Inventions and Innovations MEA

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Resource ID#: 30334 Primary Type: Lesson Plan

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Inventive minds have persisted throughout history. Inventors have improved our lives with inventions created out of a desire to solve a problem or make the quality of peoples' lives better. Our president is concerned that we are not keeping up with other countries in the area of engineering and inventive thinking. Why is this? As students explore famous inventions from around the world throughout history, they will decide what the best inventions of all time are and support their opinion with strong reasons.

General Information

Subject(s): Science, Social Studies, English Language Arts

Grade Level(s): 5

Intended Audience: Educators

Suggested Technology: Internet Connection, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Office

Instructional Time: 3 Hour(s)

Resource supports reading in content area:Yes
Freely Available: Yes

Keywords: MEA, Model Eliciting Activity, Real-World Situation, Problem Solving, Non-Routine Problem, Engineering, Models, Data Analysis

Instructional Component Type(s): Lesson Plan, Project, Data Set, Student Center Activity, Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) STEM Lesson

Instructional Design Framework(s): Direct Instruction, Guided Inquiry (Level 3), Writing to Learn, Argumentation, Cooperative Learning

Resource Collection: STEM Lessons - Model Eliciting Activity

Lesson Content

Lesson Plan Template:
Model Eliciting Activity (MEA)
Formative Assessment

The teacher will use the readiness questions as the formative assessment. Additional formative assessment can be found in Part 1 of the Instructional Suggestions section.
Feedback to Students

The students will receive immediate feedback throughout the lesson. The teacher will introduce the lesson, then allow the students to work either individually or in small groups. As students are working on developing their procedures, the teacher will ask the students reflection questions (set 1) as a whole group. The teacher will give feedback specific to each group (or individual) regarding their process and/or procedure for solving the problem.
Summative Assessment

The teacher will determine if the students have reached the learning targets for this resource by repeating the educative assessment after the second data set. If the students have explained their procedure in detail and defend their choice verbally, they have met the target for this lesson. With MEAs, the answers are open-ended. This means that all solutions should be generalizable. The solution to an MEA is a process and a "way of thinking" that we would like the students to achieve.This resource should demonstrate the students' improvement in conceptual difficulties and should thus allow the teacher to measure the impact of this resource on student learning.

Students' writing and oral presentations can be assessed using the rubrics available in the Additional Instructions or Materials section.
Learning Objectives

The student will be able to use prior knowledge and problem solving skills to solve non-routine problems and real-world situations, using mathematical and scientific models.

Students will:
- Trace the development of technology and the impact of major inventions on business productivity during the early development of the United States and present.
- Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
- Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
- Investigate and describe some basic forms of energy, including light, heat, sound, electrical, chemical, and mechanical.
- Compare different sources of energy.
- Investigate and explain that energy has the ability to cause motion or create change.
Prior Knowledge

Students will need to know:
- how to read a chart/table.
- how to write a basic business or friendly letter.
- that there are different types of energy (heat, light, sound, electrical, mechanical and chemical).
Instructional Suggestions

Students may need some assistance in determining if some of the breakthroughs involve the transfer of energy. The teacher should help direct them to an agreeable solution without influencing the solution. Some groups may see the issue of transfer of energy on a deeper level than others and this should be promoted.
Supplemental Reading

The article that the list came from, "The 50 Greatest Breakthroughs since the Wheel," is available from The Atlantic, but should be read only after completing at least the first half of the MEA, or preferably after the MEA is completed.
Guiding/reflective Questions
- What criteria will your group look at to make your decision?
- Why is having a plan and a procedure important?
- How do you think your team is going to "think like engineers" for this task?
Reading Passage 1

Inventors_Around_the_World_Letter_1.docx
Readiness Questions
1. Who is the client for this problem?
2. Why does the client need our help?
3. What do you think will be difficult about solving this problem for the client?
Data Set 1

Inventors_Around_the_World_Dataset_1.docx
Letter Template 1

See accommodations
Comprehension/readiness questions

See Readiness questions
Reading Passage 2

Inventors_Around_the_World_Letter_2.docx
Data Set 2

Inventors_Around_the_World_Dataset_2.docx
Letter Template 2

See accommodations
Additional Instructions or Materials

See the Oral_Presentation_Rubric_2.docx.

For more information on inventions:
- The EDInformatics website has the Encyclopedia Brittanica's list of the greatest inventions of all time and their inventors.
- Students may also enjoy the Look What Came From... book series by Miles Harvey. These books explain the top inventions of all time invented by different countries. You can find them on Amazon. These are great for researching information.
Reflection question 2
1. Did you use a new strategy or procedure?
2. How did your suggestions change?
3. If it was not the same, why do you think that it changed?
4. Did you use more than one strategy or procedure?
Students should present their findings to the class (see rubric under additional materials).

Accommodations & Recommendations

Accommodations:
The teacher can:
- have students complete the MEA as a whole class as an introduction to MEAs.
- have students work in either hetero- or homogenous groups.
- have students complete the process orally and can transcribe the written letters.
- break the lesson into smaller mini-lessons completed over 3 days.
The letter templates may be used in order to guide the students in their letter writing:
- Template_1_Inventors_Around_the_World.docx
- Template_2_Inventors_Around_the_World.docx
Extensions:
Students can write a persuasive letter to the explaining why their procedure should be chosen.Another activity that can be used as an extension is to have the students choose one of the breakthroughs listed and to write about/investigate why/how it is an innovation, what it improved, and the questions that engineers asked before designing the innovation.
Suggested Technology: Internet Connection, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Office
Special Materials Needed:
Books or Internet Sites on Famous Inventors.
Further Recommendations:
There are no single correct answers when solving a Model Eliciting Activity (MEA). Instead, there are many possible solutions and procedures because solutions are meant to be generalizable. Students are encouraged to use a specific type of thinking and process the information given, as well create a logical answer to the problem that they are then able to explain.

Additional Information/Instructions

By Author/Submitter

This resource was modified by CPALMS MEA team members.

Source and Access Information

Contributed by: Wendi Dabney

Name of Author/Source: Wendi Dabney

District/Organization of Contributor(s): Orange

Is this Resource freely Available? Yes

Access Privileges: Public

License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial

* Please note that examples of resources are not intended as complete curriculum.

Aligned Standards

This vetted resource aligns to concepts or skills in these benchmarks.

Related Resources

Other vetted resources related to this resource.

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Inventions and Innovations MEA

General Information

Lesson Content

Lesson Plan Template:

Formative Assessment

Feedback to Students

Summative Assessment

Learning Objectives

Prior Knowledge

Instructional Suggestions

Supplemental Reading

Guiding/reflective Questions

Reading Passage 1

Readiness Questions

Data Set 1

Letter Template 1

Comprehension/readiness questions

Reading Passage 2

Data Set 2

Letter Template 2

Additional Instructions or Materials

Reflection question 2

Assessment

Accommodations & Recommendations

Accommodations:

Extensions:

Special Materials Needed:

Further Recommendations:

Additional Information/Instructions

Source and Access Information

Aligned Standards

Related Resources

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