MUSD invention units from Gifted Education classes. Submitted photos

Gifted fifth-grade students from Saddleback, Pima Butte, Butterfield, Maricopa and Santa Cruz elementary schools gave their final presentation of their Invention Units Nov. 16 at Saddleback.

The first component of the project was researching an invention or inventor, then reporting the information through a research paper. The second part allowed students to form small groups, or think tanks, and then invent something that would “better our lives.”

Students created business plans with the problem, formulated the solution (their product), developed a target market, researched competition and costs, and then calculated potential revenue and profits. These plans were then put into a Google Slide, and students presented their ideas using tri-fold posters, laptops with the slide presentation and exhibited their prototype invention.

Elementary Gifted Education instructor Zoe Redfern thanked students, parents and staff for their support of the successful program.