Big Question Overview and Resources

Overview

Mistakes are a normal part of being a human. Everyone makes them! The important part of making mistakes is what you learn from them. Mistakes are a chance to learn about yourself and to help you grow. Reading stories often helps us learn the importance of making mistakes.

Historical fiction is a type of story that takes place in the past but is not true. Historical nonfiction is a type of writing that takes place in the past and involves real people and real places. These forms of writing are a fun way to learn about the past.

Web Resources

Apollo 13 – A Successful Failure
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/Academy/History/APOLLO-13/mission-report.html
The space mission of Apollo 13 in 1970 was a scientific failure, but the power of the human spirit turned a failure into a success. Read about the Apollo 13 mission and click on the links to other stories about the mission.

Strange Science
www.strangescience.net
How did scientists discover that dinosaurs once roamed the earth? Before finding the answer, scientists came up with a lot of wrong answers. Read about the road to discovery and the mistakes that happened along the way.

Silly Putty
www.sillyputty.com
Did you know that the invention of Silly Putty was a mistake? The inventor was trying to create a new type of rubber. Read all about Silly Putty, its history, its uses, and more.

A Cookie Without a Chip
http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/wakefield.html
Even the first chocolate chip cookie was a mistake. Read about the history of America’s favorite cookie on this website. That’s one delicious mistake!

Mistakes Turned Good
http://www.derbygripe.co.uk/oddsocks/invent.htm
This website tells about important inventions that were made by mistake. Can you imagine life without some of these mistakes?