Famous Inventors
A WebQuest for 5th Grade (Science)
Introduction | Task | Process | Roles | Websites | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits |
Inventing something new and useful can be much like creating a puzzle. You need just the right piece at the right time to be successful. In this webquest, your task is to find out more about some interesting inventors and how their expertise at "completing puzzles" changed our world as we know it.
As a group, you need to choose one invention, market your inventor’s original invention and describe how it has changed or stayed the same over the centuries.
The Task
You will use on-line resources provided to research information about your inventor. (Each group will be assigned to either Eli Whitney, Cyrus McCormick, or Robert Fulton)
Each group will create:
- A biography for your inventor,
- A poster about your inventor,
- A drawn picture or model on your inventor's original invention,
- A brief oral presentation (5-10 minutes long) supporting your inventor’s invention as the most important invention of all time.
The Process
1. First you will be assigned to a team of 2 students.
2. Each group will be assigned an inventor.
3. Once each student has chosen their role, they may begin researching their inventor. You may research your inventor using:
a. nonfiction books
b. encyclopedias
c. Internet
d. other pre-approved methods
5. Complete your research by completing the following items:
a. Biography:
~Tell about your inventor's life: include any information you can find about their early history, family, job, ect.
~Most important inventions. Who did they benefit?
~Why did they need their invention/why did they make their invention?
b. Drawn picture or model of invention:
~You must draw by hand the major invention of your inventor. This may be included on your poster (see below). You may also opt to make a model of the invention instead.c. Poster:
Make a poster about your inventor and their invention. You must include all researched information in some way. Posters must be colorful and information must be clearly stated.d. Presentation:
A 5-10 minute presentation about your inventor. You are the prime "expert" on your inventor - tell the class what you learned! You must include all researched information in your presentation.
Roles:
Historian :
- Research you author’s place of birth, date of birth and date of death.
- Describe his family life and education.
- Describe your inventor’s careers, interests and/or hobbies. How could your inventor’s careers and interests have led him to his invention?
- Find at least 3 pieces of information about your author that makes him unique and interesting and explain why.
- What, from your inventor’s time period, enabled him to successfully complete his invention, or prevented him from creating what he set out to invent?
- Research what impact your inventor’s most important invention has made on the world?
- Show the evolution of your inventor’s most important invention.
- How is that invention used today?
- Compare this invention with other related inventions he created?
Engineer:
- Research how your inventor created his invention?
- What were his original intentions for that invention?
- If his original intentions were different, what went wrong, or what went better than expected?
- What materials did your inventor use and why?
- Was there a similar invention by another inventor? If so, compare your invention with it. Did his invention come first? Was someone else’s technology used to help his invention along?
- Locate pictures of the original invention and its modern day equivalent. Find these on-line, draw them or find them in magazines.
- You must oversee the production of the models. All members should help out in some way.
- You must write up captions comparing and contrasting the original invention and its modern day version.
- Predict what future models may look like – the caption can describe special features that may be available in another 100 years.
Websites:
Eli Whitney
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Cyrus McCormick
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Robert Fulton
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You will be evaluated as a group for all aspects of this project. The following rubric shows the possible scores for each element of this project.
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Beginning 1 |
Developing 2 |
Accomplished 3 |
Exemplary 4 |
Score |
Learning Goal |
Group members are familiar with only their portion of the project.
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Group members have a basic understanding of their inventor and his invention. |
Most group members have a good understanding of their inventor and his invention. |
All four members have a good overall understanding of their inventor and his invention. |
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Roles |
None of the group members fully understood their own roles and responsibilities and did not complete their parts of the project.
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Two of the group members did not fully understood their own roles and responsibilities and did not complete their parts of the project. |
Three group members understood their own roles and responsibilities and completed their parts of the project.
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All four group members understood their own roles and responsibilities and completed their parts of the project.
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Resume
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Students have included less than half of the required information. |
Students have included only half of the required information.
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Most of the required information is included and / or accurate.
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All of the required information is included and accurate.
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Marketing tool
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Students have included less than half of the required information and/or have met less than half of the criteria. |
Students have included half of the required information. Students have met half of the criteria. |
Most required information is included and/or accurate. Most criteria are met.
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All required information is included and accurate. All criteria are met.
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Oral Presentation
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Students do only one of the following: stand up straight, speak clearly, establish eye contact, and show full understanding of the topic. |
Students do only two of the following: stand up straight, speak clearly, establish eye contact, and show full understanding of the topic. |
Students stand up straight, speak clearly, establish eye contact, and show full understanding of the topic most for most of the presentation. |
Students stand up straight, speak clearly, establish eye contact, and show full understanding of the topic. |
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Model
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One model is presented with some of the criteria met.
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Only one model is presented with most of the criteria met / or two models are presented with half of the criteria met. |
Two models are presented with most of the criteria met.
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Two models are presented with all criteria met.
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Cooperative |
Students were unable to work together as a group but they completed the project.
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Students had some difficulty working together but were able to complete the project as a group.
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For the most part students worked cooperatively with all members playing an equal part and doing an equal share. |
Students worked cooperatively with all members playing an equal part and doing an equal share.
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Conclusion
You have just learned about one of the most important inventions of all time.
Think about what life would be like without this invention.
Think about the other inventions that were presented. If you would like to learn more about these inventions and/or inventors, use the websites provided. Most of these men started with just a dream or an idea, and took many years to research and tinker with their inventions.
Once you have seen and heard all of the presentations, think about what you consider to be the most important invention of all time? Imagine what you could invent with the resources and technology we have today!!
Cyrus McCormick picture from National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. © 2000-2007
Eli Whitney picture from www.wpclipart.com/famous/inventors/
Robert Fulton picture from Ohio Historical Society © 2007
Based on a template from The WebQuest Page and Webquest by J.A. Vesey
Backgrounds by Absolute Texture Background Archive