Teaching Day-by-Day: Discoveries

1. Early travels. In 1405 Cheng Ho set sail from China with a fleet of 63 junks carrying 28,000 men to explore islands to the south. In honor of this early exploration, find out all you can about Chinese junks. Use origami or popsicle sticks to make models of them.
2. Modern art. In 1918 the Bauhaus was founded in Weimar, Germany, by architect Walter Gropius to explore ways of bringing art, science and technology together. Find out what happened to the Bauhaus. Why did Adolf Hitler hate it? What artists and technologists came to the Bauhaus?
3. Tobacco. Not all discoveries have been good. In 1518 natives introduced tobacco to Juan de Grjalva in the Yucatan. Later, American Indians introduced it to Walter Raleigh. Talk to people who smoke to find out if they've tried to stop and why. Who introduced them to tobacco? How much does their habit cost them? Make charts to show their answers.
4. One potato, two potato. In 1530 potatoes were brought to Europe from the Andes Mountains in South America. In 1853 the potato chip was invented by George Crum of Saratoga Springs, NY. Have a potato luncheon with potatoes served in as many ways with as many different toppings as possible.

5. Start silly. Find out who Rube Goldberg was and work with an adult to make a diagram of a Rube Goldberg-like invention, which is a complicated way to do a simple thing such as blow out a match.
6. The Great Master. Leonardo da Vinci explored science and art. Make a museum display of some of the work of this great man. Place modern drawings or photographs beside pictures of his inventions.

7. Keeps on ticking. In 1511 Petrus Hele devised the first watches. Make a bulletin board and/or table display of as many ways of telling time as possible. Brainstorm the topic: Watches of the future.
8. Wagons west. In 1753 a wagon introduced in Conestoga, PA would be widely used by settlers for the next 100 years. Find out the dimensions of the wagons and construct a model. In the wagon, put items and people which are the correct dimensional scale.
9. On the road. In 1815 John McAdam invented a method of paving roads called "macadam." Survey your neighborhood or town to find out which roads are in greatest need of repair. Call or write your town's highway department to find out what the plans are to repair those roads.

10. It's a lemon. In 1630 lemonade was invented in Paris. Investigate lemons. Where do they come from? Find out how to use a lemon to create electricity. Choose one lemon in a bag of lemons and observe it so closely that you can pick it out again without marking it.

11. Safety pins. The safety pin was invented in 1849 by Walter Hunt. He sold the rights to it for $400 to pay off a debt. Find out what other inventors of useful items received for their ingenuity.
12. Here's the plan. In 1486 Columbus submitted his plan for a westward expedition to the Orient to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. That's four years before he left. Why was there such a long delay? With your family, make a list of the things that you might have done before 1492. Compare your list with your classmates' lists.
13. I got there first. If you say that Columbus discovered America, you may get an argument. Many people believe that he rediscovered it. Find out all you can about another, earlier "Discoverer."
14. What is it? Columbus planted sugar cane and cucumbers in Hispaniola, and brought Indians, rubber, parrots and pineapples back to Spain. Write a story about a Spaniard seeing one of these items for the first time.
15. Before Columbus. Columbus brought cows and horses to the New World. Research the history of both animals. Were there any in prehistoric times? Where? What happened to them? Make a chart to show the results of your research.
16. Many voyages. Columbus was only one of many Europeans exploring the world during the 15th and 16th centuries. Make a three-dimensional world map that shows their voyages. Use pictures or symbols to show what they found.
17. Good or bad? Columbus claimed and received a reward from Queen Isabella for being the first person who sighted land, although it was Rodrigo de Triana on the Niña who actually sighted it. Many of Columbus' actions are hard to admire. Conduct a trial of Columbus by today's standards of justice with lawyers, a jury and a judge.

18. Columbus, Anywhere. Locate and make a list of as many towns and cities named after Columbus as possible. Are there any towns named after other famous explorers?
19. Medical history. Prepare to study health and medical discoveries by finding out a little more about your own doctor. What's his or her name? Where did he or she train? Has your doctor been in the community long? Find out what your family knows and then write or call your doctor for the real scoop.
20. Smallpox. In 1798 Edward Jenner announced his discovery of vaccination as a means of protection against smallpox. What was smallpox? When was the last case of smallpox treated? Ask your parents and grandparents to show you their vaccination scars.

21. Polio. In 1952 Jonas Salk discovered a vaccine against polio. That year, 50,000 Americans became ill with the disease and 3,300 died of it. Talk to people who were alive before 1952 to find out how polio affected them.
22. Circulation. In 1628 Dr. William Harvey discovered how blood circulated in the human body. Find out how people before 1628 thought it worked. Use your imagination to come up with possible explanations – even fantastic ones. Make diagrams or models of the circulatory system.
23. All in the diet. In 1919 Edward Mellanby found that rickets was not an infectious disease, but was caused by vitamin deficiency. Find out what other diseases have been controlled or cured, not by medicine but by diet.
24. Penicillin. In 1928 Alexander Fleming discovered that penicillin killed bacteria when he accidentally dropped some penicillin into a culture of bacteria he was about to throw away. Find out about different kinds of bacteria. What other drugs are used today to kill bacteria?
25. And so to sleep. In 1846 a dentist, William Morton, used ether to anesthetize a patient. Talk to a doctor or nurse about the uses of ether in surgery today. What other anesthetics are used? How do they work?
26. Personal questions. Let's look at personal discoveries. You can start by interviewing your family to find out: Where did you live when you were first "discovered?" When did you learn to walk? What were the first words you discovered how to say?
27. What do you like? Continue with personal discoveries. Discover some likes and dislikes about yourself. Read the book, Guess Who My Favorite Person Is by Byrd Baylor (Atheneum, 1992, reissue). Decide on your answers to the questions: What's your favorite color? Thing to touch? Sound? Place to live? Smell? Time of day?
28. Discover a person. Make up a list of questions you'd ask if you got a chance to talk to someone really famous or special. Pick out a person in the class you've never really talked to and ask those questions. Write down the answers and share them with the class.

29. Discover a place. Mark off a square foot on the ground somewhere near your school or home. Take a pad and pencil, and sit down close to the spot. Make a list of every single thing you see in your spot. Do you know the names of every plant and animal you see there?
30. Discover a song. Look through books until you find a song which has words you like. If you can't figure out the way the song sounds, get someone who reads music to help you learn the song. Sing it.
31. Discover a book. Ask someone you respect to tell you about a book he or she has read that was really good. Read the book yourself and then go back and talk to the person about it. A spooky book? Sure. After all, it's Halloween.

Carol Otis Hurst is a children's book author whose latest book, Torchlight (Houghton Mifflin), will be on bookshelves October 2006. Be sure to check out her website at www.carolhurst.com

October, 2006, Vol.37, No.2