5 3 1 what a great idea

Why do you think the author wrote about Hsi Ling Shi, when instead she could have written more about young inventors from modern times?. Go back to the image of Chester Greenwood’s ear

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• Glossary Scott Foresman Reading Street 5.3.1

ISBN 0-328-13532-1 ì<(sk$m)=bdfdcf< +^-Ä-U-Ä-U

by Sharon Franklin illustrated by Victor Kennedy

What a

Great Idea!

Technology

Suggested levels for Guided Reading, DRA, ™

Lexile, ® and Reading Recovery ™ are provided

in the Pearson Scott Foresman Leveling Guide.

Expository

nonfi ction

• Author’s Purpose

• Generalize

• Text Structure

• Table of Contents

• Captions

• Lists

• Glossary Scott Foresman Reading Street 5.3.1

ISBN 0-328-13532-1 ì<(sk$m)=bdfdcf< +^-Ä-U-Ä-U

by Sharon Franklin illustrated by Victor Kennedy

What a

Great Idea!

Technology

Invention Why it was invented

1 Why do you think the author wrote about Hsi Ling

Shi, when instead she could have written more about young inventors from modern times?

2 For each invention the author describes, she explains

why it was invented Use a chart like the one below to list each inventor’s invention and why it was invented

3 Think of some scoundrels you’ve read about in history

or fiction Name one Tell what made that person a scoundrel

4 Go back to the image of Chester Greenwood’s

earmuff patent on page 6 How did it help you to better understand patents?

Reader Response

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Coppell, Texas • Ontario, California • Mesa, Arizona

What a

Great Idea!

by Sharon Franklin illustrated by Victor Kennedy

13532_001-020.indd Sec1:1 11/15/05 12:48:27 PM

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33

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Three Young Inventors

The Patent Process

More Young Inventors

You Too Can Be an Inventor!

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Chapter One Three Young Inventors

What do you think of when you hear the word

inventor? Maybe you think of someone working

hard in a laboratory Perhaps you see a person bent

over a computer, with tools lying all around Or

possibly, you see an image of Ben Franklin, Thomas

Edison, or George Washington Carver

Would it surprise you to learn that kids are

inventors too? Young people have been inventing

for a very long time Keep reading to find out about

the great ideas that kids have come up with

4

This painting shows Japanese women making silk.

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5

Hsi Ling Shi Invents Silk

Five thousand years ago, a fourteen-year-old Chinese empress named Hsi Ling Shi invented the process of weaving silk It all started when a silkworm cocoon fell from a tree into a cup of tea that Hsi Ling Shi was drinking

Hsi Ling Shi saw that threads appeared when the cocoon came apart in the tea She pulled on the threads They were very strong! Hsi Ling Shi used the threads to weave fabric The fabric was strong, soft, and beautiful

Soon, her Chinese subjects began weaving silk

Merchants from faraway countries came to China to buy silk, since only the Chinese knew how to make it

All of this was started by a fourteen-year-old girl!

Silkworms spin cocoons made out of silk.

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Chester’s Earmuffs

Thousands of years after Hsi Ling Shi invented

silk, fifteen-year-old Chester Greenwood invented

earmuffs Chester lived in Maine, a state that has

cold winters Chester’s ears got so cold that he could

only play outside for brief periods of time

Chester wanted to keep playing outside without

his ears getting cold Then he got an idea! He bent a

piece of wire to the shape of his head He asked his

grandmother to sew two circles padded with fabric

Chester attached the circles to the ends of the wires

Then he put his creation onto his head!

At first, people thought Chester looked funny with

his earmuffs But when they saw how long he could

stay out in the cold, they looked at him admiringly

Soon, people were buying earmuffs from Chester!

Chester Greenwood didn’t stop at earmuffs He

was eventually awarded more than one hundred

patents for his inventions

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Chester Greenwood is wearing his invention

7

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Jeanie Low Reaches High

Most people would find it frustrating having to

struggle to reach up to a sink Jeanie Low isn’t most

people She invented the Kiddie Stool!

When Jeanie was little, she had to stand on a

stool to reach the sink in her house But Jeanie’s

parents bumped into the stool when they used the

sink, which created a problem

Jeanie wanted a stool that wouldn’t be in the

way She realized that a step that folded up against

the sink cabinet might work She could fold the step

down when she needed it When she didn’t need it,

she could fold it up flat against the cabinet Then

her parents could use the sink without bumping into

anything!

Jeanie Low became

famous for her invention.

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9

At first, Jeanie thought she could use wire to attach the step But she realized that wire could be dangerous Then Jeanie figured out that magnets

would permit her to keep the step in place.

Jeanie and her dad gathered some supplies

Together, they built and tested a Kiddie Stool It worked!

Around the same time, Jeanie’s school had a fair where students could display their inventions Jeanie entered her Kiddie Stool and won first prize!

Soon, Jeanie was appearing on TV to talk about her invention People wrote articles about her Jeanie became interested in inventing other things She joined an inventors’ club where she could talk with other people about her ideas

The Kiddie Stool

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Chapter Two The Patent Process

Do you remember that Chester Greenwood got

a patent for his earmuffs? That was so no one else

could make and sell earmuffs Chester didn’t want

any scoundrels to copy or make money from his

invention Jeanie also got a patent for her Kiddie

Stool

There are several steps required to get a patent

You have to show that no one else has come up with

your invention before you

A Copy of an Actual Patent

This patent is for a lock and key

Patents can protect your ideas.

