Invention of the Telephone

In this lesson students will research and discuss the telephone, its origin, its innovations, its advantages and disadvantages, and how it has shaped today’s society. Students will explore the design process of Alexander Graham Bell and will construct a timeline of the development and innovations of the telephone. Finally students will brainstorm questions regarding what life would be like without cell phones or telephones and what they believe might be the future of the telephone.

Weblink address (URL):

Home Page- source

Standards & Objectives

Learning objectives:

After completion of this lesson, the student will know the origins and uses of the telephone in society, be able to analyze primary source images of the telephone, investigate how a telephone works, make a timeline of telephones through the past century, and understand how this invention relates to future innovations in telecommunications.

Essential and guiding questions:

How has the invention of the telephone changed society? And how have telephone innovations impacted society over time?

Lesson Variations

Blooms taxonomy level:

Applying

Extension suggestions:

Students can build a telephone network system. Use page five of the “How Telephones Work” article as reference:
http:/communication.howstuffworks.com/telephone4.htm

Helpful Hints

MATERIALS:

Computers with access to the Internet
MS Word Program
(Optional) Hard copies of Library of Congress images
Handouts (included with lesson plan):
Picture Analysis Worksheet (p. 4)
Bell’s Telephone Worksheet (p. 5)
Telephone Timeline Worksheet (p. 6)
What’s Next Worksheet (p. 7)