Ask students to name recent inventions or innovations
that have brought about changes in their homes and
lives. Write these on the board and briefly discuss
the changes brought about by these items. Ask them
if they foresee these inventions as being useful 100-200
years in the future.
Distribute handout of 19th Century Invention Timeline.
If possible, have students visit the interactive timeline:
/historynow/preview/12_2006/interactive.php
Ask students to complete the handout by speculating
about the invention’s purpose. Then ask students
to decide whether they use the invention today.
Ask students if they use or depend on any other inventions from the 19th
century. Write these on the board and discuss the effect of these items on
their lives and what life would be like without them.
Activities
Divide students into pairs or groups of three. Each
group gets a cropped patent drawing of a nineteenth-century
invention. Some groups will get two drawings of the
same invention. Give the typewriter to the group which
receives the calculating machine.
Give the groups about 5 minutes to determine what
their invention is. Some inventions will be fairly
obvious while others will not be as easy to identify.
Instruct those groups with obscure inventions to study
these drawings carefully to attempt to identify their
item.
Have each group internally discuss the item or
items that they have. Additionally, have them discuss
the changes that the invention brought into peoples
lives, other related inventions, and how they affect
our lives and modern society. Also have them prepare
essays responding to these questions as well as speculating
as to what life would be like without these items.
On the second day, students should present their
essays to the class. The drawings can be hung on the
board or projected as PowerPoint slides during the
presentations.
Following presentations have the class discuss
the long term and far reaching influence of these
inventions on society.
