Introduction
5th Grade Social Studies
Our world has changed a lot in the course of 100 plus years. Many of these changes are due to great inventors and their original ideas, giving us items we couldn't imagine living without today.
For our upcoming social studies unit, you are going to research life changing inventions created in four important areas:
COMMUNICATION
TRANSPORTATION
MEDICINE
SPORTS
Once you've completed the research part of this quest, you and your group members will use your creative thinking skills to come up with an idea for a new invention, in your topic area, one that could be of great benefit to humans, making life easier, or minimizing challenges, in one of the 4 areas above.
*Each group's presentation will be created and shared via MS PowerPoint.
Task
The class will be split into 4 groups (4-5 students per group).
Each group will be assigned one of the 4 categories. Your job is to research and find 3 inventions pertaining to your category, which your group feels has helped change things for the better in your specific topic area.
Suggested Research Websites (some links will require a copy and paste into your web browser):
Group 1- Communication
www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/communication.shtml
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_history_of_communicatio…
http://library.thinkquest.org/26451/?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0613
Group 2 - Transportation
http://library.thinkquest.org/C006235/?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0613
www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/transportation.shtml
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_history_of_transportati…
Group 3- Medicine
www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/medicine.shtml
www.bbc.co.uk/education/medicine/nonint/menus/modtmenu.shtml
http://topyaps.com/top-10-inventions-in-medicine-and-biology
Group 4 - Sports
www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/fun.shtml
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/5-game-changing-fitness-inventions-1732255…
http://www.sporttechie.com/2014/03/27/top-five-inventions-pitched-on-sh…
Once your group has completed the first part of the assignment (detailed under the process link), your next step will be to come up with an idea for a new invention, pertaining to your topic. You need to consider what you feel will be needed in our future, what could be developed that could make life easier in the area of communication, transportation, medicine, or sports.
Process
Your group members will research the suggested websites, and may utilize GOOGLE to find additional websites. You are going to choose 3 significant inventions in your topic area, and answer the following questions for each:
1. What is the invention and how long has it been around?
2. Who is/are the inventor or inventors?
3. Describe the invention and its uses.
4. How has it changed the way people live?
5. Do you feel this invention has made life better, easier, healthier, enjoyable, etc? Why or why not?
6. Post a picture of the invention within your presentation slides.
**You will be creating a PowerPoint presentation to answer these questions, for your final presentation**
For the final slides of your presentation your group will come up with a new idea for an invention. You and your group members should discuss what type of invention you feel will be necessary in our future, in your topic area. Describe what the invention is, and what it does. Detail how this invention will change life for the better in your area.
Evaluation
| Components | Criteria | Point Value |
|
Information Part 1 |
3 Inventions are listed, with all 6 questions answered in detail for each. | 15-25 points |
|
Information Part 2 |
A new idea for an invention was presented, pertaining to the topic at hand. The new idea was presented in detail, answering specified questions. | 1-10 points |
| Creativity | The final presentation was well organized, presented via PowerPoint, visually pleasing, and easily understood. | 1-5 points |
| Spelling and Grammar | Proper spelling and punctuation was used throughout the entire presentation. | 1-5 point |
| Participation | It is evident each member of the group played a productive role in the research, ideas, and formation, and presentation of the final product. | 1-5 points |
Project Total : 50 points
Conclusion
A FINAL REFLECTION
Now that you have completed the task and process steps to our web quest, you should have a wonderfully laid out PowerPoint presentation. You and your group members will share your presentation with the class, teaching use about 3 life changing inventions pertaining to your topic area, and giving us your ideas for a new invention that may change the future.
Once presentations are complete, you will individually write a 1- 2 paragraph self- reflection on this project. Your reflection should answer the following questions:
Which of the 3 inventions chosen do you find most beneficial to our world today? Have you personally gotten use out of it?
Did you enjoy this project? Why or why not?
Have you learned anything new from your research or by listening to the presentations by other groups?
Would you enjoy group projects similar to this in the future?
Credits
All Images on the web quest are courtesy of GOOGLE Images
Website links pwere obtained courtesy of Scholatic, Enchanted Learning, and GOOGLE Search.