1. Bright Ideas Emerging from the Dark Thomas Edison
By: Sarah Lessard
Hello, my name is Sarah Lessard and I decided to do my Capstone project about Thomas Edison and how he has greatly impacted society through his many inventions.

2. Core Question
“How can a Coventry High School student inform younger students about the famous scientist Thomas Edison and how he has greatly changed our society through his many inventions?”
My core question for my Capstone project is “How can a Coventry High School student inform younger students about the famous scientist Thomas Edison and how he has greatly changed our society through his many inventions?”

3. Reason for Core Question
Interested in what Thomas Edison invented and how inventions impacted world
I wanted to learn more about the famous scientist, Thomas Edison, and why he was so important in society
Wanted to teach other students and further their knowledge also about how this one scientist left such a great impact on society.
I choose my core question “How can a Coventry High School student inform younger students about the famous scientist Thomas Edison and how he has greatly changed our society through his many inventions?” because I was interested in why the world is the way it is today. Recorded music didn’t just appear and neither did electric lighting. I also wanted to get to learn why Thomas Edison was known as a genius and one of the greatest scientists of the world. After I learned all about Thomas Edison, I wanted to teach other students why Edison is known as the a genius so that they be just amazed as I am amazed.

4. Plan to Complete Capstone Project and Product
Stay on task
Take class time very seriously
Always try and get ahead of schedule
Set personal time dates to keep myself on task
Work very hard!!!
When I found out that I was scheduled to take Capstone class Semester two, I was really determined to finish my Capstone in the class. I wanted to get Capstone off my chest my sophomore year so that all I have to do my senior year is focus on putting my portfolio together. So to make sure that I would be able to get my Capstone done this year, I planned to stay on task during class, always work until the last minute, never waste time, and I always tried to get ahead of schedule so that incase I had to miss a day of class, I would never get behind.

5. Proposal Research Thomas Edison Make documentary about Thomas Edison
Introduce my topic and core question to class
Show documentary to the class of students
After film, give students quiz
Go over answers and ask questions
I made an outline about what inventions I wanted to research in depth that Edison invented, and then I thoroughly researched each invention, including what they did, and how they worked, and then I made my documentary. For my proposal, I planned to make a documentary about Thomas Edison, which was also my N.H.D. project, and make the documentary about how Thomas Edison drastically changed America through his 1,093 inventions. I found it really difficult to limit my choice in picking out only the very important inventions that Edison invented because if had to research each invention, I would never finish the documentary. Once the research, and documentary was done, I planned to show the documentary to a class. I planned on starting by introducing Thomas Edison to the class, then I would play the documentary, then after the documentary, I would give the students a quiz, and then to end off my presentation, I would go over the quiz answers and then see if any students had any questions.

6. Expand upon my National History Day project
Why I Choose Proposal
Expand upon my National History Day project
Prove to students importance of what Thomas Edison contributed to society
Since I chose to do a documentary as my National History Day project, I decided to turn my National History Day project into my Capstone by showing my documentary to a group of students.This way, I can hold an event and I can also teach a class about Thomas Edison through my film and a short introduction about Thomas Edison. I wanted other students to fully understand that if it wasn’t for just this one particular individual, then the world that we know now would most likely be entirely different. By planning a day to teach a class of students, this met the Applied learning standard Alc which is to design a product.

7. Learning Stretch 1. Learn how to make a documentary
2. Overcome my fear of speaking in front of large groups
3. Learning about Thomas Edison’s inventions
4. Staying on task/falling behind
5. Learn how to teach a class
My learning stretches that I planned to accomplish during my Capstone project was to learn how to make a documentary, overcome my fear of speaking in front of large groups, learning about Thomas Edison’s inventions, staying on task and not falling behind, and learn how to teach a class. I planned to learn how to make a documentary by having my friend, Catalina Snape, teach me how to make a documentary by using Microsoft Windows Movie Maker I planned to overcome my fear of speaking by teaching a class of students about Thomas Edison and how his inventions were so influential to history. I planned to learn about Thomas Edison by doing extensive research about Thomas Edison’s major inventions that left the biggest impact in America such as motion pictures, the phonograph, and electrical lighting. I planned to stay on task by taking class time very seriously and working until the very last minute. I didn’t learn how to teach a class, but I think I did a good job in doing so.

