Free Resources About the Telegraph and Telephone Inventions

Published:
April 7, 2021

Contributor:
Jeannette Tuionetoa

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Communication is the cornerstone of our society. These free resources about the telegraph and the telephone inventions will help your students learn about the evolution of communication.

Free Resources About the History and Inventions Telegraph & Telephone text and image of an old phone sitting on top of a suitcase

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Can you think of what we would do without any form of communication or even electronic communication? Many societies live with it, yet ours has become accustomed – if not dependent – on it.

One of the inventions that has really changed our world is the innovation of electronic communications which has only occurred within the last 100 years.

It all began with the telegraph.

The telegraph is the long-distance transmission of written messages that does’t require the physical transport of letters. It works via electric pulses in a special code depicted by long and short marks (usually Morse Code).

Telegraphs in the 1700s originally contained a zillion (I am being sarcastic) wires. In 1844, Samuel Morse perfected a telegraph that only needed one wire. Soon after, telegraphs were all over the United States.

The telephone was invented forty years later. Alexander Graham Bell grabbed the patent for the telephone, and soon after people no longer needed to hear beeps of sound to transmit messages.

People were now able to transmit their voice messages over long distances through electric wires. Sometime later, large switching networks were built all across the world.

The networks allowed telephones to be connected in almost any home in order for people to instantly communicate with each other.

Help your kids learn more about the history of the inventions known as the telegraph and eventually the telephone. They were both an evolution to get us to the smartphones and technologically-inclined communication we have today.

Grab these free resources about the telegraph and the telephone inventions:

Telegraph

a close up image of an old telegraph
Image by Ray Shrewsberry from Pixabay

The Telegraph Set the Stage for Email and Texting | Homeschool Holiday

History of the Electric Telegraph and Telegraphy | ThoughtCo.

Morse Code & the Telegraph | History.com

Invention of the Telegraph (Video) | Kean University

A Brief History of the Telegraph | Arts and Culture (Google)

The Invention of the Telegraph – History of the Telegraph | Science Wiz

Telegraphy Facts for Kids | Kids.Kiddle

Facts for Kids – Telegraph | Facts Just for Kids

History of Telegraph – Video | Quixot Kids – Story

Learn about Samuel Morse

Samuel Morse and Morse Code Day (Books, Activities, and Resources) | Homeschooling without Training Wheels

Samuel Morse FREE Coloring Page | Raising Our Kids

FREE Science Studies: Samuel Morse & the Telegraph | DIY Homeschooler

Explore these activities to go alongside your resources on the telegraph

FREE Printable Morse Code Sheet | Picklebums

Printable Morse Code FREE Chart | Printer Projects

Binary Code for Kids- Spelling Shark FREE Printables | JDaniel4’sMom

FREE Morse Code Message – Break the Code | Love to Teach

Morse Code Decode Quiz FREE Worksheets | Morse Code Alphabet

FREE Morse Code Flash Cards | Printable Flashcards

8+ Sample Morse Code Chart FREE Templates in PDF/MS Word | Sample Templates

Celebrate Morse Code Day in Your Homeschool Unit Study and Activities | iHomeschoolNetwork

Telegraph STEM/STEAM Projects

A Homemade Telegraph Machine (VIDEO) | Vimeo

How to Build Simple Telegraph Sets | W1TP

Simple Telegraph Key and Sounder | Instructables Circuits

Homemade Telegraph Video and Lesson | Sciphile

Telephone

close up image of an old telephone next to a piece of paper and a pen for taking notes
Image by Stefan Kuhn from Pixabay

History of the Telephone | CNET

The Glory Days of the Telephone Infographic | Earthly Mission

Learning about the History of Telephones for Kids (Unit Study) | The Pinay Homeschooler

History of the Telephone (50 examples of models) | Click Americana

Infographics – Telephone History | Prop Agenda

The Fascinating History of the Telephone | HubPages

A Visual History of the Telephone | Slate.com

History of the Telephone for Kids (Video) | Stephanie Tigges

Explore these activities to go alongside your resources on the telephone

Go Over a Teen Cell Phone Contract | iMom

Teach Your Kids Important Phone Numbers | Alaina Ann Design

A Fun Writing Game for Kids: Paper Telephone FREE Printable |Studio-Stilla

Learning Telephone Numbers FREE Printable | Spell OUTLOUD

How to Teach Phone Numbers | Teaching Mama

Free resources to learn about Alexander Graham Bell

FREE Printables and Resources About Alexander Graham Bell

Free Printables and Recourses About Alexander Graham Bell text with image of an old telegraph

Who Invented the Telephone? FREE Coloring Page | Raising Our Kids

Alexander Graham Bell for Kids – Who Invented the Phone? | Clarendon Learning

Reading Street Word Cards FREEBIE “Alexander Graham Bell: A Great Inventor” | Look Who’s in First Grade

Alexander Graham Bell Grades 6 – 8 FREE Printable | Carson Dellosa Education

FREEBIE!!!! Alexander Graham Bell Social Studies Unit | Pam Blalock Parmley

Biography of Alexander Graham Bell for Children: Famous Inventors for Kids (Video) | FreeSchool

FREE Graham Bell Fold&Learn | Lita Lita

Alexander Graham Bell FREE DIGITAL Reading Passage | ThinkTank Teacher

Telephone STEM/STEAM Projects

DIY String Telephone STEAM Activity for Kids | Raising Lifelong Learners

DIY Plastic Cup Phones | Play Create Explore

Make a Paper Cup Phone | There’s Just One Mommy

Build a String Telephone FREE Download | Animal Jam Academy

Telephone Prototype – STEAM Activities for Kids VIDEO | Gigglezz Preschool

Tin Can & String Telephone: A Simple STEM Experiment | STLMotherhood

DIY Smart Phone Projector | The STEM Laboratory

Simple Science – Recycled DIY Can Telephones | Lemon Lime Adventures

DIY Simple STEM with Plastic Cups | Momgineer

Tin Can Telephone: Sound Wave Science Experiment | Life Over C’s

The success of the telegraph ended, in most part, with the introduction of the telephone.

Isn’t it how inventions work? With the creativity and innovation of humans, we think of new ideas and advancements to the old which build on the past and improve the future.

Free Resources About the Telegraph and Telephone Inventions text and image of a old telephone sitting on top of a suitcase

 

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