5 3 1 what a great idea TG

5.3.1

What a
Great Idea!
SUMMARY

Kids have created inventions dating
from 5,000 years ago. This book describes
five such inventions and explains the process
for getting a patent. The book invites students
to invent too.

LESSON VOCABULARY

admiringly
scoundrels
worthless

permit
subject

INTRODUCE THE BOOK
INTRODUCE THE TITLE AND AUTHOR

Introduce
the title and the author of What a Great Idea!
Invite students to discuss great ideas they
have had in their lives. Ask: What do you think
this book will be about?
BUILD BACKGROUND

Invite students to name
inventions with which they are familiar and
to discuss how those inventions have helped
them in their daily lives. Encourage students
to think about why inventions are created.
PREVIEW/USE TEXT FEATURES

Look through the
book with students and note text features that
help with the book’s organization: table of
contents, charts, diagrams, and flow charts.
Ask students what they expect to learn.

Point out and explain words such as
inventor (page 4), empress (page 5), earmuffs
(page 6), and others with which students may
not be familiar.

AUTHOR’S PURPOSE
TEXT STRUCTURE

READ THE BOOK
SET PURPOSE

Invite students to set a purpose
for reading What a Great Idea! They may be
curious about the inventions of children their
age, or interested in learning how they can
create an invention. Some students may
wish to learn how to get a patent.

STRATEGY SUPPORT: TEXT STRUCTURE

Explain
to students that they will be better readers if
they analyze the structure of a text. Explain
that external text features include titles,
headings, subheadings, lists, flow charts, etc.
Discuss the idea of internal structure—the
pattern of ideas and logical connections in the
text. Remind students that forms of internal
structure include chronology, description/
definition, comparison and contrast, and
cause and effect. Have students think about
what the internal text structure of What a
Great Idea! is as they read.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

PAGE 5 How did Hsi Ling Shi invent silk?
(A cocoon fell into her tea, and as the cocoon
came apart, threads appeared.)
PAGE 6

How did Chester Greenwood invent
earmuffs? (He bent wire and attached padded
circles.)
PAGES 8–9

Why did Jeanie Low invent a stool

that folded? (so it could be folded out of the
way when not in use)

PAGE 11

Why do inventors need patent
lawyers? (Lawyers search to make sure the
invention is new, and they fill out paperwork.)

PAGE 13 What motivated Josh Parsons to
invent? (He wanted to help his friend throw
a ball.)
PAGE 17

What is the author’s purpose in
including a flow chart? (to inspire kids to
become inventors and to follow a sensible
process)
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REVISIT THE BOOK
READER RESPONSE

1. Possible response: The author wanted
readers to know that young people have
been inventing for thousands of years.
2. Charts should show each invention and why
it was invented. For example, earmuffs were
invented because Chester Greenwood’s
ears kept getting cold and he could not play
outside for long periods of time.
3. Persons named and descriptions of why
they’re scoundrels should reflect students’
understanding of the word.
4. Possible response: It helped me see that a
patent provides sketches of the invention
and diagrams to show how it works.
EXTEND UNDERSTANDING

Direct students’
attention to the images and diagrams
throughout the book. Ask students how the
images helped them to understand the book.
Ask students which images they liked best
and which helped them most to understand a
particular invention.

RESPONSE OPTIONS
SPEAKING

Have students prepare a drawing
of an invention they would like to create
as well as a paragraph explaining how the

invention works. Have students paste these
on construction paper or poster board. Then
have each student present his or her invention
to the class. Remind students that their
inventions can be simple. Ask students to
conclude each presentation by summarizing
whom the invention will help and why.

SOCIAL STUDIES
CONNECTION
Except for Hsi Ling Shi,
the book does not detail
when or where the inventions
were made. Invite students to do more
research and to write short biographies of the
inventors in this text or to find other young
inventors to profile. Remind students that
a profile is a biography that tells the most
important characteristics of a person’s life.

Skill Work
TEACH/REVIEW VOCABULARY
Write the vocabulary words on the
chalkboard; invite students to define familiar
words. Explain words they don’t know.
Create an add-on story. Start the story with
a single sentence using one vocabulary
word. Have each student add to the story
using another vocabulary word. Continue
until all students have had a turn. Repeating

vocabulary words is fine.

TARGET SKILL AND STRATEGY
AUTHOR’S PURPOSE

Remind students that
the author’s purpose is his or her reason
for writing. There are four main reasons for
writing: to persuade, to inform, to entertain,
and to express. Explain that authors often
have more than one purpose at a time.
Encourage students to explain which specific
features in the structure or language of the
text helped them to decide on the author’s
purpose.
TEXT STRUCTURE Review with students
common internal text structure forms. Ask
which form seems to apply to What a Great
Idea! (description/definition) Encourage
students to use the text structure to help
them determine the author’s purpose or
purposes.

ADDITIONAL SKILL INSTRUCTION

GENERALIZE Tell students that authors may
present ideas about several things or people,
and students can make a statement about
all of them together. This kind of statement
is a generalization. Have students look

for clue words that signal generalizations
(most, many, usually, few, seldom, all, and
generally) as they read. A generalization
supported by specific facts and logic is
a valid generalization; one not adequately
supported is faulty. Invite students to state
a valid generalization about the inventions
described in What a Great Idea!

What a Great Idea!

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Name

What a Great Idea!

Author’s Purpose
• The author’s purpose is his or her reason for writing.
• Four common reasons are to persuade, to inform, to entertain, and to express.

Directions Read the paragraph below. Then answer the questions.
In the late 1800s, Chester Greenwood invented earmuffs. Chester lived in Maine, which has
cold winters. Chester’s ears got so cold during winter that he could only play outside for brief
periods of time. Chester wanted to keep playing outside without his ears getting cold. Then he hit

upon an idea! He bent a piece of wire to the shape of his head. Then he had his grandmother sew
two padded circles. Chester attached the circles to the ends of the wires. Then he put his creation
onto his head! At first people thought Chester looked funny with his earmuffs. But when they saw
how long he could stay out in the cold, they looked at him admiringly. Soon, people were buying
earmuffs from Chester!

1. What is one of the author’s purposes in writing this paragraph? How do you know?

2. What is another purpose that the author has for writing? How do you know?

4. Does it seem the author wants to persuade the reader? How do you know?

© Pearson Education 5

3. Might the author have a third purpose for writing? Give some examples to justify your answer.

5. If you wanted to write about an invention, what invention would you select, and what
would be your purpose?

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What a Great Idea!

Name

Vocabulary

Directions Choose the word from the box that best matches each definition.
Write the word on the line.

Check the Words You Know
admiringly
subject

permit
worthless

scoundrels

1.

evil, dishonorable people; villains or rascals

2.

a person who is bound by loyalty to a king or queen

3.

to let or allow

4.

with wonder, pleasure, and approval

5.

without value; good-for-nothing; useless

Directions Choose the word from the box that best completes each sentence.
Write the word on the line.
6. People who saw Chester Greenwood’s invention looked at him

.

7. When Jeannie Low invented her step stool, she realized that a magnet would
her to keep the step in place.

© Pearson Education 5

8. People in Florida may have thought Chester’s invention was
but for people from cold climates, earmuffs became essential.

,

9. After the young empress Hsi Ling Shi invented silk, all of her
began weaving silk.
10. Over the years, some
inventors, but few have succeeded.

have tried to steal the ideas of creative

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