• Design a bridge out of notebook paper to hold as
many pennies as possible (use one sheet of paper;
may fold but not cut, tear, or use tape).
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Science and Children
• Design a boat out of aluminum foil to float with as
many paperclips as possible (use one 30×30 cm
Keywords:
square; may fold).
Inventions/Inventors
• Design a parachute that www.scilinks.org
will slow the fall of a small Enter code: SC070601
lightweight plastic figurine (use any or all of the following: one plastic
sandwich bag, one paper lunch bag, one sheet
of notebook paper, and a 1 m piece of string).
• Design a roller coaster using aquarium tubing—the roller coaster must have two working
loops built as high off the ground as possible
(use 5 m large-diameter clear aquarium tubing
and 1 large marble or ball bearing).
• Design a container that can prevent an egg from
breaking when dropped (use any or all of the
following: four packing peanuts, four straws,
four craft sticks, one sheet of notebook paper,
50 cm of masking tape, white glue)
Set up time constraints and provide materials. Make
sure students sketch their idea before they begin building. Have them conduct at least two trials and then
evaluate their design. You may want to have them revise their design the following day and then re-test it.
Evaluate: Have students communicate the steps of
their design process in a poster session. They should
include a labeled drawing of their design, as well as the
results of their trials.
Resources
Ansberry, K., and E. Morgan. 2005. Brainstorms: From idea to
invention. In Picture-perfect science lessons: Using children’s
books to guide inquiry, 279–293. Arlington, VA: NSTA Press.
National Research Council (NRC). 1996. National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
NSTA Connection
See photographs of students’ design process by
clicking on this article at www.nsta.org/elementary
school#journal.