Lesson Plan - History Makers: Thomas Edison

Read the Article

Print this Lesson Plan

Get the Answer Key

Learning Objectives

Students will understand the accomplishments and lasting impact of inventor Thomas Edison.

Text Structure

Profile, Sequence

Content-Area Connections

U.S. History; STEM

Standards Correlations

CCSS: RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.3, RI.3.4, RI.3.5, RI.3.6, RI.3.7, RI.3.8, RI.3.10, L.3.4, SL.3.1

CASEL: Growth Mindset

NCSS: Individual Development and Identity

TEKS: Social Studies 3.19

1. Preparing to Read

Watch a Slideshow: 5 Things You Need to Know about Edison

After reviewing the slideshow, ask: Why do many people consider Edison one of the greatest inventors of all time?

Preview Words to Know

Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

  • determined 
  • laboratory


Set a Purpose for Reading

As students read, have them think about the qualities that helped Edison succeed as an inventor.

2. Close-Reading Questions

1. According to the article, what challenge did Edison face when he was a child? A challenge Edison faced as a child is that he started to lose his hearing in both ears when he was around 12. 

(RI.3.2 KEY DETAILS)


2. What are some ways Edison tried to create a glow inside a light bulb? Edison tried hundreds of ways to create a glow inside a bulb. For example, he tried using a piece of fishing line, the stringy part of a coconut shell, and hairs from a friend’s beard. He finally succeeded when he used cotton thread. 

(RI.3.3 SEQUENCE)


3. What did Edison mean when he said that no experiment is a failure? Edison meant that even if an experiment did not work, you could always learn something that would help you. 

(RI.3.1 INFERENCE)

3. Skill Building

FEATURED SKILL: Synthesize Information

Use the Skill Builder “All About Thomas Edison” to have students use details from the article to complete a profile of Edison.

Differentiate & Extend

English Learners

Note that the English verb invent and the Spanish verb inventar are cognates. Challenge ELs to look for other cognates in this issue, and make a list of the ones they identify.

 

Striving Readers

Explain that the sidebar “A Famous Inventor” shows three important events from Edison’s life. Have students use the main article to identify a fourth key event and draw a scene illustrating it.

 

Small Groups

Have students respond to the following prompt: What qualities helped Edison succeed as an inventor? How did these qualities help him?

Text-to-Speech