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Thomas Edison Timeline

Thomas Edison Timeline

Students will learn about Thomas Edison and create a timeline of his life and inventions.

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.

  • Craft Materials
  • Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) was an inventor known for his developments in the fields of electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. His inventions include the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and early versions of the electric light bulb. Have students learn about his life and work. What other products did he invent or innovate? Why did he consider his almost total deafness a blessing? What was the Black Maria and how did it work?

  • Step 2

    Ask students to create a timeline depicting noted events in Thomas Edison's life. Have them describe and illustrate some of the inventions. They can embellish the timeline with craft items such as string and beads or small buttons.

  • Step 3

    Have students present their timelines and discuss Edison's inventions and how they improved life for many people.

Standards

SS: Time, Continuity, and Change: Read, reconstruct, and interpret the past. Imagine the future. Place oneself in various times and spaces and reflect on change. 

SS: Science, Technology, and Society: Identify how technologies such as communication and transportation have evolved and how people have employed advances in technology to modify daily lives including health and economics. Explore historical examples and imagine future technologies. 

Adaptations

Thomas Edison said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Have students ponder this quote and discuss how making mistakes and learning from them paves the way to success.

Ask students to draw a scene that depicts people engaging in activities before the invention of electricity. They might show children playing a game in a room lit by candles or people using a washboard to launder clothing by hand.