Science in History
Unit: American Scientists in History
· Persistent Issue: What scientists influenced American history the most?
· Central Question: Students will pick a famous scientist and do a project over a specific revelation or invention. Example: How did Thomas Edison’s invention of the light bulb impact the usage of electricity in the 19th century?
Lesson 1: Grabber and Introduction
Introductory Grabber: The teacher walks into the classroom, dressed
as Thomas Edison. This catches the student’s attention, introducing them to
their next project. After giving background information on Edison and his
invention of the light bulb, students are informed of the question being asked
and are broken into groups to create presentations. On the day of
presentations, students will be prompted to dress up as their chosen scientist.
Only one student is required to dress up but extra credit will be given to all
member s who dress up.
The instructor introduces this scenario: What if the light bulb had never been invented? What would the lack of this invention mean for society today? What are some things we would not be able to do or have? Think about this and find other influential inventions that have evolved and are still being sued today.
Introduce the Central Question: Inventions like the light bulb
took the 19th century by storm. Electricity was now able to be
utilized; shops could stay open later, not all work had to be done by sun or
candle light, etc. The invention of the light bulb led to other inventions,
like movie projectors. What other famous
scientists have made such an impact on history, like Thomas Edison?
Lecture: The teacher will give a list of qualified candidates for whom students can do their project on. All names will be put in a hat and the groups will draw a piece of paper and then do the presentation over whoever they picked. For the next two weeks’ student will have class time and access to computer labs to research and prepare their presentations.
Culminating Activity
Presentation and Class Discussion
Introduction: When the students enter the classroom they will go to their seats. The instructor will give a brief talk about how everything is going to go from this point forward, and then the students will present. After all the presentations are done the class will do a discussion on the importance of these scientists. Students are allowed and encouraged to dress up as their scientist.
Lecture: The Lecture consists of the students presenting their various PowerPoints on their scientist. They will go in order of age of the scientist. For example, start with Benjamin Franklin and finish with Steve Jobs.
Activity Overview: Students will then move their
desks in a circle after all the presentations (This would probably be a
different class period). Then there will be a discussion that will go on to
answer a few major questions with all these presentations. The first question
is which invention or idea shaped American society the most? If the invention
wasn’t made how would that effect society today? How has this technology
evolved?
Preparation for Conference: On the day of presentations, the
teacher will remind students what inventors were listed and introduce each
group.
Role
Play: All students in
the group will be encouraged to dress as their scientist, but only one student
is required and that will be decided amongst group members. Extra credit will
be given to all students who dress up.
Debriefing: Students will give their presentations to the class,
discuss why they think their inventor was influential, and then the class will
discuss who they think was most influential overall. Each student will
individually write a paper on who they believe to be most influential, giving
their reasoning, and how it impacted society in that time in history and how it
effects society today.