AlbertEinstein

TargetAge:Elementary

TimePeriod:20thCentury

FeaturedCounty:Mercer

NJ350thTheme:Innovation

NJ Common CoreStandards:

Social Studies:6.1.4.C.12, 6.3.8.D.1

Social StudiesSkills:CriticalThinking,Presentational

Skills

LanguageArtsLiteracy:3.1Reading,3.2Writing

Alan Richards photographer. FromtheShelbyWhiteand Leon Levy Archives Center,Institute for AdvancedStudy,Princeton,NJ, USA

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Whatimpactwouldtheinnovationsof AlbertEinstein have on NewJersey andthe restof theworld?

BACKGROUND:

ThenameEinstein issynonymouswith genius.Anyonestriving toachieveexcellencein theirpursuitslooksto thisinfluential figure as asourceofmotivation andinspiration.AlbertEinstein isoneofthemostimportantfiguresofthetwentiethcentury.Born in Germany andovercoming initial failures,Einstein excelled in hisschooling,especially in thefields ofmathand science.Aftergraduating from theZurichPolytechnicUniversityin1900,Einstein wouldbecomeoneofthemostcelebrated scientists ofhisday.Einstein builtuponNewton’s ideasandapplied them to modern dilemmas,which resulted innumerouspublicationsandthedevelopmentoftheoriesconcerningmodern physics.Einsteinwouldreachthepinnacleof hiscareerbywinning theNobelPrize inPhysics in1921.

Alreadyestablished asoneoftheworld’sgreatestscientists,AlbertEinsteinwasinvited todeliverspeechesandmakeappearancesthroughouttheworld,including theUnited States,MiddleEast,andJapan.Then, in 1933,afterthe riseofHitlerandthe Naziparty,Einstein found himselftobeamanwithouta home.Whilevisiting New YorkCity,Einsteindecidedtoremainin theUnited StatesandrenouncedhisGerman citizenship duetotheanti-Semitic policiesthatwerebeing implementedbyGermany.Ultimately,Einstein decidedto settleinPrinceton,NewJersey wherehe wasone oftheinaugural membersofthe InstituteforAdvancedStudy.

Forthenext twentyyearswhileliving andworking inPrinceton,Einstein continued to pursuethesamescientificendeavors. Hispursuit ofa unifiedfieldtheory,however, provedunsuccessful andheoftenfound himself outsidethecutting edgeof research. Perhapshismostinfluential action during thisperiodcamein 1939,when heurgedPresidentFranklinD. Roosevelttopursuedevelopmentofan atomic

bomb.Although apacifist,Einstein fearedNaziGermanywould succeed in creating such a weapon first.Although it could beargued thathisgreatestaccomplishmentsoccurredelsewhere,bymaking NewJerseyhishomeAlbertEinstein strengthened theconnection betweenthestateandits legacyofinnovation.

ACTIVITY:

LowerElementaryLevels:Using thebiographiesof AlbertEinstein listedbelowor anyotherageappropriatesource,each studentwillcreate a“BaseballCard” of AlbertEinstein,focusing onhisaccomplishmentsand innovations. On thefrontof the “Card,”each studentwillprovidebasicinformation anda drawingof AlbertEinstein. On thebackof the“Card,” each studentwillprovidedescriptionsofthreeaccomplishmentsand innovations of AlbertEinstein.Additionally,each studentwilldescribewhythey feelthateachisveryimportant.Ask thestudentsto emphasizeAlbertEinstein’simportancetoandimpactonNewJerseywhile atPrincetonUniversityandliving in New Jersey.

UpperElementaryLevels:In thesummer of1939,justweeksbeforeEuropewould explodeintoanotherWorldWar, AlbertEinsteinwrote a letterto PresidentFranklin D. Rooseveltwarning himofresearchbeing conductedintothedevelopmentof anatomicbombbytheNaziregime.Initial warnings andlettersby Europeanscientistswerediscountedbytheadministration, anditwasthereputation andprestigeof AlbertEinstein thatfinallydrewtheattention ofRooseveltto thisemerging threat. Thisletteris considered thebeginning of America’sentranceintothe nucleararmsrace.Eventuallyfourletterswerewritten fromEinsteintoRoosevelt,and theirpersonalmeetingswould leadtothe initiationof theManhattanProjectand thedevelopmentofthe firstatomicbomb.

Either asa class, in small groups orindividually,havethestudentsread Einstein’sfirst lettertoRooseveltand considerthe followingquestions:

  • Whywould Rooseveltlisten to Einstein afterotherattemptsdidnotgain hisattention?
  • Whywould Einstein notwant to seeGermanyobtain thisnewtechnologyandinformation?
  • As a pacifist,howdifficultmight ithave been forEinstein towritethisletter?
  • What commitment isEinstein trulyasking theUnitedStates to takeon?
  • What itemsdidEinstein correctlypredictandwhatwasheinaccurateabout?

FOLLOW-UP:

TheTenGreatLifeLessonof AlbertEinstein PosterProject..

Dividetheclass into tendifferentgroupswithabouttwo to threestudents in each group. ReviewanddiscussTheTen GreatLifeLessonsof AlbertEinstein found at thewebsitelistedabove. Each group willcreatea posterwiththelifelesson asthetitle,a drawing illustrating thelifelesson, anda descriptionhowthe lifelesson appliesto themandtheirclassmates. Thismaybecompletedin schoolor athome,and considerthe gradeandlevelof studentswhenestablishing expectationsforcompletion.

WANTTOLEARNMORE?

PlacesYouCanVisit

“Einsteinat Home”ExhibitionHistorical SocietyofPrincetonBainbridgeHouse

158Nassau StreetPrinceton, NJ

Additional TeachingResources

AlbertEinstein LessonprovidedbyTheWalking ClassroomInstitute

AlbertEinstein:Manof theCenturyfromCrayola

For MoreInformation

AlbertEinstein ArchivesOnline

AlbertEinstein LinksforLearning

CREDITINFORMATION:

In ClassroomActivity:

Pg.1:AlbertEinstein in hisoffice.AlanRichardsphotographer. FromtheShelbyWhite andLeon LevyArchivesCenter,InstituteforAdvancedStudy,Princeton,NJ, USA

It Happened Here:NewJersey is a programof theNewJersey Historical Commission made possible by a grant fromtheNewJersey Council for theHumanities,astate partner oftheNational Endowmentfor theHumanities. Anyviews,findings,conclusions, or recommendations expressed intheprogramdo not necessarilyrepresentthoseof the National Endowmentfor theHumanities ortheNew Jersey CouncilfortheHumanities.To access more teachingresources created forthisprogramvisit