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One Dark Night

What did we do before electricity? Students will learn about its invention and imagine life before this relatively modern convenience.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Black or Dark Construction Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Ask students if they've ever had a power outage where they live. How did they manage? Explain that it wasn't until the late 19th/early 20th century that electricity entered homes. The first home in the USA to have a private electric system was owned by Thomas Edison, an early contributor to its modern use. Have students investigate the history of electricity and some of the key people involved in the field. In addition to Edison they might research Thales of Miletus, who in 600 BCE described amber as becoming charged when rubbed, thus noting static electricity; Stephen Gray, who in 1729 showed that electricity can be transferred via wires; Benjamin Franklin, who showed that electricity can act at a distance; Alessandro Volta, who in 1793 made the first batteries; and others.

  • Step 2

    Ask students to think about what life might have been like before electricity. Have them think of activities families may have engaged in or what they might do if they had to live for a period of time without it. Then have them create a scene of an activity performed without electricity. 

  • Step 3

    Have students present their scenes and talk about why they chose the activity. 

Standards

MATH: Create models that demonstrate math concepts and attend to precision. 

MATH: Analyze, compare, create, and compose math ideas using written, oral, and drawn lines, shapes, forms, and patterns. 

Adaptations

Challenge students to spend one day without using devices powered by electricity and encourage other household members to try to do this as well. Ask them to report on the activities they engaged in and what, if anything, made them turn it back on.

The world's first film studio was called "The Black Maria" and was created by Thomas Edison. Have students learn about the history of this cinematographic theater as it was known. How did it operate? What kinds of films were produced? What is a kinetograph?