famous people notebook: inventors
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Famous People Notebook: Inventors
by Carrie Fernandez and WriteBonnieRose ©2020, Daily Skill Building Cover Design: Richele McFarlin, Pretty Perfect Printables All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or distributed in any form by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or storing in information storage or retrieval systems—without the prior written permission from the publisher. Original purchaser is granted permission to print copies for use within his or her immediate family only. For co-op licenses, please email [email protected]. For free homeschool resources visit Homeschoolgiveaways.com.
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How to Use ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Additional & Recommended Resources ........................................................................................ 5
James Watt .......................................................................................................................................... 6
Alessandro Volta .............................................................................................................................. 10
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre .................................................................................................... 14
Louis Braille ...................................................................................................................................... 18
Alexander Graham Bell .................................................................................................................. 22
Thomas Edison ................................................................................................................................ 26
Nikola Tesla ...................................................................................................................................... 30
George Washington Carver ........................................................................................................... 34
Wright Brothers ............................................................................................................................... 38
Marie Curie ....................................................................................................................................... 42
Favorite Inventors Research Project ............................................................................................ 46
Inventors Review ............................................................................................................................. 47
Answer Key ....................................................................................................................................... 48
Glossary ............................................................................................................................................ 50
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There are 10 units in this resource that explore the life and work of 10 inventors that changed
history. Each unit is completely self-contained, but completing them in order is suggested
because it helps the student understand the changes that were happening in the world.
Each lesson has short, informative text followed by comprehension questions based on what
was read.
The student can read the lesson text (or a parent/teacher can read it aloud) and use the
notebooking page that is included for written narration, using the questions as writing prompts.
This often works better for students who struggle with reading comprehension questions.
Alternatively, you can ask the questions orally if that suits your student ’s learning style best.
Suggested vocabulary words are bolded. You can have your student look up the definitions and
use them to create a notebook. Students can also find suggested definitions for the words in
the glossary at the end of the unit.
In addition to reading comprehension questions, each lesson is followed by prompts for
additional research and a notebooking page to record what is found. A final review quiz and
notebooking page for a report on the student’s favorite inventor are also included at the end of
the unit.
You will find answer keys for all reading comprehension questions and the review quiz at the
end of the resource. Answer keys for the additional research are not included as much of these
answers will vary based on the sources used for research.
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We have tons of FREE resources on Homeschool Giveaways & Freebies that you can use to
enhance and deepen your study of the themes covered in this unit. We’ve highlighted some of
them here for you.
Printables, Unit Studies and Hands-on Activities: James Watt
Printables, Unit Studies and Hands-on Activities: Louis Braille
Printables, Unit Studies and Hands-on Activities: Alexander Graham Bell
Printables, Unit Studies and Hands-on Activities: Thomas Edison
Printables, Unit Studies and Hands-on Activities: Nikola Tesla
Printables, Unit Studies and Hands-on Activities: George Washington Carver
Printables, Unit Studies and Hands-on Activities: Marie Curie
Inventors and Inventions Cheat Sheets
Inventors Notebooking Unit
Unit Studies All About Inventors
Learning About Famous Aviators and Astronauts: Worksheets and Unit Studies
Resources to Teach Kids About the History of Flight
Famous People Mini Quiz Pack Volume 2 – Inventors
Famous People Mini Quiz Pack Volume 6 – Aviators
Famous People Mini Quiz Pack Vol. 10 – Female Scientists
Famous People Mini Quiz Pack Vol. 11 – Female Aviators
Famous People Mini Quiz Pack Vol. 13 – Scottish Inventors
Famous People Mini Quiz Pack Vol. 18 – Irish Engineers and Inventors
Aviation History Timeline-Build an Aviation Museum Printable Pack
Periodic Table of Elements: Fact Cards and Cheat Sheets: Could you use
an easy, no-prep way to drill and review the periodic table? Explore the
world of elements with this Periodic Table of the Elements: Fact Cards
and Cheat Sheets set.
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Inventions are an interesting thing to study, but you have to be ready to use your imagination.
Our minds have a funny way of getting used to a lot of new things fairly quickly, so it ’s hard to
remember that the world hasn’t always been exactly how it is now—and that it won’t always
stay this way, either. For example, you probably don’t remember a time when there wasn’t an
Internet or when it took days (or longer) to travel somewhere that now takes just a few hours.
Many things have changed in a relatively short period of time. Let’s see what we can learn about
ten inventors who changed the world.
James Watt was born on January 19, 1736, in a town in west central Scotland called Greenock. His father was a businessman and a carpenter, and James enjoyed working with him in his workshop. James enjoyed studying how things worked, and his time in the workshop gave him the opportunity to try to recreate the things he was studying and get a deeper understanding of how they worked. He went to college to train as a mathematical-instrument maker. In 1757, he went to work making these instruments and became with friends with many scientists.
In 1763 or 1764, Watt was asked to fix a Newcomen steam engine. This engine had been invented by Thomas Newcomen, an Englishman, earlier in the 1700s. The engine was helpful to miners, but Watt realized it could work better. Newcomen’s steam engine used steam inefficiently. It had to be heated and cooled, but when it was cooled, a lot of energy was lost and wasted. Watt invented the separate condenser, which was a way to condense the engine ’s steam in a separate but connected cylinder. This was a huge change and opened the door to doing new things with steam engines.
Watt worked as a surveyor for several years and didn’t have time to devote to inventions, but later, he was able to get back to work. The engines could only produce a reciprocating, or back-and-forth, motion, but Watt invented a gear that allowed the engine to turn a wheel. He also invented a double-acting engine that allowed the pistons to be both pushed and pulled. Up until now, the pistons powered by engines could only move one way. In addition, he invented a way to control the speed of an engine and invented a pressure gauge. His work on the steam engine helped set the stage for the Industrial Revolution, a huge shift in having to do everything by hand to being able to put machines to work in order to produce things more quickly. Watt retired in 1800 and died on August 25, 1819, at the age of eighty-three.
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1. In what country was James Watt born? ________________________________________________________
2. Whose engine did he greatly improve? _______________________________________________________
3. What did the gear Watt invent enable the engine to do? ______________________________________
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4. What did Watt’s work help set the stage for? _________________________________________________
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Use an encyclopedia, another book, or the Internet with a parent’s permission, and
answer the following questions:
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