Kids with BIG Ideas!

Maggie’s Activity Pack

Name ______

Date ______

Kids With BIG Ideas! Thomas Edison invented many things. He made the phonograph and the light bulb. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Did you know that kids can be inventors, too? Take a look at Maggie’s “book.” It tells about kids who came up with medical inventions! As you read, think about something you would like to invent.

This Inventor’s Got Heart! beat. But, the wristband kept slipping off. Brandon made a Brandon Whale was 10 years old better wristband. It stayed on and when he invented something also had a better connection. It is important. His mom had just had called a PaceMate. He got an surgery. Doctors gave her a award for this. Today he has his pacemaker to help her heart. own company. He sends his When she came home she wore a wristband out to patients like his wristband. This way the doctors mom. could check her heart

Racing To Stay Well them pushing their IV poles. But, the parents couldn’t keep up and You may know this inventor’s last the IVs came out. This was name, Spencer Whale. He is dangerous and painful. So Brandon’s brother. He invented Spencer made a special cart that something to make a patient’s life held an IV pole. Now the kids better, too. When he visited the could have fun in the hospital halls hospital, he saw many sick and get their medicine, too. children riding bikes or trucks. Spencer won an award for his Parents ran behind invention.

© Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2008. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use. Seeing the Light! Rebecca got a patent for her idea. She kept working on it. She Rebecca Schroeder was trying to wanted to make her invention do her homework in her mom’s even better. Today doctors use dark car. But she couldn’t see this Glo-Sheet. They can go into a what she was writing. She put patient’s hospital room at night special paint on a clipboard. When and read the chart. Rebecca has she put paper on the clipboard, won many awards. She is in the she could see it, even in the dark! Ohio Inventor’s Hall of Fame.

You might think, “Why 1. ______didn’t I think of that?” Make a list of at least 2. ______three ideas you would like to see become real 3. ______inventions. i.

Wow! You have made one of your ideas come to life. Tell what you did!

Maybe you will REALLY make your invention happen! Who knows? These kids did! © Maggie's Earth Adventures, LLC 2008. Teachers may reproduce for classroom use. Dear Colleague, The power of kids, just like those in your classroom, adds an amazing element of motivation to your daily work. The kids highlighted here certainly have a great deal of ingenuity. One of the things I like to point out to children is that many of them had to keep working; they didn’t give up. This perseverance is a key quality to point out to your class as you discuss the text. I suggest having children find out about other famous “kid inventors.” Why not highlight at least one “kid with big ideas” every week. Your students could take turns presenting their “child stars” to the class. Maybe you could even find an email address and compose a letter of congratulations to the inventor. Your class could come up with a list of questions they feel should be asked. If you get enough responses, some of your students may benefit from writing a profile of the qualities that makes someone successful. How can individuals in your class emulate these qualities? As you can see, this makes “character education” relevant and meaningful rather than simply displaying posters. When each student has had a turn to feature an inventor, take all the information and make a book for next year’s class. Your present class can list the qualities that make for success and give your future class advice. I’ll just bet that your present class will begin to exhibit some of these traits! As for those inventions, you may want to allow students to work together in pairs or small groups to come up with ideas for a personal invention. Maybe you will want to participate, too! At least once a week my husband has a “brilliant” idea. Some of them really are fantastic and others…well! But the mind needs creative exercise, and this is one good way to keep those innovative ideas flowing. Perhaps you will want to encourage further exploration for some ideas that pop into young minds. Who knows? Maybe you will be the inspiration behind the next BIG IDEA! Happy teaching, Kathy

Answers will vary.

Goals: Children will read about three children who invented useable products for use in the medical field. After reading the inspiring text, students are encouraged to brainstorm ideas for their own inventions and to sketch a design for an idea they particularly like. Follow-up activities are suggested in the Dear Colleague letter. The activity is available on the primary and intermediate levels. There is a companion emergent reader activity. This lesson correlates with the National Social Studies Standards: Civic Ideals and Practices.