Suggested levels for Guided Reading, DRA,™
Lexile,® and Reading Recovery™ are provided
in the Pearson Scott Foresman Leveling Guide.
Genre
Expository
nonfiction
Comprehension
Skills and Strategy
• Cause and Effect
• Main Idea and
Details
• Monitor and Fix Up
Text Features
• Time Line
• Headings
• Glossary
Scott Foresman Reading Street 2.3.5
ISBN 0-328-13276-4
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Reader Response
1. What caused the inventors in this book
to come up with their ideas? What
effect did their ideas have on how we
do things today? Use a chart like the
one below to record your answers.
Ideas to
Inventions
Causes
Effects
2. Reread pages 7-8. Did windshield
wipers for eyeglasses become popular
or not? Why do you think this may be?
3. Can you think of a project or topic that
you had to research? Where did you go
to research it? What new ideas can you
think of that would help you research a
topic?
4. Look at the time line on
Which
bypage
Kim 17.
Borland
invention was invented first? Next?
Last? How do you know?
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Eyeglasses
Pizza
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photographic material. The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to
correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.
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ISBN: 0-328-13276-4
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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V010 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
Everything we use was invented by
someone. If you look around you will see
that inventions are everywhere.
Which of these inventions do you use?
Do you know the stories of the
inventions in these photographs?
3
Early motor cars were horse
carriages with engines.
An invention is something new that
someone makes or thinks of. To invent
things, inventors must first have ideas. They
research each idea, and then try the ideas,
step by step. Inventors learn from ideas that
work, but they also learn from failed ideas.
Failed ideas can help them come up with
new ideas.
Some inventions solve problems. Some
make things work better. Some inventions
happen by accident. But all inventions have
one thing in common—they all start with an
idea.
4
Chester Greenwood’s Cold Ear
Problem
Fifteen-year-old Chester Greenwood
lived in Maine. He liked to ice skate
on freezing winter days. But he had a
problem—his ears were always cold!
One day in 1873, he had an idea.
Chester bent a piece of wire into a U-shape.
He asked his grandmother to sew a pad
made of fur on each end. Now he could stay
outside and skate longer with his friends.
His ears were warm and toasty!
Chester’s idea led to a new invention.
Can you guess which one?
5
Earmuffs
Mary Anderson’s Streetcar Trip
In 1902, Mary Anderson had an idea.
It was a snowy day in New York City, and
it was Mary’s first trip on a streetcar. Mary
watched the driver shiver as he reached out
to clear the snow that had piled up on the
windshield. Mary took out her notebook
and began to draw. She designed an arm
that would swing back and forth on the
windshield. The arm would be controlled by
a lever near the driver inside the streetcar.
Mary’s idea led to a new invention. Can
you guess which one?
If you guessed earmuffs, you’re right!
Chester’s friends wanted their ears to
be warm too. Chester started making more
earmuffs. Soon Chester started selling them.
He called them Champion Ear Protectors.
Today, every December 21, the people
in Chester’s home town celebrate “Chester
Greenwood Day” in his honor.
6
7
Arnold Fornachou’s and Ernest
Hamwi’s Accidental Invention
Windshield wipers
In 1904, Arnold Fornachou was selling
ice cream at the World’s Fair in St. Louis,
Missouri. It was a hot summer day, and
he had so many customers that he ran
out of ice cream dishes. The baker next to
Arnold was named Ernest Hamwi. Ernest
was selling very thin pastries. Arnold and
Ernest decided to work together. They rolled
Ernest’s pastries into a cone shape and filled
them with ice cream.
Arnold’s and Ernest’s idea led to a new
invention. Can you guess which one?
If you guessed windshield wipers, you’re
right! Windshield wipers have changed over
the years. Today, every kind of vehicle has
windshield wipers so that the driver can
drive safely on a rainy or snowy day and
keep warm at the same time.
Years later, another inventor tried to use
Mary’s idea to invent windshield wipers for
eyeglasses, but the idea did not sell.
8
9
Ruth Wakefield’s Mistake
Ice cream cone
In 1930, Ruth Wakefield wanted to bake
a special cookie for her new restaurant. She
started with her favorite cookie recipe. Then
she broke a chocolate bar into small bits and
stirred the chocolate into the cookie batter.