8. Only scientist in the world to invent 1,093 inventions
His inventions drastically changed America
His inventions are still around today, however in different forms
Hoar, William P. "The man who lit up the world." New American, The. 30 Jun eLibrary. Proquest CSA. COVENTRY HIGH SCHOOL. 06 Mar <
Intro about Edison
Thomas Edison was one of the greatest scientists that ever lived and he invented some of the most useful devices of the world. . Socially and economically, Thomas Edison’s 1,093 inventions drastically changed America, helping the nation become a modern and mechanical society. Robert Conot, a newspaper reporter, reports that "No other man has ever been responsible for striking the spring of so much wealth, nor had such influence on the lives of so many people.” Edison’s inventions are still around today but however, they are in different forms. For example, motion pictures look very different and are of much better quality and we are now able to listen to music on tiny iPods instead of big record players. The same concept of recorded music exists but the recorded music in different music players. Edison received an average of one patent every five days during the height of his career. In Edison’s lifetime, the value of his inventions to humanity was around $25 billion dollars. Edison’s inventions were so popular that at one point, Congress declared that Edison had “revolutionized civilization.” By researching all about Thomas Edison by finding book and newspaper article sources online, I was able to met two Applied learning standards which were A3a and A3b.

9. Thomas Edison as a Child
Edison was born on February 11, 1847 in Milan Ohio
His parents were Samuel Ogden Edison Jr. and Nancy Matthews Elliott
Edison only attended school from the ages of 7-12
He dropped out because he was deaf and found it difficult to concentrate
Was a self taught person
Thomas Edison. American Business Leaders. ABC-CLIO Interactive eLibrary. Proquest CSA. COVENTRY HIGH SCHOOL. 18 Mar <
On February 11, 1847, Thomas Edison was born in Milan, Ohio to Samuel Ogden Edison, Jr. and Nancy Matthews Elliott. In 1854, his family moved to Michigan where Edison spent the rest of his childhood. Edison attended elementary school from He was imaginative, inquisitive, and always performed experiments in his parent’s basement. Edison’s love for inventing and performing experiments was evident even when he was a little boy. Thomas Edison had very poor hearing and was almost considered deaf. Since Edison had very poor hearing, he appeared to be bored in school which was the main reason why he dropped out of school at a young age. Many people think that Edison was a genius and went to Harvard college, but in reality, he dropped out of school at twelve years old and taught himself how to read and write with the help of his mom who was an elementary school teacher. Although Thomas Edison was deaf, and didn’t attend school, he still went on to live life as one the most successful people of his century.

10. Edison’s Working Career as a Child
Edison began working at 15 years old
He roamed the country as a “tramp telegrapher”
He worked for the telegraph company Western Union
He sent and received messages over the telegraph
Edison also improved the telegraph when he got older
Thomas Edison. American Business Leaders. ABC-CLIO Interactive eLibrary. Proquest CSA. COVENTRY HIGH SCHOOL. 18 Mar <
Thomas Edison’s working career began at fifteen years old, when he roamed the country as a “tramp telegrapher” and worked for the telegraph company, Western Union. Edison sent and received messages over the telegraph by using a specific alphabet called the Morse code. His work included taking messages for trains and for the Union Army during the Civil War. Edison’s knowledge of mathematics used to improve the telegraph ultimately laid the basis for his development of the electric pen and mimeograph. These two inventions were both important devices used in the early office machine industry, and led to the development of the phonograph.

