Hot Spot 4
‘Inventors and inventions’ Webquest
The best time to use this Webquest is at the end of Module 3.
Part 1: Flying high
First read this passage about an important invention, and answer the question
at the end.
I was invented in China about 3000 years ago. I have been used as a
scientific tool by famous inventors like Leonardo da Vinci and the Wright
brothers. I am a popular children’s toy, but I am also used in competitions
around the world. I am a traditional New Year’s gift for Japanese children.
I can be used to pull things like boats, ice skaters and surfboards. In some
countries like Afghanistan, people play fighting games with me. What am I?
Now go to this website to find the answer:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson056.shtml
Go to the section ‘Up, up and away!’ and do Exercise 1:
Exercise 1
Are these sentences True or False?
1. Kites came to China from Japan.
2. Kites were originally used for religious reasons.
3. When kites came to Europe, they became popular
with children.
4. Kites were used by Leonardo da Vinci to build a bridge
in New York.
5. Alexander Wilson used kites to measure wind.
6. Gugliemo Marconi used kites to help him send a telegraph
across the Pacific Ocean.
7. Kites helped people to invent other things that fly.
8. During the Second World War, kites were used to pass
important information from one ship to another ship.
T/F
T/F
T/F
T/F
T/F
T/F
T/F
T/F
Now go to this website and do Exercise 2:
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/0804/postcards/
Exercise 2
You want to tell a friend about kites, and why they are such an important
invention. Choose one of the postcards, write about kites and send the card to
a friend in your class.
This page is taken from www.macmillanenglish.com/hotspot. It is photocopiable and may be used within the class.
Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2010.
1
Hot Spot 4
Part 2: Famous inventors
Kites were used as scientific tools by many famous inventors. One of them
was Leonardo da Vinci. Go to this website, read about him and do Exercise 1:
http://www.myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=l_daVinci
Exercise 1
Most of these sentences contain a mistake. Can you find and correct them?
1. Leonardo da Vinci was born on 5th April 1452.
2. He was born in a town called Vinci.
3. Leonardo was an engineer, an inventor, a scientist, an actor and a
musician.
4. He invented lots of weapons for the government.
5. When he was 17, Leonardo went to Florence with his parents.
6. His most famous painting is called ‘The Moaning Lisa’.
7. It took him 4 years to paint it.
8. It is a painting of his wife.
9. This painting is now in a museum in Italy.
10. Leonardo was over 60 when he died.
Now go to this website and do Exercises 2 and 3:
http://www.bkfk.com/inventor/inventors.asp
Exercise 2
There are lots of famous inventors on this website. Can you match the person
(1 – 8) with their invention (A – H) below?
1. Alexander Graham Bell
2. Laszlo Biro
3. Sarah Boone
4. Louis Braille
5. Pedro Flores
6. Henry Ford
7. Ruth Handler
8. Percy Spencer
(a) Invented a way of making a car in only two hours.
(b) Invented a system to help blind people read.
(c) Turned a dangerous weapon into a children’s toy.
(d) Invented something you can write with.
(e) Invented a device for talking to a person in another place.
(f) Invented something to cook food quickly.
(g) Invented something to make ironing your clothes much easier.
(h) Designed a very popular doll.
This page is taken from www.macmillanenglish.com/hotspot. It is photocopiable and may be used within the class.
Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2010.
2
Hot Spot 4
Exercise 3
Choose another inventor from the list and find out what he / she did. Write a
few sentences about him / her.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
This page is taken from www.macmillanenglish.com/hotspot. It is photocopiable and may be used within the class.
Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2010.
3
Hot Spot 4
Answers
Part 1
The answer to the pre-quest question is a kite.
Exercise 1
1. False: they came to Japan from China, 2. True, 3. True, 4. False: they
were used by Homan Walsh, 5. False: he used them to measure
temperature, 6. False: he used them to help send a message across the
Atlantic, 7. True, 8. False: they were used to pass information from ships
to aircraft.
Part 2
Exercise 1
1. He was born on the 15th April, 2. He was born in a town called Anchiano
near Vinci, 3. He wasn’t an actor, 4. This sentence is correct, 5. He went
to Florence with his father, 6. It is called ‘The Mona Lisa’, 7. This sentence
is correct, 8. It is a painting of someone else’s wife, 9. It is now in a
museum in France, 10. This sentence is correct
Exercise 2
1 (e), 2 (d), 3 (g), 4 (b), 5 (c), 6 (a), 7 (h), 8 (f)
This page is taken from www.macmillanenglish.com/hotspot. It is photocopiable and may be used within the class.
Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2010.
4
Hot Spot 4
Teacher’s notes for using search engines and links:
Part 1 Exercise 1
Students scroll down the page to find the section ‘Up, up and away’. The
information they need can be found in this section only.
Part 1 Exercise 2
Students choose one of the postcards and click on ‘Send E-card’. They fill in
the fields (using the ‘Message’ box’ to write about kites). They can click on
‘Preview E-card’ to see their finished product before sending it.
Part 2 Exercise 1
Students scroll down the page to read the text and find the answers.
Part 2 Exercise 2
Students scroll up and down the page to find the answers. Most of the
inventions are listed next to their inventor, but students can click on the names
to find out more about them.
This page is taken from www.macmillanenglish.com/hotspot. It is photocopiable and may be used within the class.
Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2010.
5