A guide for using our resources

Children will identify several Black inventors and explain how their inventions solved problems.

Social Studies Focus: Black History Month

Science Focus: inventors/inventions

CCSS (and states that have similar standards): RI.1.1, RI.1.3, RI.1.4

Simple, spectacular ideas to boost your lessons.

• This book celebrates Black inventors and how their inventions aff ect kids’ everyday lives.
• There are mini biographies of each inventor in the back of the book.

• Kids learned the word bristles from the issue. Help make the word “stick” by having kids draw what the word means.
• Use our Draw the Word skill sheet, or have kids draw it in a word journal.

Skill: engineering design, critical thinking

Materials: Be an Inventor skill sheet, pencils, crayons

• Children can work on this project alone, in pairs, or in groups. Hand out copies of the skill sheet and discuss the problem from the sidebar: The giraff e is too tall for Kim to reach.
• Challenge kids to come up with a solution that does NOT use a ladder! Have them draw their design and write about how the invention works.
• Finally, have children share their work and compare their inventions.