11. Edison’s First Invention
The electric vote recorder in 1869
Unsuccessful because it took too long to tally votes.
It was unsuccessful, but Edison wasn’t discouraged
Thomas Edison. American Business Leaders. ABC-CLIO Interactive eLibrary. Proquest CSA. COVENTRY HIGH SCHOOL. 18 Mar <
Thomas Edison’s first invention was the electric vote recorded of In Edison's voting system, each legislator moved a switch to either a yes or a no position which transmitted a signal to a central recorder that listed the names of the members in two columns of metal type headed "Yes" and "No." It was unsuccessful because when people were voting on political subjects, by the time their vote reached Congress for a tally, the final decision was already made. Many people would get very upset that their votes weren’t counting and this raised political fury.

12. Menlo Park Edison moved to Menlo Park New Jersey in 1876
He built his first most famous laboratory, Menlo Park
Hired “muckers” to help him out
At the height of Edison’s career, he invented a new invention every five days
Adair, Gene. "West Orange." Thomas Alva Edison: Inventing the Electric Age. n.p., Oxford University Press n.pag. eLibrary. Proquest CSA. COVENTRY HIGH SCHOOL. 20 Mar <
Wanting to be in a quieter place to continue his work, Edison moved to Menlo Park, New Jersey in This is where he built his most famous laboratory, Menlo Park, and developed his most famous inventions. But Edison didn’t make all of the inventions himself. He invented the invention and thought of the idea and then he hired “muckers” to help him out. These “muckers” were scientists that came from all over the world to make their fortune in America. They often stayed up all night working with the “chief mucker”, Edison. Working from his laboratory in Menlo Park New Jersey, Edison promised he would turn out a minor invention every 10 days and a "big trick" every six months. Edison and his staff were working on as many as 40 projects at one time. At the height of Edison’s career, he was inventing a new invention every 5 days.

13. The Carbon Transmitter
Edison’s first successful invention
Invented in March of 1878
Sound to sound electrical signal transducer
Allowed people to speak over intercom systems, through phones, and on radios
Led to the development of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell
Thomas Edison. American Business Leaders. ABC-CLIO Interactive eLibrary. Proquest CSA. COVENTRY HIGH SCHOOL. 18 Mar <
Among the many inventions invented in Menlo Park was the carbon transmitter, also known as the carbon microphone, which was created in March of This transmitter was a sound-to-electrical signal transducer consisting of two metal plates separated by granules of carbon. Before the idea of vacuum tube amplifiers in the 1920s, carbon microphones were the only practical means of obtaining audio signals, and were widely used in telephone systems. Carbon microphones were also widely used in early AM radio broadcasting systems and continued to be widely used for military and radio applications for decades. The carbon transmitter led to the development of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell which greatly changed the social history of America.

14. Invented the phonograph in 1877
Used the concept “phonography” to produce sound
The indentations produced on par affined paper produced sound
“Mary Had a Little Lamb” were the first words that Thomas Edison muttered in the phonograph
Most commonly used device for playing music from 1870s to the 1940s
Fantel, Hans. "The first hundred years are the hardest." Opera News. 01 Dec eLibrary. Proquest CSA. COVENTRY HIGH SCHOOL. 11 Mar <
The Phonograph
In 1877, Edison invented one of his most well-known creations: the phonograph. Edison hoped to use a concept called “phonography” which was sound writing and use a stylus-tipped carbon transmitter to make impressions on a strip of par affined paper. To his astonishment, the scarcely visible indentations generated a vague reproduction of sound when the paper was pulled back beneath the stylus. The first words that Edison muttered in the phonograph were “Mary had a Little Lamb”. The phonograph was the most commonly used device for playing recorded sound from the 1870s through the 1940s. The public's amazement with the phonograph was quickly followed by universal acclaim. Edison was soon known as “The Wizard of Menlo Park”. In 1878, Edison established the Edison Speaking Phonograph Company so that he could sell his new machine. However, a whole decade passed before the phonograph was transformed from a laboratory curiosity into a commercial product. Edison’s phonograph has allowed musicians and artists to sell their music worldwide on records. If it was not for the phonograph, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, The Beatles, and Janis Joplin never would have shared their music with the world or changed the social and political history of America.

