The sixth grade class at the Jesuit Middle School of Omaha (JMSO) recently finished their invention unit, a two-week lesson based on curriculum from the Archdiocese of Omaha.  This unit introduced students to the Scientific Process and furthered their team-building and problem-solving skills.  

 

The first week involved thinking various inventions and how they would complete them if they actually had to put a hypothesis into motion.  However, some of the ideas they thought of were a bit too extravagant and would probably fail.  

 

Students then did a brainstorm activity to come up with ideas on inventions created by children their age and how they could improve and/or modify them to make them their own.    It was with those ideas that inventions such as the Homework Alert Light, WakeMaster 3000, Teacher Utility Belt and Desk-Shelf Organizer were born.  

 

Inventions were created during the second week in the JMSO science lab, where the necessary materials were provided to make their ideas work:  string, batteries, paint-stirring sticks, washers and plastic cups just to name a few.    Students then put their hypotheses to work.  Some worked the first time.  Some had to be tried, re-tried and modified to provide a positive end result.  Some didn’t work because there were no suitable materials.  

 

In addition, each group created a Power Point to showcase their invention to their classmates and wrote a small paper highlighting their conclusions.  “One of the main goals of this project was for students to learn that making an invention isn’t as easy as it sounds,” said sixth grade homeroom teacher Mike Mansour.  “I wanted them to see that scientists don’t always get it right on the first try and they too learn from their mistakes.”