Year 5 Project

This term I would like to introduce a new and exciting project for the children to work on.

The marking scheme will be out of 20 and it will have to be handed in and presented on the week beginning March 18th, (the last week before Spring Break).

Please encourage your child to work on it bit by bit, not cramming it all in at the last minute. Please also make sure that the project is in their own words and has not been copied from the internet. They may present the project as they please (on a board, powerpoint, word) as long as I can have a printed copy to use for display.

Inventions Project

Inventions help the world go round by providing new and easier ways to do things. Inventions such as the telephone, electricity and the Internet have changed the human experience in once-unimaginable ways.

This project is in two parts. First the children must choose one invention that they think has changed the world.

Part 1

1) Talk about the inventor, how he or she came up with the idea, what happened to them afterwards, were they famous or did no one really discover how amazing their invention was until after their death? Include a picture of them.

2) Talk about the invention. What is it? What exactly does it do? Did it take lots of tries to make or was it perfect first time? Include a picture of the invention. It must be labelled.

3) Talk about how the invention changed the world. What has it made easier? You could also talk about any other inventions that sprung from the original invention. For example the invention of the wheel originally helped carts move, which eventually led to the invention (or at least helped) of the automobile.

4) Talk about what the world would be like without it. For example if debit cards had never been invented we’d have to carry around huge amounts of money all the time. People might have to hire armed guards so that they didn’t get robbed! Be imaginative. Make a comic strip or storyboard showing the problems the world would face without the invention – it could be funny!

5) How did the inventor market his/her idea? Were there adverts? Did they trademark or patent the idea? Was this difficult? Include the adverts if you can.

In the second part of the project the children need to think of their own invention.

Part 2

6) Think of a problem in the world that needs solving. For example, being too lazy to exercise. Why does it need solving? What problems will the world/person suffer from if this problem is not solved?

7) Think of an invention to cure it/solve the problem. Use your imagination! For example the problem of being too lazy to exercise. You could invent a machine that you strap yourself into and it exercises for you. You punch in which parts of your body you want to exercise and it focuses on them. To make it enjoyable it even has different backgrounds so you can relax e.g. park, field.

8) Draw a picture of the invention and label it. You must be able to explain in detail how it works. Maybe you could price the parts. How much would you sell it for if you wanted to make a profit?

9) Write a letter selling your invention to a manufacturer. Remember to use persuasive words and phrases and tell them how it would make people’s life better and easier. Include an A4 advert that might entice them to buy your idea. Remember to make it colourful and interesting.

10) Finally, include anything else that you think might be interesting here.

Marking Scheme (each one worth 2 marks)

1) Is it your own work?

2) Is it interesting?

3) Does it cover everything that was asked?

4) Are a wide variety of mediums used e.g. diagrams, graphs, quiz etc?

5) Is it grammatically correct/is everything spelled correctly?

6) Is it eye-catching?

7) Is it neat/well presented?

8) When presenting to the class do you speak clearly?

9) Are you confident?

10) How do you respond to questions about the project?

Good Luck!