15. The improved Light bulb
Edison did not invent the light bulb
Improved it allowing it to burn for up to 1200 hours
Joseph Swan invented first light bulb that burned for 150 hours
Edison improved light bulb by using, lower current electricity and an improved vacuum inside of the globe
New light bulb led to electrical lighting
"Light Bulb History - Invention of the Light Bulb." The Great Idea Finder - Celebrating the Spirit of Innovation. 18 Mar <
The improved Light bulb
Starting in 1878, Edison and his “muckers” worked on one of Edison’s greatest achievements; the light bulb. Edison did not “invent” the light bulb, but improved it based on a fifty year old idea from two inventors; Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans. Edison improved the light bulb by using lower current electricity, a small carbonized filament, and an improved vacuum inside of the globe. These changes produced a reliable source of light that lasted up to forty hours. The idea of electric lighting was not new, and a number of people had even attempted to do what Edison did.

16. Improvement of light bulb led to electric lighting system
Powered factories and homes
Changed economic and social growth of America
Led to many different social changes in America
Still around today
"Light Bulb History - Invention of the Light Bulb." The Great Idea Finder - Celebrating the Spirit of Innovation. 18 Mar <
Electric Lighting
Edison’s improvement of the light bulb led to his development of the electric lighting system which was used in homes and in factories. This lighting system was able to power factories and cities. People no longer had to rely on waterwheels to get electricity, now people could work 24 hour days. The light bulb contributed to the economic growth in America in the 20th century. Since buildings could stay lighted all day and all night, electric lighting developed a new social culture as evidenced by the Roaring Twenties, Fabulous Fifties, and Disco Seventies. The first public demonstration of Thomas Edison’s electric lighting system was in December Edison spent the next several years creating the electric industry in the 1880’s. On September 4, 1882, the first commercial power station, located on Pearl Street in lower Manhattan, went into operation providing light and electric power to customers in a one square mile area. Finally, the electrical age had finally begun! As electricity spread around the world, the success of Edison’s electric light brought him to new heights of fame and wealth.

17. One of the largest laboratories in the world
Built in New Jersey in 1887
One of the largest laboratories in the world
Half of Thomas Edison’s inventions were built here
Edison worked on storage batteries, the first talking doll and motion pictures
Adair, Gene. "West Orange." Thomas Alva Edison: Inventing the Electric Age. n.p., Oxford University Press n.pag. eLibrary. Proquest CSA. COVENTRY HIGH SCHOOL. 20 Mar <
West Orange
Making his home in West Orange, New Jersey, Edison built a laboratory in West Orange that was ten times larger than the one in Menlo Park. In 1887, Edison hired an architect, Henry Hudson Holly, to design his largest laboratory ever in West Orange New Jersey. In fact, it was one of the largest laboratories in the world becoming almost as famous as Edison himself. Half of Thomas Edison’s inventions 1,093 were invented at West Orange. At West Orange, Edison worked on storage batteries, the first talking doll, and one of his greatest ideas: motion pictures.

18. Edison started working on motion pictures in 1888
The Kinetograph was a motion picture camera
The Kinetoscope was a peephole motion picture viewer
First ever moving picture was a sneeze
Known as the 10th most important person in the film history.
"Who Made America? | Innovators | Thomas Edison." PBS. 27 Mar <
Motion Pictures
In 1888, Edison turned his attention to motion pictures. "I am experimenting upon an instrument which does for the eye what the phonograph does for the ear". Since a phonograph could produce sound, Edison wanted to create an invention that could produce pictures, and then combine the two inventions to create motion pictures. The result of Edison’s experiments, with his associate’s W.K.L Dickson’s help, was the Kinetograph and Kinetoscope. The Kinetograph was a motion picture camera and the Kinetoscope was a peephole motion picture viewer. Thomas Edison’s first-ever moving picture in 1894 was "Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze", which shows Edison's employee, Fred Ott, performing an exaggerated sneeze. Edison’s motion pictures were so popular, that Edison is now known as the 10th most important person in the film history.

