Game-Changing Discoveries
Find out how the Renaissance brought about new inventions and discoveries.
Embedded Files
About
About
The Renaissance was a period of learning and discovery. Inventors, scientists, and thinkers were encouraged to find and share new ideas. Some of the biggest discoveries occurred in science, mathematics, and astronomy. The Renaissance ended about four-hundred years ago, yet these discoveries changed the way people lived and still impact us today.
Essential Questions
Essential Questions
What discoveries were made in science during the Renaissance?
What are some important Renaissance inventions?
How did these new discoveries and ideas change the world?
Choose a Focus
Choose a Focus
Use the Suggested Activity to learn about your chosen focus in a fun way. Or visit the Activity Library to pick another interactive activity.
Note: Britannica School, BrainPOP, and Kids Discover are provided by Prenda. Make sure you are logged in via Clever.
Use the Suggested Activity to learn about your chosen focus in a fun way. Or visit the Activity Library to pick another interactive activity.
Note: Britannica School, BrainPOP, and Kids Discover are provided by Prenda. Make sure you are logged in via Clever.
The Printing Press 🕰
The Printing Press 🕰
One of the most important inventions of the Renaissance was the printing press. By creating the ability to print with movable type, Johannes Gutenberg made it possible for books to be created in large numbers.
Essential questions:
Who was Johannes Gutenberg?
How and why did he invent the printing press?
How did this invention change the world?
Suggested Activity: And the Winner Is…
Solar System Surprise 🕰
Solar System Surprise 🕰
Until the Renaissance, people believed that the Earth was the center of . . . pretty much everything. Then, a Polish astronomer named Nicolaus Copernicus asserted that the sun was actually the center of the universe - not the Earth. Not everybody liked this new idea.
Essential questions:
Who was Nicolaus Copernicus?
What discoveries did he make about the solar system?
How did his ideas eventually change the way people think?
Suggested Activity: A Different Point of View
Martin Luther ⚒️
Martin Luther ⚒️
In the early 1500s, the Catholic Church and the pope were powerful forces in Europe since much of Europe was Catholic. However, the new pope's dishonesty was troubling many people. One of them was a German religious leader named Martin Luther. He set out to reform the Catholic Church. Instead, he started an entirely new religion - Protestantism.
Essential questions:
Who was Martin Luther?
What led him to want to change Catholicism?
Why is he considered a Changemaker?
Suggested Activity: Words to Live By
Curricular Connections
Curricular Connections
Continue your learning by choosing one of these related activities.
Continue your learning by choosing one of these related activities.
Related Social Studies Topics
Timeline Challenge
Start a class timeline (or add to an existing timeline) showing important discoveries made during the Renaissance.
Debate
Statement: Humans will never run out of new ideas.
Create
(Not sure what to do? Create or draw a model or diagram of the solar system!)
STEM
Just for Fun
Practice writing with a quill (a feather dipped in ink) like Martin Luther used using this handout.
Image Attributions
Game-Changing Discoveries banner: Ephraim Moses Lilien, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsThe Printing Press: Rodw, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia CommonsSolar System Surprise: Andreagrossmann, public domain (prior to 1927)Martin Luther: Ferdinand Pauwels, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Page updated
Report abuse