Thomas Alva Edison

Objectives:

• Students will be able to state details about the life of Thomas Edison.

• Students will be able to describe some of Edison’s inventions.

• Students will be able to state an opinion about the impact of Edison’s work on everyday modern life.

Suggested Grades:

3rd Grade - 4th Grade - 5th Grade - 6th Grade

Lesson Procedure:

Print the reading comprehension passage and questions (see below).

Students should read the passage silently, then answer the questions. Teachers may also use the text as part of a classroom lesson plan.

Lesson Excerpt:

Thomas Alva Edison is one of the most important scientists and inventors of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Edison was born in Ohio in 1847, and when he was 7 years old, he moved with his family to Michigan. He went to school in Michigan for only 3 months before his mother decided to teach him at home. Thomas got a job selling newspapers when he was 12. He began to lose his hearing around the same time. When he was 15, Thomas bought a used printing press and began to publish his own newspaper. He called it the Weekly Herald.

In 1862, Thomas rescued a three-year-old boy who was nearly run over by a boxcar. The boy's father was very grateful and offered to teach Thomas how to use the telegraph.

Continued...