1. How do inventions happen?
Get Ready to Read
How do inventions happen?
Look back at Inventing the Future
Edison specialized in particular kinds of inventions. How does specializing help an inventor be successful?
What other traits helped Edison succeed at inventing things?
What was the significance of the electric pen in Edison’s day? What do we have today that takes the place of the electric pen?

2. Get Ready to Read
Revelation
Many people think that inventors are loners, so you may have had a revelation when you learned that Edison always worked with others.
A revelation is learning or discovering a surprising and previously unknown fact.
Think of a time when you traveled to a completely new place or read something really surprising. What revelation did you have?
Inquiry
An examination into facts or principles.
Further inquiry showed that the girl had been gone over her text messaging limit for the month.

3. How can you tell that Inventing the Future is a photobiography?
Get Ready to Read
How can you tell that Inventing the Future is a photobiography?
The author includes information about Edison’s wife and children. How does including those facts help the author achieve her purpose?
The beginning of Edison’s career was focused on his work with the telegraph. Suppose you don’t know what a telegraph is. What clarifying strategies might you use to determine its meaning?
How is Thomas Edison like another inventor you know from other stories or articles you’ve read?

4. Read and Comprehend
Read pages
How could you use your knowledge of prefixes to determine the meaning of the word rewound on page 159?
If you had lived in Edison’s time, would your reaction have been the same as or different from that of the experimenters?
The author calls the phonograph “the ancestor of modern CD players.” Why is this an example of personification?

5. Read and Comprehend
Read pages
Did you have trouble figuring out the importance of a filament in an incandescent light bulb? What strategies could you use to clarify?
How do the details about Edison’s character that you read about on page 160 serve the author’s purpose?
What was the effect of testing 1,600 materials to find the best filament?
In the last sentence on page 160, how does the author help you understand the meaning of the word incandesce? What does it mean?

6. Read and Comprehend
Read pages
What was the effect of inventing a metering system that measured the amount of electricity used?
Which details in the first full paragraph on page 163 help the reader visualize the scene being described?
Why do you think Edison decided to set up the world’s first commercially successful electric power station in NYC?

7. How well does the author achieve her purpose for writing?
Read and Comprehend
Read pages
How well does the author achieve her purpose for writing?
Do you think calling Inventing the Future a photobiography makes sense? Support answer with details.
What are some facts from the selection that support the opinion that Edison was one of the greatest inventors of all time?
Do you think it is better for an inventor to work alone or with a team?
Complete the Think Critically questions on page 166 ?

8. The pronoun who is used as the subject in a sentence or clause.
Language Arts
Using Who and Whom
The pronoun who is used as the subject in a sentence or clause.
The pronoun whom is used as the object of verb or preposition.
Fill in the sentence with who or whom.
Edison is a man __________ was a genius.
To ___________ does Edison owe gratitude?
__________ else helped Edison?

9. Language Arts
Spelling
Choose five words that are particularly challenging and complete two of the following-
Write words in the air with your finger
Whisper spell the word while clapping softly
Write the words five times each

10. Language Arts
Writing: Summary
Turn to page 168 and read the student example. What grade would you give this student? Why?
Pull out the chart you made yesterday.
Begin writing your rough draft. A few things to remember:
Purpose for writing a summary is to inform, so think about important ideas you want readers to know.
Topic sentences should highlight important ideas of the selection.
Do not worry about grammar, mechanics, and spelling when you draft. You’ll concentrate on them during the proofreading stage.