Inventing Solutions: Third Grade Innovates Through Problem Solving

Inspired by the students’ study of famous inventors in both their reading and social studies units, Mrs. Harrison explains that her students set out to solve the essential question: How can problem solving lead to new ideas?

The class answered that question at their Welcome Day, when parents and other guests spent the day learning and exploring alongside their children. In preparation, Mrs. Harrison challenged the students to consider problems to solve or situations to fix, and then identify materials they could use to create an invention that would provide the solutions.

The Finished Product
At Welcome Day, Mrs. Harrison presented the group with a bag containing some of the materials suggested at their brainstorming session. Next, the students and their guests worked their way through the five-step invention process:

 

Finally, each team tweaked their prototypes, assigning a unique name to their inventions, and preparing them for display in the library.

 

Their catalogue included: health & beauty products, such as a fur-catching garment, a sleep-inducing tunnel, all-in-one mouthwash, and a camera-based strep throat test; several devices to make house cleaning easier; food preparation tools to minimize waste expedite the school lunch production process; and mechanisms to make road travel more comfortable and air travel faster.

 

Learning through Doing
Seasoned air traveler Rafi S. and his father finished building a prototype of Speedy Rafi at Welcome Day. Speedy Rafi will accelerate a plane’s takeoff, boost its cruising speed to 1,000 MPH (compared to a standard Boeing 747’s cruising speed of nearly 660 MPH), enable continuous airborne refueling system for uninterrupted flight. His favorite part of the invention process was building the prototype and then answering questions about it afterwards.

Abby H., inventor of the Hair Wonder washer and styling tool, learned that “any material can be made into anything, and working together can help solve a problem;” Neta F., whose Marvelous Measure eliminated food by delivering that exact amount you want, discovered that “solving problems helps everyone and it is important to cooperate to reach that goal.”

Mrs. Harrison enjoyed seeing both the children’s end results as well as the social dynamics of the invention process. “It was great to watch the children create from scratch,” she says. “The interactions the children had with their parents and fellow students was remarkable. They truly understand the words 'collaboration' and 'cooperation'.”