Today’s Walking Classroom focuses on the great inventor, Thomas Edison. We’ll learn about his difficult childhood, like the scarlet fever that destroyed much of his hearing and made traditional classroom learning difficult. The kids talk about the obstacles he overcame, as well as his immense curiosity and the thousands of inventions it led him to uncover. His inventions had an enormous impact on improving the quality of people’s lives. His most notable invention, the light bulb, changed the way people lived.
Character Value: Learning from failure
Click for Standards Alignment
Common Core
L–Language | SL–Speaking and Listening | RI–Reading: Informational | RL–Reading: Literature | W–Writing | RH–6-8 Literacy in History/Social Studies | RST–6-8 Literacy in Science & Technical Subjects Elementary School:RI.3.1, RI.3.2, SL.3.1, SL.3.4
RI.4.1, RI.4.2, SL.4.1, SL.4.4
RI.5.1, RI.5.2, SL.5.1, SL.5.4
Middle School:
RI.6.1, RI.6.2, SL.6.1, SL.6.4
RI.7.1, RI.7.2, RI.7.3, SL.7.1, SL.7.4
RI.8.1, RI.8.2, RI.8.3, SL.8.1, SL.8.4
RST.6-8.4
Next Generation Science Standards
PS–Physical Science | LS–Life Science | ESS–Earth and Space Science | ETS–Engineering, Technology and the Application of Science Elementary School: 3-PS2-3, 3-PS2-4, 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-3Middle School: MS-PS2-3, MS-PS2-5, MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-4
Supplemental Resource Links and Downloads
Quiz: (Make sure you're already logged into your Gmail account, then click to copy this Google form to your Google Drive. Quiz keys are here.)
Thomas Edison Google Quiz
Slide Deck:
Thomas Edison Slide Deck
Includes instructions and a demonstration of how to build a simple light bulb.
Shares information about Thomas Edison and his inventions.
Demonstrate knowledge of Thomas Edison by finding the hidden words.
Play “I Spy” on a virtual tour of Thomas Edison’s Laboratory at Thomas Edison National Historical Park.
Enter the invention process for the motion picture camera in this online activity from Thomas Edison National Historical Park.
Discover the invention process firsthand in this activity from the Thomas Edison National Historical Park.
See More Podcasts in Subject Area: Science
See More Themed Groupings that Contain this Podcast: Biographies, Figures from Science, Historical Figures, Innovators: Artists, Inventors & More, Physical Science