What story should we tell about electric lights?
A Critical Inquiry into Lewis Latimer and the Nature of Invention by Dan Krutka
This page includes the blueprint for an Inquiry Design Model (IDM) social studies unit designed for upper elementary students, but adaptable for different grades and well suited for the integration of science activities. Teachers can learn more by reading the article linked below.
Compelling Question: What story should we tell about electric lights?
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4th Grade Example Standard
New York—4th grade (4.6e): Entrepreneurs and inventors associated with New York State have made important contributions to business and technology. Students will research several people who made important contributions to business, technology, and New York State communities. Some people to consider include… Thomas Edison, … Lewis H. Latimer, … and others, as locally appropriate.
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Technoskeptical Practice
Technology is too often only understood for its intended purpose and benefits (Krutka et al., 2022). Cultivating a technoskeptical outlook encourages students to suspend their judgment and critically inquire into not just benefits, but also unintended, collateral, and disproportionate effects of technological change. This inquiry is particularly aligned with the following technoskeptical questions: What does society give up for the benefits of the technology? Why is it difficult to imagine our world without the technology?
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Staging the Question
Teachers can draw on students’ prior experiences by asking a question such as: How would our lives be different without electric lights?
Glossary
Patent (PAT-uhnt)
A legal document giving someone the sole rights to make or sell a product
Source: “Lewis Latimer: The Man Behind a Better Light Bulb” by Nancy Dickman
Enslaved People (In-SLAYV-d)
An enslaved person is someone whose is forced to work for and obey an enslaver and is considered to be their property. These words are preferred because they show that enslavement is imposed on people, not who they are; And enslavers actively uphold violent oppression of other human beings.
Filament (Fi-luh-muhnt)
A thin write inside a light blue that is heated with electricity to produce light.
Source: “Lewis Latimer: The Man Behind a Better Light Bulb” by Nancy Dickman
Segregation (Seg-ri-GAE-Shun)
Segregation is the practice of requiring separate housing, education and other services for people of color. Segregation was made law in many places in the 19th- and 20th-century U.S. as white people often believed racist ideas and sought to maintain their economic power.
Source: History.com
Carbon (KARH-buhn)
A chemical found in all living things and in coal.
Source: “Lewis Latimer: The Man Behind a Better Light Bulb” by Nancy Dickman
Black Joy
Black Joy is finding the positive nourishment within self and others that is a safe and healing place. It is a way of resting the body, mind, and spirit in response to the traumatic, devastating and life-altering racialized experiences that Black people continue to encounter.
Source: National Museum of African American History & Culture
Supporting Question 1
Who invented the electric light?
Formative Performance Task
For sources A and B, teachers can ask students: What do you see? What do you think? What do you wonder?
Small groups of students should work together to write answers to the supporting question, and then discuss answers as a whole class.
Featured Sources
Source A
U.S. Patent 223,898, “Application for the Incandescent Light Bulb,”
1880
Source B
U.S. Patent 247,097, "Electric lamp,"
1881
Source C
Who Really Invented the Light Bulb?
History.com, 2013
Supporting Question 2
Why does Lewis Latimer’s story matter?
Formative Performance Task
For sources D and E, students can answer the question, Who is Lewis Latimer?, by writing down facts about his life in small groups.
For sources F, G, and H teachers can lead a discussion using the questions: What do you see? What do you think? What do you wonder?
Featured Sources
Alternative Source D & E options
Source D
“Lewis Latimer,” in What Color Is My World?: The Lost History of African-American Inventors by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 2012
Janel Rodríguez’ 2023 picture book “Lewis Latimer” explains Lewis’ patent with J. V. Nichols (Source B) on page 19 that their “Electric Lamp” “improved the connection between the carbon filament and the lead wires. He did this by flattening the ends of the wires and covering them in copper. Even if it was never put into commercial use, this patent was meant to make light bulbs more durable and energy efficient.” However, Latimer did patent a “Process of Manufacturing Carbons” (patent #252,386) "that created a faster and easier way to make carbonized filaments. This patent was put to use by Maxim between 1882 and 1884. It made light bulbs more affordable and longer-lasting” (p. 19) Source E
Lewis Latimer, Deeper than Read [video], 2023
Source F
General Electric Legal Department, Expert’s Office, 1894
Lewis Latimer is second from right in back row.
Lewis Latimer is closest to the camera on the right side of the table
Source G
Edison Pioneers, 1918
Source H
Edison Pioneers, 1920
Lewis Latimer is second from left on the front row; Thomas Edison is center second row
Source I
Latimer family, November 10, 1923
Lewis Latimer is in the front row at the left and his wife, Mary is next to him.
Supporting Question 3
What do we give up for the benefits of electric lighting?
Formative Performance Task
Teachers can ask questions the following while reading:
How do we know who invented the electric light? (Edison picture page)
Why is it hard to imagine our world without air conditioning? (“TOO HOT AND STICKY” page)
Teachers should then facilitate a whole class discussion answering the supporting question.
Featured Sources
Source J
Blackout by John Rocco, 2011
Compelling Question: What story should we tell about electric lights?
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Summative Performance Task Argument
Students should draw on sources to make informed arguments in a whole class discussion that answers the compelling question, what story should we tell about electric lights?
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Summative Performance Task Extension
Students can create a poster or other creative project that uses evidence to answer the compelling question from the perspective of an anthropomorphic electric light. Teachers can encourage students to have their electric light discuss their “inventors,” talk about Lewis Latimer’s influence, share their proudest accomplishments, and detail their biggest shortcomings.
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Taking Informed Action
Students can identify individual and community changes they might make around use of electric lights, and take those changes to their parents, principal, or city council.
Students could investigate whether students from all races are equally represented in advanced STEM classes in their district, and whether the curriculum is culturally responsive and pursues a more just world. They can advocate for change as is necessary.
