The New Inventions Magazine Worksheet lets 2nd graders name, draw and describe an invention of their own. An open-ended science and writing page that turns curiosity about inventors into real explaining practice.
Big ideas from curious minds
Second graders learn that every invention started with a person who noticed a problem and wanted to fix it. They meet inventors like Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin and Mary Anderson, who invented the windshield wiper after watching drivers lean out in the snow. Kids learn that inventors try, fail, change their plan and try again. Then the fun part: they become inventors themselves, sketching an idea, labeling its parts and explaining what problem it solves. The click moment is realizing that kids can invent things too!
Inventing is thinking like a scientist and an engineer at the same time. These moves get kids doing both.
Give each pair a bag of clean recyclables and a problem: "Build something that keeps a pencil from rolling off the desk." Kids build, test it and fix it. Afterward, ask what they changed and why. That's the real inventor process in 20 minutes.
Why it works: going from real objects to pictures to symbols is a core recommendation of the U.S. Department of Education's elementary math guide.
Try it withNew Inventions Magazine WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →Inventors draw before they build. Have kids sketch their invention, add labels with arrows and write one sentence about what it does. Pictures with labels help kids explain their thinking and remember new vocabulary.
Why it works: pairing a picture with each word gives kids two ways to remember it, a well-tested principle of how people learn (Mayer, 2009).
Try it withNew Inventions Magazine WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →Pick an everyday object, like a backpack, and think out loud: "What bugs me about this? The straps hurt. How could I fix it?" Write your ideas on the board. Then kids try the same steps with their own object.
Why it works: showing first, practicing together, then letting kids try alone is the "gradual release" model teachers have relied on for decades (Pearson and Gallagher, 1983).
Pick a mix kids can relate to: Thomas Edison and the light bulb, Benjamin Franklin, Mary Anderson and the windshield wiper, George Washington Carver, and Margaret Knight, who invented the paper bag machine. Short stories about each one work best.
Use four simple steps: find a problem, think of an idea, build it, then test and fix it. Let kids build with simple materials so they experience each step, including the part where things don't work at first.
Ask kids to solve a small classroom or home problem, like keeping crayons organized or a door from slamming. They sketch, label, build a model from recyclables and present it.
Inventor stories show kids that mistakes are part of learning. They also build science thinking, problem solving and writing skills when kids describe their own ideas.
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