19. Fred Ott’s Sneeze
This is a video of the first moving picture. It a short 5 second video clip showing Thomas Edison’s associate, Fred Ott sneezing. It’s weird to think that the first moving picture that would develop into movies would be of a person sneezing. But however, due to this one video, it has allowed Edison to invent motion pictures which people now a days watch everyday.

20. The First Motion Picture
Came out in 1901
Was a boxing act performed by the Gordon Sisters Bessie and Minnie
Thomas Edison’s company even filmed cats fighting in a ring
Thomas Edison’s Company invented a Projectoscope to show films to large audiences
"Thomas edison's inventions -." Google Image Search. 25 Mar <
In 1901, the first female boxing fight put on motion film was performed by the Gordon Sisters, Bessie and Minnie. In the early ages of motion pictures, there were so many demands for them that Thomas Edison's company filmed all sorts of random and interesting acts, even one showing two cats fighting in a boxing ring. Other films starred well-known performers such as Annie Oakley and Native American dancers from Buffalo Bill's "Wild West Show.“ Edison's films were so popular that he needed a way to show them to large groups of people. C. Francis Jenkins and Thomas Armat invented a film projector called the Vitascope. Jenkins and Armat competed against Edison, and licensed a version of their projector to the Columbia Phonograph Company. Eventually, the Edison Company developed its own projector, known as the Projectoscope. The first films shown in a "movie theater" in America were presented to audiences on April 23, 1896, in New York City.

21. The Gordon Sisters
This is the first motion picture that came out in It shows the Gordon sisters fighting in a boxing ring. The video is about two minutes long. It’s also posted on IMDB which is an internet movie data base where people can rate the movie 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. The Gordon Sisters fighting received a 4.3 on IMDB which is okay considering that it was the first motion picture. It’s amazing to see how far motion pictures have come since the 1900s. We now have special effects for movies which make movies ten times better.

22. Death and Influence on America
Americans dimmed their lights for one minute to see that Edison had truly lite up America
Invention of phonograph led to better inventions such as iPod, CD player
Led to improved motion pictures special effects
Mentioned at the Oscars
Invention of phonograph led to the Grammy’s and Oscars
Electrical lighting we use everyday
"Who Made America? | Innovators | Thomas Edison." PBS. 27 Mar <
Edison invented and refined devices that made a profound impact on how people lived. The incandescent light bulb of 1878 revolutionized indoor lighting and forever separated fire from light. Edison introduced the first light bulb that lasted 40 hours. Today, the average light bulb lasts approximately 1,500 hours. In a tribute to this unique individual, Americans dimmed their lights for one minute on October 21, 1931 which was a few days after Edison died. They were able to see the impact that Thomas Edison had on the world, and they were able to realize that Thomas Edison truly lit up America. The invention of the phonograph has also allowed other scientists to work off of Edison’s concept of recorded music to now allow people to listen to music on CD players, iPods, mp3 players, and on the radio. If it wasn’t for Edison, then people would not be able to listen to recorded music. Edison’ s invention of the phonograph has led to a huge social event of modern day known as the Grammy’s where musicians are nominated for their outstanding music. Edison’s invention of motion pictures have also left a profound impact on the social history of America. People watch movies everyday and movies allow actors and actresses to show their true talent to the world. The invention of motion pictures have led to another big social events of modern day known as the Oscars where movies are given special awards such as best picture, best music, and best director. Thomas Edison was even mentioned at the 2008 Oscars for inventing motion pictures which allowed them to host the event.

23. Times of Presentation I presented to Mr. Knutton’s ninth grade class
Went on April 9, 2009 during period two
Presented from 9:15-9:40
After picking numerous days to present, I finally planned to present to Mr. Knutton’s ninth grade class of students on April 9, 2009 during period two. I presented from 9:15-9:40. I told the original teacher whose class that I was going to present to, that I figured that the material would be too hard for her third graders to comprehend and I didn’t feel like redoing my whole documentary for the third graders to understand. So instead, I decided that I would present to a ninth grade class instead where the students will understand the material.

