Interactive Whiteboard Activities
African American Inventors: A Black History in America Activity
Students meet 10 history-making African Americans, from the inventor of peanut butter to the creator of the gas mask.
- Grades: 3–5, 6–8
In this part of Scholastic’s Culture & Change: Black History in America online activity, students get to know The Top 10 African-American Inventors by reading our slideshow, including:
- Elijah McCoy, inventor of an oil-dripping cup for trains
- Lewis Latimer, who invented an important part of the light bulb – the carbon filament
- Jan Ernst Matzeliger, creator of a shoemaking machine that increased the task by 900%
- Granville T. Woods, inventor of a train-to-train communication system
- George Washington Carver, who developed peanut butter and 400 plant products
- Madam C. J. Walker, who invented a hair-growing lotion
- Garrett Morgan, creator of the gas mask
- Otis Boykin, who created the electronic control devices for guided missiles, IBM computers, and the pacemaker
- Dr. Patricia E. Bath, who invented a method of eye surgery that has helped many blind people to see
- Lonnie G. Johnson, inventor of the world-famous watergun, the Supersoaker
This reading activity also includes links offsite where students can learn more about each person.
Related Resources
Students follow history with an interactive timeline, meet famous African Americans, explore jazz music, and much more.
- Subjects:Main Idea and Details, Reading Response, Research Skills, Expository Writing, Expressive Writing, Literary Response, Writing Prompts, Determination and Perseverance, Equality, Fairness, Justice, Science through Literature, Scientists and Human Endeavor, Jobs, Careers, Work, Historic Figures, Social Studies through Literature, Tolerance and Acceptance
- Skills:Main Idea and Details, Biographies, Online Sources, Science, Social Studies, Expository Writing