She thought the chocolate bits would melt
into chocolate swirls. But she was wrong!
The chocolate did not melt completely. It
stayed in the batter as little pieces.
Ruth’s idea led to a new invention. Can
you guess which one?
If you guessed an ice cream cone, you’re
right! Since then, people have invented
machines to make many different kinds of
ice cream cones. The machines can make
about 150,000 ice cream cones a day!
10
11
George de Mestral’s Hike
Chocolate chip cookies
In 1948, while George de Mestral was
hiking in the woods, he noticed something.
Small, prickly burrs from bushes he brushed
against were sticking to his clothes.
Later, George looked at one burr under
a microscope. He saw it was covered with
hundreds of tiny hooks. The hooks had
grabbed onto the loops of the fabric on his
clothes. He realized that he could use this
idea to fasten two things together.
George’s idea led to a new invention.
Can you guess which one?
If you guessed chocolate chip cookies,
you’re right! Everyone loved Ruth’s cookies.
They became very popular. The company that
made the chocolate bar soon started making
chocolate chips that people could pour out of
the bag right into the cookie batter.
12
13
Spencer Silver’s Failed Idea
Velcro
Spencer Silver was a scientist in the
1970s. His job was to make a very strong
glue. In the process of making the glue,
something went wrong. Spencer’s idea did
not work. He made a glue that was very
weak. Some people thought it was useless.
But Art Fry, who worked with Spencer,
thought the glue was interesting. The glue
could be applied to any surface and then
be peeled off and used again. Art applied
Spencer’s glue to some small slips of paper.
Art’s idea of using Spencer’s weak glue
led to a new invention. Can you guess
which one?
If you guessed Velcro®, you’re right!
Velcro is made up of two strips of special
fabric. One strip has tiny hooks. The other
strip has tiny loops. When the two strips are
pressed together, they form a strong bond.
Velcro® is used on many everyday
objects. Have you ever had Velcro® on your
shoes? It is even used by astronauts in
space.
14
15
Inventions!
Self-stick notes
1873
earmuffs
If you guessed self-stick notes, you’re
right! Today, you can buy self-stick notes in
every size and color. Some people use the
notes for bookmarks. Some people write
messages on them.
Next time you put a self-stick note on
something, be sure to thank the scientists
who didn’t throw away an invention that
did not work!
Ideas can come at any time and in any
place. Keep your eyes and ears open. If you
excel at coming up with ideas, you just
might create a few inventions of your own!
16
1904
ice cream cone
1948
Velcro®
1902
1970
windshield wipers 1930
self-stick notes
chocolate chip
cookies
17
Now Try This
Thinking Like an Inventor
Inventors think of many ideas. Then they
choose their best ideas and try to make
them work.
Now it’s your turn to invent. Before you
begin, think about this question: What
are some everyday problems that need
solutions?
18
to Do It!
w
o
H
s
’
e
r
He
1. Fold a sheet of paper in half. Write
“Problems” on the left half. Write
“Solutions” on the right half.
2. Now brainstorm! Make a list of problems
and your ideas for solutions. For
example, a problem you might think of
could be finding the time to get your
chores done, or your homework done.
How could you fix these problems and
make them fun to do?
3. Think of lots of solutions. Some won’t
seem right. Some will sound pretty good.
Some will sound terrific. Write down all
of them!
4. Circle your best idea.
5. Draw pictures of how your idea might
look as an invention.
6. Share your invention with your class.
19
Glossary
designed v.
planned, created,
or drawn.
Reader Response
popular adj. liked
by many people.
excel v. to do
better than others.
process n. actions
done to get to a
result.
failed adj. tried,
but not successful.
research v. hunting
for facts or truth.
1. What caused the inventors in this book
to come up with their ideas? What
effect did their ideas have on how we
do things today? Use a chart like the
one below to record your answers.
Causes
Effects
2. Reread pages 7-8. Did windshield
wipers for eyeglasses become popular
or not? Why do you think this may be?
3. Can you think of a project or topic that
you had to research? Where did you go
to research it? What new ideas can you
think of that would help you research a
topic?
4. Look at the time line on page 17. Which
invention was invented first? Next?
Last? How do you know?
20