Material: Activity Sheet #6
 
 

Part I

1. The final step in the invention process is to have your students select a name for their
inventions.  There are four ways by which inventions get their names.  In each, ask the students to give additional examples, if possible.

                1. The invention is named based on its use. Example, windshield wiper,             carpet sweeper and motor bike.
                2. Using a catchy name to draw your attention.  Example, silly putty, slinky,          slurpy and jawbreakers.
                3. Using their name in the invention.  Example, the Bissell carpet sweeper was named after Anna Bissell, Newtonian telescope after Isaac Newton and the Melita drip coffee maker named after Melitta Benz.
                4. Using prefixes and suffixes to describe some aspects of the invention.  Example, telescope (for "distance" and "view") and hologram (for "entire" and "written").
 

2. Pass out the Student Activity Sheet # 6, The Invention Naming Menu.  Some of the prefixes and suffixes may require review or ask the students to look up the meanings.

3. Have the students make up a list of potential names for their inventions and then decide on a name.
 
 

Debriefing

It is important for students to understand that an invention cannot stand on its own unless it sparks something in the person who may use it.  Therefore, it needs a name that will live in history.