Edison's Inventions Design a poster or create a booklet showing and describing some of Thomas Edison's many inventions. Visit About.com to gather information. Use your own words to summarize the information you find online or at the library. If you use photographs or illustrations from books or from the Internet, you must cite your sources. Ask your teacher how to do this if you don't know how.

Edison's Life Story Visit About.com Inventors to learn more about the events in Edison's life. There are 4 pages, each covering a part of Edison's life from childhood to his later years. Take notes as you read. Then make a mini booklet biography of Thomas Edison. Your booklet should be 5-10 pages and include your own illustrations. If you think you are not a very good illustrator, team up with a friend who is. If you choose to use any photos or illustrations from the Internet, you must cite your source. Ask your teacher how to do this if you don't know how.

Edison's Life Story (Grades 3-5)  Visit the About.com Inventors Pages to learn more about Edison's life. There are 2 pages, each covering a part of Edison's life from childhood to his later years. Take notes as you read. Then organize your notes and make a mini booklet, poster or timeline showing what you learned about Thomas Edison's life. Work with a partner to gather your information and illustrate your work. If you choose to use any photos or illustrations from the Internet, you must cite your source. Ask your teacher how to do this if you don't know how.

Learning Perseverance When you think of Thomas Edison, you probably think he was a very successful inventor. That's true, but several of his ideas fizzled. Click here to learn what Edison tried to invent but failed. When you finish reading, take a sheet of paper, fold it in half so that you have two columns, one on the left and one on the right. On one side make a list of things you tried and succeeded and on the other side, make a list of things you've tried and failed. On the back of your paper, write a list of reasons why you should always keep trying.

Working for Mr. Edison Visit the Edison Employment Quiz website and take the test to see if you would qualify for a job with Thomas Edison. Read through the information about the test and then choose either the 30-question sampler or the full 150-question test.

Myths About Edison Was Thomas Edison married? Where did he go to school? Was he deaf? Write a list of 10 questions you might want to ask Thomas Edison. Then visit the Edison National Park Services website to see if you can find answers to some of your questions. There are a lot of myths about Edison. You may be surprised to find out what's true and what's just a story.

The Invention Process Learn about Edison's Invention Process by visiting the National Park Service's Edison website. As you work through the online activities, make some notes about what you learn. You'll find that Edison and his colleagues showed perseverance, creativity, problem solving and initiative. Write a letter to Thomas Edison thanking him for his inventions and tell him how your life is better now because of what he did then.

First Music Recordings Listen to Edison's music recordings at the National Park Service's Edison website. The only way to listen to music before Thomas Edison invented the phonograph was to attend a gathering where people were playing instruments and singing along. The phonograph, the very beginning of recorded sound, allowed people to listen to their favorite tunes much like you do today with CDs. As you listen to the music from Edison's time, be aware that kids your age then did not have MP3 players or even a stereo! Pretend you are a kid listening to recorded sound for the first time. Write a letter to your grandmother telling her about this wonderful new invention.

Edison Family Album Take a peek at the Edison family photos and learn more about Thomas Edison's family. Create a Family Album of your own showing your grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters and other significant people in your family. You choose the people you want to include. Use photos you already have or take some new ones. Make sure you include captions that tell a little bit about each person.

Tour Edison's Home Visit Thomas Edison's Home and click on the links on the website to read the stories about how the Edison family used each room in their house. Than create a Power Point (or other slide show) presentation to show and tell about where you live. Or you may choose to take photos or do some drawings and organize them into a poster or a booklet. Write some detailed descriptions so you friends can learn more about you and where you live.