Article - Inventor of the Week: Alexander Graham Bell

"Leave the beaten track behind occasionally and dive into the woods.  Everytime you do so you will be certain to find something that you have never seen before..."
- Alexander Graham Bell (as stated in Lemelson-MIT, Sept. 2000).

     Fascinated with sound, the voice, and its characteristics, Alexander Graham Bell explored these natural phenomena and became one of the men that invented the telephone.  The article about him on Inventor of the Week is a short biography, mentioning some of his other accomplishments and interests as well.  The language is targeted toward a middle school reading level, but I would probably guide students to select passages, depending upon their reading level.  Although not American-born, he lived in America and became an American citizen - which may resonate with English language learning students who usually are from other countries.  For an activity with this article, students would work in groups to create a picture biography of Mr. Bell.  The pictures could be draw, from texts/periodicals, or printed from the internet; and the form of the final product is the student's choice: digital, paper, or more elaborate.

Lemelson-MIT. (Sept. 2000). Alexander Graham Bell: The telephone. Inventor of the Week.  
     Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/graham_bell.html

Website - America's story from America's library

America's story from America's library is a website create for young people by the Library of Congress.  Curious seekers can use the search function or click on one of the main menu options to learn about America.  The pages are bright, and the short texts are accompanied by relevant images or video clips.  Often an article ends with a question to connect the content to the reader's experiences or prior knowledge.  As an activity to promote some exploration of the website, I would have students select a general subject related to the Industrial Revolution - such as energy, inventions, or important figures - and have students create a web or bubble map, showing the relationships among the different topics of at least three articles. Library of Congress. (October 23, 2012). America's story from America's library.  Retrieved from      http://www.americaslibrary.gov/index.html

Video - How inventions changed history

   The American Industrial Revolution is usually divided into at least two parts.  In 1794, the earlier part of the Age of Invention, Elias Whitney patented the pivotal cotton gin (Davis, Oct., 17, 2012).  His work and the impact of it are presented in this rather creative video that should definitely hold young students' attentions.  The narration is well-paced and clearly, and the visuals are colorful and full of motion.  This video does not hide the negative side of the cotton gin's effect, and so I would have my students consider and write about some possibilities on the following topic: What if the cotton gin had not existed?  The students' would need to use other knowledge they had been learning about this time period in their answer, and tap into higher-order thinking skills of analysis, synthesis, and probably evaluation.  A class discussion about their thoughts would also be carried out.

Davis, K. (Oct. 17, 2012). How inventions changed history (for better and
     for worse) - Kenneth C.  Davis. Retrieved from
     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SMNYivhGsc

Book - Bright ideas: The age of invention in America 1870-1910

  

     Given the reviews of this book, Bright ideas (Rossi, 2005) seems like a good selection for middle school students - even if they still are reading slightly below 6th level.  The text is clear, the pages contain helpful colorful images.  A variety of inventions are presented, and the inventors include minorities and women (which is really nice for diversity).  For an activity with this text, I would assign a type of search.  Students would choose among a few modern inventions, and then find 3 inventors whose inventions contributed to the modern product.  Students would need to express - in drawing or writing - how the older invention links to the modern invention.  Depending upon the reading level of the class as a whole, this may be a paired-work activity.

Rossi, A. (2005). Bright ideas: The age of invention in America 1870-1910.
     Des Moines, IA: National Geographic Children's Books.

Book - Four American inventors

 

    Do old books lose their value?  If the book is Four American inventors, one could say no.  Written in language for children, the book offers a simple biography of four of America's great inventors from the Industrial Revolution era - Edison, Fulton, Morse, and Whitney.  Making this selection even nicer is that it is available for reading online for free!  For a class of students with intermediate and higher English language proficiency, I would assign a book report for one inventor.  Students with lower English language proficiency would write a report on one chapter of an inventor.  I would probably have the class vote for one or two inventors, so that I could create some type of outline or reading guide for the text.

 

Perry, F. M. (1901). Four American inventors. Retrieved from

   http://www.heritage-history.com/www/heritage-books.php?

   Dir=books&author=perry&book=inventors&story=_front

Website - Immigration game

       


   The Tenement Museum is actually in a preserved tenement on the Lower East Side of New York City, where many immigrants first settled in America during the latter half of the Industrial Revolution.  This site provides virtual tours, information about the museum, educational resources, and some interesting activities - like the Immigration game.  This game gives players a little view of the immigrant experience during the late 1800s-early 1900s.  Players choose identities, cross the Atlantic Ocean, stop at Ellis Island, and finally come to their new tenement dwelling.  In testing it, I performed several of the tasks before even realizing there were more explicit instructions - which is a good sign for English language learners who might have difficulties with the text.  The activity to follow the game would be to write or draw a story in which the student pretends to be an immigrant to America from that era.  They will need to consider factors such as having to pack only what could fit in one bag, the condition of the tenement, and the limited choice of jobs.

Tancil, J. (Producer). (2008). Immigration game. 
   http://www.tenement.org. Retrieved from
   http://www.tenement.org/immigrate/

Article - American history: Immigrants from Europe seek a better life in a new land



   For English language learners, a website like Voice of America (http://learningenglish.voanews.com ) could be very valuable.  It provides articles on many topics, and the print text is accompanied by a photo and oftentimes a digital recording with clearly spoken English.  The particular article that was chosen focuses on the waves of immigrants - many who would work in the American factories - during the 1800s.   Although the immigrants sought a better life, as stated in the article title, students will be learning that reality contradicted some of their hopeful expectations.  One activity could be for students to write a short essay that connects this article to the other information they will be learning about the immigrants' living conditions.  Another essay could be to connect the 1800s' immigrant experience to the immigrant experience of themselves or their family.  For the students with lower English language proficiency, they could complete a graphic organizer that shows the immigrants' troubles in their homeland next to their troubles in America for the first activity or a Venn diagram to compare/constrast the 1800s' and the modern immigrant experience for the second activity.

American history: Immigrants from Europe seek a better life in a new land. (May
   12, 2010). voanews.com. Retrieved from http://learningenglish.voanews.com/
   content/article--immigrants-from-europe-seek-better-life-in-new-land-
   93602104/115847.html