Inventing a new eraser

The other day, I conducted the following short segment on inventing (less than one hour) with a fifth grade class at Pu'uhale Elementary School. First I went through my example of pencil inventions. I then asked the class if they would like to invent something new and useful. Four items were mentioned, and then I asked the class to vote on one to work on. A show of hands indicated a majority wanted to invent a new kind of eraser. So I asked if someone in the class to pass me an eraser. I then asked the class to tell me what's wrong with this eraser. Remember, at this point, one is inviting the use of creative thinking skills, which means maintaining a non-judgemental class atmosphere, free of any criticism. You write down on the blackboard whatever the class suggests, and these are the actual responses I got:

What wrong with this eraser?

too hard
too small
gets smaller when you use it
hard to hold
everyone has the same kind
not interesting
junk eraser
gets lost easily
makes a lot of mess
your hand gets tired when using it
cannot erase crayons or pens
rips paper

Then I asked the class for solutions to any of the above problems, and suggestions for a new and more useful eraser:

Possible solutions

make it softer
make it bigger
make it like clay
personalize it
make it a different color
make it a different shape
the following shapes were suggested: animal, dinosaur, person, truck...
stronger paper
necklace
new crayon eraser
make a new crayon that can be erased
make a broom on it
make it more comfortable to hold
make it fit on the end of your finger
someone holds a bottle of white out
make eraser like chalk to white out mistakes

At this point, I went into a little discussion of which types of erasers could be invented in the class at that moment. This is the initiation of the critical thinking skills aspect of the class. Other questions that may be asked include:

Which kinds of erasers can they make right now?
How much will they cost?
What things do they need to know more about?

If I had the class for a longer length of time, we could invent all kinds of things, and the students could then stage an "invention craft fair" to sell their inventions, and make money for other activities.

Last updated 24 October 1995

E-mail: yen@noogenesis.com