24. Pictures of Event
This is a picture of me presenting to Mr. Knutton’s class. This was me introducing the class about Thomas Edison and I told the class a basic overview about Thomas Edison’s life. By presenting to a class of students, I met two Applied Learning Standards. I met standards A2a and A2c. I achieved these standards by doing an presenting in front of a class and by teaching a class about Thomas Edison’s numerous inventions.

25. Pictures of Event
This is a picture of the documentary playing. The documentary was ten minutes long and it explained Thomas Edison’s inventions detailed and in depth. I put sound in the film to make it more exiting and I put actual video clips in to make the documentary more interesting. I put a clip of the Gordon sisters fighting and of the first moving image. By using a documentary to enhance my presentation, I was able to meet the Oral communication GSE OC which is :Using tools of technology to enhance message

26. Pictures of Event
After the documentary was done, I gave the students a quiz to take. The quiz was 5 multiple choice questions, 3 true and false, and 1 short answer. This is a picture of me passing out the quizzes to the students to take. I allowed them to work with one other person since the quiz was sort of hard.

27. Pictures of Event
After the students did the quiz, I collected it and then I went over the questions with the class. I told the students that if they told me the correct answer, I would give them a piece of candy. This got all of the students exited and involved in the activity.

28. Overview of Product
Students really enjoyed learning about Thomas Edison
They were interested in what he invented and asked many questions
They were very polite and were not rude
Most of them did really well on the quiz so that means they learned something new and my core question could be answered
Mr. Knutton said that it was very educational to his class
Overall, I felt as though my product went really well. I think that the students really enjoyed watching my documentary about Thomas Edison and they were interested in what he invented. When I started off introducing the class about this scientist, many students thought that Edison invented the light bulb which is a common mistake. Edison actually improved the light bulb allowing it to burn for 1200 hours. I was glad to teach students who really invented the light bulb because most people give all of the credit to Edison when in reality, Edison created a vacuum that went around the light bulb allowing the light bulb to burn for up to 1200 hours. Most of the students did really good on the quiz so that tells me that they learned something new from my presentation which relates to my core question because the whole point of my Capstone was to further the knowledge of other students about the famous scientist, Thomas Edison. From the looks of the quiz scores, they obviously learned something new about Edison. I told the class that I turned my N.H.D. project into my Capstone by making a documentary for my history project and by turning it into my Capstone project, all I had to do was make minor improvements in my film, create a quiz, and then present the documentary to a class of students and give them a short quiz to see if they learned something new about Thomas Alva Edison. Some students told after me after my presentation that they are considering in doing what I did and make a documentary for History Day and then present to a history class. I was really glad that I was able to let students know that Capstone is not meant to be hard if you just pick a core question that you are interested in learning about.

29. Obstacles Hard to find new research that didn’t repeat itself
Had to change my proposal and present to a ninth grade class instead of a third grade class
Had to constantly change presentation date
When I made documentary for N.H.D, documentary was hard to make
Throughout my Capstone, I encountered many obstacles. I found it really hard to find research that didn’t repeat itself. I kept finding all new research about the light bulb and the phonograph but all of it was similar. I also had to decide whether of not I wanted to redo my documentary for a third grade class or just present it to a ninth grade class. The answer was obvious and I decided to present to a 9th grade class in order to save myself a lot of time. I also had to constantly change my presentation date. As I was making my documentary for N.H.D., I found it really hard to make a documentary. I have never made a documentary before and I had learn how to make one from scratch. I had my friend Catalina Snape who also made a documentary teach me how to make a documentary in Windows Movie Maker. She showed me how to insert pictures, put music in the film, narrative your voice, and pretty much everything I needed to know on how to make a documentary. My brother Josh Lessard also showed me how to add special features to a documentary such as having the pictures zoom in and zoom out of the t.v. screen.

