Thomas Edison had a curious nature as a child and was always experimenting to find answers to his many questions. As an adult, he worked hard to fund his experiments by selling newspapers on trains. He went on to build a successful laboratory where he and his team invented many important things through dedicated work and thousands of experiments, most notably the long-lasting light bulb. By developing an electric power system, Edison brought electric lighting to homes for the first time, revolutionizing people's lives with his inventions.

1. LESSON PLAN 13
Objectives:
By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to
• Make a switch and complete a circuit by using the materials listed in activity 24 individually
• Make an ‘appliance’ from the switch they made and a bulb individually.
Time Topic Content Presentation Teaching Aids Exercises
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2. 8.00 am – Unit 4: • Biography of Thomas Edison Online article:
9.30 am Electricity – from an article. Set induction ( 10 min) Thomas A. Edison
Electric circuit from
• Teacher reads the biography of
Question: http://gardenofpr
Thomas Edison.
• What attitude did Thomas aise.com/ibdediso
Edison have that motivates • Class discussion about the .htm
him to do experiments? biography and importance/
• How is his founding important significance of his founding.
for today?
• What would you like to invent?
Developmental stages
• WWhen the switch is in the Step 1 (15 min)
‘off’ position, the circuit is
not cpmplete. The bulb • Recall pupil’s knowledge on
electric circuit. A complete
does not light up.
electric circuit.
• WWhen you turn a light • Introduce a switch.
A switch.
switch ‘off’ at home, the
*Encourage children to talk
light goes off.
about their experiences of using
• aAnd vice versa. switches at home.
Practical
Step 2 (35min) activity of
Activity Book: making a
Make a switch by • Pupils are to complete the Activity 24 switch
• Using the paper fasterners to activity from the workbook Pg.61-62
attcach the paper clip to the individually.
Styrofoam board. • Allow pupils to explore on their Wires, dry cell, dry
• Use the switch and other parts own how to use a simple switch cell holder, light
to make a circuit. in an electric circuit and control bulb, light bulb
• Turn the switch to the ‘on’ the flow of electricity by holder, paper
position and observe what switching ‘on’ and ‘off’. fasterners, paper
happens and vice versa. clip, styrofoam
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3. • SAFETY – Teacher should remind pupils not to play with the switches at home.
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4. APPENDIX
THOMAS A. EDISON:
Thomas Alva Edison was called Alva, or Al by his family. He was a very curious child. He was always asking questions. Even his mother, who had
once been a schoolteacher could not answer all his questions. He would experiment to try to find the answers. Once he tried to hatch some
eggs by sitting on them. Another time he accidently burned down the family's barn. The teacher told someone she thought there was
something wrong with Alva; that he was "addled". He told his mother and they took him out of the school. He only went to school for 3
months in his whole life. Afterwards, he was taught at home.
He wanted to experiment. To make money for his experiments, he went to work at age 12 selling newspapers and candy on a train. When he
had some spare time on the train, he would do experiments in the baggage car. When he was 16 he went to work for the telegraph office
sending messages. He became nearly deaf due to an injury to his ears. He later said he didn't mind being deaf because it helped him to
concentrate.
When he was 22 years old he went to New York. He only had $1 in his pocket. He hunted for a job during the day, and at night he slept in the
basement of a gold company. He watched everything around him very closely. Some equipment broke down and Edison was able to fix it
because he had been watching it work before he went to sleep each night. The owners gave him a job. He improved the machine so much the
company paid him $40,000 for his invention. He started the American Telegraph Works in New Jersey.
He built a laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. It was here with his employees he made many of his inventions. He would work night after
night, and sometimes he would fall asleep at his workbench. His wife wouldn't see him for days at a time. He and his team worked to make a
light bulb which would burn for a long time without burning out. They tried 1,500 materials and nothing worked well. Finally he tried a new
material in the filament that burned nearly 200 hours. After he had made the light bulb, he worked to make a power system so people could
use the bulb. In 1882 he flipped a switch and 85 houses in New York City had electric lights for the first time.
Thomas Edison was probably the world's greatest inventor. He had a patent on 1,093 inventions. In addition to the electric light, he also
invented the phonograph, a camera to take motion pictures, a cement mixer, the automatic telegraph, and he improved Alexander Graham
Bell's telephone.
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