Introduction:
Just imagine how your life would be different without things like a scotch tape, a camera, a microwave oven, a telephone, or even a vaccine against chicken pox. All of those things were invented or discovered by a scientist and/or mathematician. How much do you know about the geniuses that have made our society what it is today? How would the world be different if they hadn't existed? How has your life been affected because of them?


Task:
Your class will be creating a Living History Interview video, documenting the lives of famous scientists, mathematicians and inventors. This video will be shared with other fifth grade students.


Process:
You will work in teams of 2-3 to produce your segment of the video. You will have the following roles:
  • Interviewer: Memorize and ask questions of the scientist, mathematician or inventor. You will need to dress as a professional interviewer.
  • Famous Person: Memorize and present answers to the questions, in period costume if possible.
  • Producer: Create the set design, rehearse interviewer and famous person, run the video camera.
As a team you will study one of the people in the list below, and find the answers to the fifteen student questions. You will then write questions for the interviewer to ask the famous person. The questions and answers must be written in a way so that all of the information asked in the fifteen questions is presented during the interview. You cannot ask the questions exactly the way they are written for your research project. You will need to use proper spelling, grammar and punctuation in your writing. The writing will be turned in as part of this project. You will need to include a separate page citing all sources used.


Resources:
Archimedes
Clara Barton
Elizabeth Blackwell
Alexander Graham Bell
Rachel Carson
George Washington Carver
Marie Curie
John Deere
George Eastman
Thomas Edison
Albert Einstein
Benjamin Franklin
Robert Fulton
Robert Goddard
Jonas Salk
Cyrus Hall McCormick
Louis Pasteur

Christa McAuliffe

 

Evaluation:
You will be evaluated using a rubric.


Conclusion:
Upon finishing this webquest you will have learned about the contributions of famous scientists, mathematicians and inventors. You will also have learned how these contributions affected your life, and how our world would be different today if the person had not existed.