For a Google version of this lesson plan, click here. (Note: you will need to make a copy of the document to edit it).

Overview

In this lesson, students will learn the first key step in the invention process: how to identify and explore problems around them using current events. They’ll get to choose one story from a list of five that interests them and examine who is affected by a problem and what is being done about it.

This lesson is designed for humanities and STEM classrooms to help students understand how a deeper engagement with current events can inspire civic action, including developing their own inventions.

Objectives

• Students will identify problems that are worth solving using stories in the news.
• Students will dig deeper into an identified problem before trying to find a solution.

Subjects

Science, CTE, and humanities classes

Grade Levels

Grades 6-12

Estimated Time

One 50-minute class period

Supplemental Links

• Google doc version of lesson
• Teacher presentation
• Warm-up handout
• Main activity handout

Introduction

Thanks to modern technology like smartphones and social media, young people know more about the news than many adults did when they were their age. Recognizing and understanding problems in your community is actually a key step in finding — or inventing — solutions.

Problem identification is the first step of the invention process, the process by which an inventor creates an invention. After that, we can help think up creative inventions to help people, including those in our own communities.

Teacher preparation for the lesson

• Adjust teacher presentation as needed to fit your classroom needs
• Materials to print (optional)
  • Warm-up activity reference table (¼ sheet per student)
  • Main activity student worksheet (1 per student)

Essential question : How can we use current events in the news to identify and understand problems that we care about?

Materials

• Adjust teacher presentation as needed to fit your classroom needs
• Internet connection and device (for each student)
• Pen and paper (ability to take notes)
• Student warm-up ¼ sheet of the chart can be found here (optional)
• Student worksheet for the main activity can be found here (1 per student)

Warm-up activity (10 minutes)

1. Ask students where they get their news. Take a few minutes to share your responses together as a class. Then ask if any responses surprise them. Would you be surprised to learn that a vast majority (79%) of young people read or watch the news?

In a study by the Associated Press, young people were asked: What are the main reasons you, personally, use news and information? (Printable version here ) Source: AP/NORC University of Chicago

Source: AP/NORC University of Chicago

1. Take a few more minutes to visit AllSides.com for a list of news sources by ideology or find your local newspaper here (scroll down to newspapers by state). Click on your city/region’s newspaper and browse the headlines. Jot down a few headlines which spotlight problems in your community or neighboring communities, and share them with your class. (See the extension suggestions at the end of the lesson for a deeper dive into understanding problems in your community.)

Main Activity (30 minutes)

Your job in this lesson is to watch, or read, the news. Engaging with current events is one way to help you recognize problems in your community or problems in other parts of the country that interest you.

Directions

1. (20 min) Problem identification

Place students in small groups or with partners, and have them choose one story from the list below and write answers to the following news engagement questions. It’s important the story is something that interests the student!

Teacher note: you may also pre-choose a story for the class or individual groups. You may also browse through our list of invention stories.

Have students write their news story number on the board, so there are not too many repeats.

5 suggested invention-focused news stories:

1. Heatwaves are becoming more common. Here’s how the U.S. must plan for them. (4:56)
2. Plastics last more than a lifetime, and that’s a problem. (6:02)
3. Creating a concussion sensor. (2:18)
4. Living without limits — how one man has adapted to the disability with the help of technology. (3:49)
5. Helping student inventors turn big ideas into the next big thing. (6:54)

News engagement questions: ( student handout here )

1. What problem is discussed in this story?
2. Who is impacted by the problem and who is trying to solve the problem?
3. Where and When is this problem taking place? Do you think people elsewhere, including in your own community, might be affected?
4. Why is the need not met yet? What are the barriers to meeting the need?
5. How are experts trying to solve the problem?
6. Media literacy question: Where would you look to find out more about how other people are trying to solve the problem? What other news sources might provide different information? What experts might be able to help you understand the problem?