30. Make the quizzes clearer Not talk as fast in documentary
How to improve Product
Make the quizzes clearer
Not talk as fast in documentary
Have a longer introduction speech about Edison
Overall I think that my product went really well, but I could have made minor improvements to make my product even better. During my documentary, I talked kind of fast, so in the future if I make another documentary, I will not talk as fast and I will make sure that I have more enthusiasm in my voice to make the film more interesting. I also wish that I better transitions between each picture when the appeared on the screen because most of the pictures in the documentary just faded in. For my presentation in front of the class, I talked for ten minuets about an overview about who Thomas Edison was, what he invented, and how he changed America due to his inventions and I had my documentary to talk in depth about how and when the inventions were invented. I wish that I talked slightly more about Edison and maybe got in depth about one of his inventions. Also, I found out while correcting the quizzes that most students got questions two and three wrong which was What was Thomas Edison’s first invention and the third question was what two famous laboratories that Edison built? I think that the students mostly got these two questions wrong because in my documentary, I mentioned two inventions right after the other one and most students either circled these two inventions. Also, most students only circled one laboratory instead of two so if I was to do this again, I would have enforced circling two laboratories.

31. Learning Stretch Revisited
Catalina Snape showed me how to make a documentary
Taught a class
Learned a lot about Thomas Edison’s inventions
Learned how to stay on task
Throughout my whole Capstone project, I learned how to make a documentary because my friend Catalina Snape showed me how to make one. She also made a documentary for her N.H.D. so she is a pro at it. I overcame my fear of speaking in front of large audiences by teaching a class because the only way to overcome your fear is of you face it. I learned all about Thomas Edison’s most important inventions by researching on google and elibrary. I learned to stay on task by focusing on getting the assignment done the day it was due, and being determined to get the work done. I didn’t learn how to teach a class, but I think I did okay because I the students seemed to like it.

32. Final Reflection
I learned many different valuable lessons I will have for the rest of my life
Stay focused during class
Be organized
How to cope with stress
Learned about Thomas Edison’s inventions
I learned many valuable lessons that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I learned that if you want to get a huge project done, you have to stay focused during class, constantly work hard, and never lose focus. I have never gotten so much work done in just 90 minutes. I learned how to stay organized by keeping a binder with all of my paper work in special sections and a table of contents. I learned that if you are determined to get your Capstone done, you will be able to. I’m so glad that I was able to finish my Capstone project my sophomore year and now I can graduate High School. All of my hard work finally payed off. I also learned how to cope with stress and just to tell myself that everything will work out in the end. These organizational skills will help me through college, and when I get a job. I will also always know what Thomas Edison invented and how his inventions contributed so much to society.

33. Answer to Core Question
Yes, a Coventry High School Student can inform younger students about the famous scientist Thomas Edison and prove that he has greatly changed our society through his many inventions.
When I was done with my Capstone I realized that I was able to answer my core question and say:Yes, a Coventry High School Student can inform younger students about the famous scientist Thomas Edison and prove that he has greatly changed our society through his many inventions.

34. Mr. Brissette Mrs. Johansen Mr. Marsella Ms. Avedisian Mr. Knutton
Thank You
Mr. Brissette
Mrs. Johansen
Mr. Marsella
Ms. Avedisian
Mr. Knutton
Mr. Rosenfield
Mr. Brissette and Mrs. Johansen for helping me with my documentary for National History Day. I would like to thank Mr. Marsella and Ms. Avedisian for guiding me through my Capstone making sure that I got it done on time. Mr. Knutton for allowing me to present my product in front of his class on April 9, 2009 for 20 minutes and Mr. Rosenfield for allowing me to miss 20 minutes of band class to present my Capstone to another class.

35. Questions
Thank you for watching me present, and I am free to answer any questions. I hope that you guys enjoyed learning about Thomas Edison and learned something new about him.