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11

Have the patent lawyer do a search to make sure no one already has a similar patent.

Mail a patent application (with the sketch and explanation) to the U.S Patent Office.

The patent office decides whether or not to give you a patent This may take years.

Hire a patent lawyer

Draw up a sketch and write an explanation of the invention you want patented.

Getting a patent takes time and money Serious inventors usually hire lawyers These lawyers make sure that no one else has had the same idea and applied for a patent They also help fill out the patent application correctly

Jeanie and her parents had to go through all the steps in the chart below before Jeannie got her patent When she was ten years old, Jeanie became one of the youngest patent holders ever!

HOW TO GET A PATENT

5 4 3 2 1

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Chapter Three More Young Inventors

Inventing to Help a Friend

Josh Parsons was a ten-year-old baseball player

when he became an inventor He wanted to help

someone who was having difficulty in sports

Josh’s dad was a baseball coach He told Josh

about a young boy named David who wanted to be

on the team David’s arms had been amputated, or

removed by surgery, around the elbows Despite this

handicap, David had learned to catch and bat a ball

But he could not throw

Jim Abbott

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13

Josh thought he could make something that would help David throw David had found a way

to attach a baseball mitt to the end of one of his elbows He could catch with it Josh thought that a scoop on the other arm might allow David to throw the ball He did some experiments with paper to test his idea Then he sewed a scoop out of leather

David tried on Josh’s invention First, he caught the ball Then he put the ball into the scoop on his other arm Finally, he swung his arm so that the ball went flying out of the scoop It worked! Thanks to Josh’s invention, David made the team

Like David, Jim Abbott and Pete Gray were disabled baseball players Both played in the major leagues.

Pete Gray

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Inventing for the Fun of It

Jeanie Low’s younger sister, Elizabeth, is also an

inventor One day, Elizabeth was visiting her father

at his medical office Elizabeth was only four years

old, but she wanted to enter an invention in that

year’s invention fair Then she spotted the rubber

gloves her father wore to examine patients They

gave her an idea!

Elizabeth took some gloves home and filled them

with sand She bent the fingers Then she decorated

the outsides so they looked fun and cheery

Elizabeth Low invented

Happy Hands.

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15

Elizabeth named her invention Happy Hands and took it to the invention fair She told people her Happy Hands could be used as paperweights or to hold toys, jewelry, or other supplies The judges liked Elizabeth’s invention, and they gave her first prize!

So many people were interested in Elizabeth’s Happy Hands that she decided to patent her idea

When Elizabeth was nine, she received a patent for Happy Hands That made her an even younger patent holder than her sister Jeanie!

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Chapter Four You Too Can Be an Inventor!

Josh Parsons and the Low sisters are just a few

of our country’s young inventors Every year,

students just like you enter invention fairs

Many of these students go on to other

fairs and contests And a few are awarded

patents for their inventions!

Would you like to be an inventor?

Inventing can be enjoyable and rewarding

Think of the fun and pleasure you could

give people by inventing something that no

one has ever thought of!

Would you like to give it a try? The list

on page 17 describes the steps you need to

take Read the list carefully Then read the

helpful hints on pages 18 and 19 Can you

imagine going through this process?

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17

Create a working model of your invention.

Research and develop a design for your invention

Come up with an idea for your invention.

Name your invention.

Enter your invention in a fair.

HOW TO BE AN INVENTOR

2 3 4 5 1

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Putting It All Together

To start the flow of good ideas, you have to be

on the lookout for things that could be turned into

inventions Carry a pencil and a notebook with you

When an idea strikes, jot it down right away! A quick

sketch will help you remember your thoughts

Browse through library books to read about

inventors and their inventions Use an Internet search

engine to find information on the Web

Jot down your ideas in a

notebook.

18

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19

Do research to find out if your idea has already

been patented It would be worthless for you to

do a lot of work, only to find out that someone has already invented and patented your idea! If your idea hasn’t been patented, make a detailed sketch

Also, explain how it works Then you can have your parents or your teacher help you fill out a patent application

The most important thing is to have confidence

in your ideas Why not give inventing a try? Who knows, you just might become the next Elizabeth Low or Chester Greenwood!

Elizabeth Low’s Happy Hands

Jeanie Low’s Kiddie Stool

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Glossary

admiringly adv with

wonder, pleasure, and

approval

permit v to let; allow.

scoundrels n evil,

dishonorable people;

villains; rascals

subjects n people who

are under the power, control, or influence of others, as subjects of a king or queen

worthless adj without

value; good-for-nothing;

useless

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Invention Why it was invented

1 Why do you think the author wrote about Hsi Ling

Shi, when instead she could have written more about young inventors from modern times?

2 For each invention the author describes, she explains

why it was invented Use a chart like the one below to list each inventor’s invention and why it was invented

3 Think of some scoundrels you’ve read about in history

or fiction Name one Tell what made that person a scoundrel

4 Go back to the image of Chester Greenwood’s

earmuff patent on page 6 How did it help you to better understand patents?

Reader Response