Students just completed a critical first step in the invention process! Recognizing the problem , in this case through current events, helps one understand why it’s a problem and how it’s affecting people you may know, including yourself. Take a look at the chart here:

1. (10 min) Dig deeper into the problem

Before an inventor sets out to research or brainstorm solutions to a problem, it’s important they have a strong grasp of the issue. Have students watch or read the news story a few more times to gain a fuller understanding of the issue, and answer the following questions. If students have not yet finished the initial questions, have them move on to experience the process of going back through the material.

1. How did the problem come about it in the first place?
2. Is there a solution to the need already proposed in the story you watched?
3. How could you improve that solution if there is one? Are there obstacles remaining that are keeping that solution from being available to everyone?
4. If there is no solution to the need proposed in the story you read or watched, what new breakthrough do you think would be needed to address the problem?

Debrief (10 minutes)

Share out the problem and discuss why it’s a problem and who it's affecting. Was there anything that really surprised you about the issues you learned about? What made you hopeful? What work needs to be done to address the problem?

Alternative: You can also have each group prepare a presentation at their workstation and have the rest of the class move to each station to learn about the problem each group took on. A jigsaw approach could also help groups share.

Looking back over the lesson, do you think you’ve gained a deeper understanding of how to use the news to find problems you care about? Why or why not? How did elements of the news story help you understand the problem better? Can you see why problem recognition is usually the first step of the invention process?

Extension activities

• Connecting more with your community after problem identification.
  1. Discuss how the problem described in any story affects your own community. If so, how?
  2. Review local connections and discuss: What (if any) solutions to the need discussed in the story could be used to address the local need students have just reviewed?

• Students research their communities to determine what institutional support systems might already exist to address the need suggested by the chosen story. Students will discuss how their invention ideas might contribute to those support systems. Brainstorm or research more about the problem : Students should review all their answers about both the problem and existing solutions for it (even ones they thought up themselves). Then, imagine inventions that would help solve the problem. These solutions can be practical or wildly imaginative, but should directly address the need or problem identified in the warm-up. Make a list of 3-4 ideas. Questions to keep in mind when it comes to solutions include:
  1. How could you find and speak directly with people affected by the problem to see what they think about the invention and how they might benefit (a.k.a. beneficiaries)?
  2. How could you make the solution less expensive or easier to make (say, with materials you already have on hand)?
  3. How can you adapt that solution to best fit the unique needs in your own community, if that applies?
  4. What accessibility (design of inventions friendly to people with disabilities) and sustainability (ability to maintain or support a process over time) issues do you need to consider?

• Media literacy lesson — If you are looking for a deeper dive into media literacy and source evaluation, take a look at our lesson here. By reviewing these basic questions about how to find high-quality news stories students care most about, you will be better informed to engage civically and help solve problems in your community.

Lesson link: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/classroom/lesson-plans/2023/07/lesson-plan-how-to-find-news-stories-on-issues-you-care-about

• Each one of the five videos at the start of THIS LESSON has a full lesson plan associated with it. You can find them among our news-based invention lessons.
• PBS NewsHour Classroom has developed a series of lessons to get your students started working through the invention process. Other lessons in the series include learning what it means to be an inventor , what an inventor does , pitching your invention and patenting your invention .
• Here you will find a comprehensive list of invention education resources that support the work you are doing in the classroom.

Standards

NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)

• Engineering Design High School

HS-ETS1-1: Analyze a major global challenge

HS-ETS1-2: Design a solution to a complex real-world problem

HS-ETS1-3: Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem

• Engineering and Design Middle School

MS-ETS1-1: Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem 

MS-ETS1-2: Evaluate competing design solutions

MS-ETS1-3: Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences

*Note: Depending on what invention the students are working on, other NGSS will apply. You can follow our links for a highlighted PDF of the standards that could be applied for your specific classroom: Middle School NGSS and High School NGSS.

Common Core

Common Core: English Language Arts

RI.4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text

SL.1: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations

SL.2: Integrate and evaluate information

SL.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence

SL.5: Express information and enhance understanding of presentations

L.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown words

Common Core History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects

RH.4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text

RH.7: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats

WHST.8: Gather relevant information and integrate the information

Common Core Math 

MP3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3)

NCSS C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards

Communications: D4.2.3-5, D4.2.6-8, D4.2.9-12:

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