3rd Grade - Inventions (Changing the World)

I very much enjoy this project.  We start by telling the third graders that they are about to change the world.  The world's greatest inventions may have started out as a silly-sounding idea that could only work with magic, but where there is a will, there's a way.  We tie the whole project into problem solving.  First, the students pick a few problems that need to be solved, then invent ways to solve it.  Then, their job is to create an advertisement for their invention that they can share with "investors" at our investment fair.  The fair closes out the lesson and acts as a way for students to share their ideas with classmates and practice communicating the meaning of their project.  The investor classmates are then free to pretend like they're millionaires and give imaginary money to anyone with a great idea they'd like to see realized.