Social Studies: Famous Inventors Edison and the Wright Brothers
Learning how inventors changed everyday life and travel
Social Studies: Famous Inventors Edison and the Wright Brothers
Learning how inventors changed everyday life and travel
Social Studies - Grade 2-3
- 1
Thomas Edison is often remembered for improving a practical electric light bulb. How did electric lights help people in their homes and towns?
Think about what life would be like if people only had candles or oil lamps.
Electric lights helped people see better at night. They made homes, streets, and businesses safer and easier to use after dark. - 2
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, are famous for building and flying an early powered airplane. What problem were they trying to solve?
They were trying to solve the problem of how people could fly through the air in a machine that had power and could be controlled. - 3
Circle the invention most connected with Thomas Edison: electric light bulb, bicycle, airplane.
Edison worked with electricity and lighting.
The electric light bulb is most connected with Thomas Edison because he improved it and helped make it useful for many people. - 4
Circle the invention most connected with the Wright brothers: telephone, powered airplane, printing press.
The Wright brothers tested their invention at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
The powered airplane is most connected with the Wright brothers because they built and flew one of the first successful powered airplanes. - 5
Put these events in order from earliest to latest: Edison improves a practical electric light bulb in 1879, the Wright brothers fly at Kitty Hawk in 1903, you were born.
The correct order is Edison improves a practical electric light bulb in 1879, the Wright brothers fly at Kitty Hawk in 1903, and then you were born. - 6
Edison had a laboratory where he and his team tested many ideas. Why is testing important for inventors?
Inventors often try more than one idea before they succeed.
Testing is important because inventors need to find out what works and what does not work. Testing helps them improve their inventions. - 7
The Wright brothers owned a bicycle shop before they built airplanes. How might working with bicycles have helped them learn about flying machines?
Bicycles and airplanes both need balance and control.
Working with bicycles may have helped them learn about balance, wheels, steering, and careful building. Those ideas were useful when they built flying machines. - 8
Write one sentence that tells why Thomas Edison is an important inventor in history.
Thomas Edison is important because his inventions and improvements helped bring electric light, recorded sound, and other new technology to many people. - 9
Write one sentence that tells why the Wright brothers are important in history.
The Wright brothers are important because their successful powered flight helped begin the age of airplanes and air travel. - 10
Look at the two inventors. What is one way Edison and the Wright brothers were alike?
Think about what all inventors do.
Edison and the Wright brothers were alike because they were inventors who tested ideas, solved problems, and helped change the way people lived. - 11
What is one way Edison and the Wright brothers were different?
They were different because Edison worked on inventions such as electric lights and sound recording, while the Wright brothers worked on flying machines. - 12
The Wright brothers made their famous flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Why do you think a wide, windy, sandy place could be helpful for testing an airplane?
Think about what an airplane needs for takeoff and landing.
A wide, windy, sandy place could help because there was open space for flying, wind to help lift the plane, and soft sand for safer landings. - 13
Choose the best word to complete the sentence: An inventor is a person who makes or improves something new. The best word is inventor, farmer, or mayor.
The best word is inventor because an inventor makes or improves something new. - 14
Edison and the Wright brothers did not succeed on every first try. What should an inventor do when an idea does not work?
Think about how practice helps people get better.
An inventor should keep learning, make changes, and try again. Mistakes can help inventors improve their ideas. - 15
Imagine you lived before electric lights and airplanes. Name one way your life would be different.
You may write about home, school, travel, or safety.
Life would be different because nights would be darker without electric lights, and traveling far away would take much longer without airplanes.