Thomas Edison's Greatest Invention

Did you know Thomas Edison was born on February 11th, 1847?  Did you know that he invented the phonograph, and tested it out with a short recitation of "Mary Had a Little Lamb?"  Did you know he tried and failed at many combinations hundreds of time before he invented the light bulb?   And did you know he played a very important part in the creation of many other inventions, from the electric train to the electric generator, and improvements on the telegraph and telephone?

This led to a very important discussion in one of my Awesome Authors and Artists classes: What WAS Thomas Edison's most important invention?

We debated, joined sides, and debated some more.  The students did a fabulous job!  They learned how to write persuasively and thought about what life would be like had Edison not invented their object of choice.  Here is what Mira (4th grade) thought Edison's most important invention was.

     Thomas Edison’s most important invention is the phonograph. Without the phonograph, we wouldn’t have recorded music, songs you could listen to whenever you wanted, and much more!

      The phonograph was invented to record music and play it, dance the tango, ballet, and other dances while you listen to it, and was used to record music for the songs in movies. The importance of it today is that we wouldn’t have stereos or tape players without the phonograph. DVDs, CDs, and iPods wouldn’t even exist without the phonograph. The phonograph makes stream from iTunes Radio and radio stations possible.

      Life without the phonograph would mean… no more iTunes and no more recorded music. We wouldn’t be able to listen to music without going to an orchestra or a concert. We wouldn’t be able to listen to classical instruments on CD and we couldn’t listen to modern-day music in the car or on recording. There would never be recorded music for dance recitals, stores, during funerals and weddings, and no more recorded Christmas carols!

      Clearly, Thomas Edison’s most important invention is the phonograph. Without it, life would be still and sad. No joyful music would ring out into the world and you would never listen to beautiful lilts of music that would float pass you down the street. Without recorded music, life would never be the same.