Thomas Edison Didn’t Give Up…
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, the record player, movie-making equipment, and lots of other things, too. But, he made plenty of mistakes. For every great discovery that worked, he made hundreds of things that didn’t work. But, he didn’t give up.
Thomas Edison said, “I failed my way to success.” What he meant was that he learned from his mistakes, and he tried not to make the same mistake twice.
Nobody’s perfect. So, you’re bound to make some mistakes. When things don’t go your way, you may be tempted to quit. But before you give up, remember the story of Thomas Edison, the man who kept trying until he got it right. And if you keep trying, you’ll get it right, too.

Quotes from Thomas Edison
“I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident. They came by work.”
“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.”
“Opportunity is often missed because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
“When you blunder, blunder forward.”
“The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.”

About New Jersey
It’s a Fact: Thomas Edison created his most important inventions at a laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. In honor of Mr. Edison, they changed the name of Menlo Park to Edison Township, New Jersey.
It’s a Fact: The capital of New Jersey is Trenton.
It’s a Fact: The city in New Jersey with the most people is Newark. Newark is less than ten miles from New York City.
It’s a Fact: The abbreviation for New Jersey is NJ.
It’s a Fact: The street names used in the game Monopoly are taken from Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Fun Fact: The U. S. president during the American Civil War was Abraham Lincoln.
Fun Fact: The longest river in the world is the Nile in Africa.
Fun Fact: The biggest river in America is the Mississippi.
Fun Fact: If the earth were the size of a tennis ball, the sun would be a huge ball 24 feet across, and it would be half a mile away.
Fun Fact: The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean in the world. It covers about one fifth of the earth’s surface.

Just for fun,
Did Thomas Edison invent the lightbulb or the telephone?
What's the capital of New Jersey?
What's the biggest river in the United States of America?
The Pacific Ocean is the world's biggest ocean. What's the second largest ocean?

If you have time, you can write a story of your own.
Here are some story ideas to help you get started.
Story Idea #1 You can write a story about the amazing life of Thomas Edison.
Or
Story Idea #2 What would it be like to own an invention laboratory of your own? What kind of inventions would you like to create? You can answer these questions and write a story about it.
