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You are here: Home » Blog Posts » Printables » Elijah McCoy: The REAL McCoy [FREE Printable Activity Pages]

Elijah McCoy: The REAL McCoy [FREE Printable Activity Pages]

By Jenn (aka Mama Jenn) • Last Updated: July 6, 2025

Note: This page may contain affiliate and/or advertiser links. Please review my disclosure policy.

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Use these FREE printable Black history activity pages to learn about African American inventor, Elijah McCoy!

Have you ever heard of the phrase, “The Real McCoy?” Did you know that the phrase dates back to African American inventor and engineer, Elijah McCoy?

Elijah McCoy Printable Activity Pages

This page may contain affiliate and/or advertiser links. Please review my disclosure policy.

About Elijah McCoy:

Believed to have been born in Canada on May 2, 1844 to escaped slaves, Elijah McCoy was notable for over 50 patented ideas!

As a young man, McCoy went to Scotland to apprentice as a mechanical engineer. After returning to his family in Michigan, the best job he could get was as an oilman and fireman on a steam-powered locomotive.

Elijah McCoy

Using his expertise, McCoy solved a common problem faced by the railroad system during his time.

He created an oil cup that allowed an engine to remain in motion and receive constant lubrication, as opposed to regularly stopping the train to manually lubricate it.

McCoy’s invention was such a success that when ordering the part people insisted that they receive McCoy’s lubricator and not an inferior substitute.

Buyers began to ask for “the real McCoy,” popularizing the expression that is still used today!

Books About Elijah McCoy:

Want to learn more about Mr. Elijah McCoy? Be sure to take a peek at some of the books below.

The Many Accomplishments of Elijah McCoy

The Many Accomplishments of Elijah McCoy

The Real Mccoy

The Real McCoy

All Aboard!: Elijah McCoy's Steam Engine

All Aboard!: Elijah McCoy’s Steam Engine

Elijah McCoy

Elijah McCoy

FREE Elijah McCoy Printable Activities:

Want to go even further in your studies of Elijah McCoy? I’ve created two sets of printable activity sets about the inventor!

Check out the two sets of activity pages I have made for our unit study on Elijah McCoy! And, they are completely FREE!

Divide and Conquer with Elijah McCoy

1) “The Real McCoy” Synonyms & Antonyms:

The first activity is “The Real McCoy” Synonyms & Antonyms. Simply print and cut out the words on the first “Real McCoy” page.

Decide if the words are synonyms or antonyms of the phrase “The Real McCoy” and glue/tape them onto the appropriate box on the second “Real McCoy” page.

The Real McCoy Synonym Antonym Activity

2) Elijah McCoy Vocabulary:

The second activity is all about vocabulary relating to Elijah McCoy. There are two ways to use the vocabulary pages.

Option A: Simply define the words provided on the vocabulary pages without cutting them out.

The Real McCoy Vocabulary Activity

Option B: Write the definition of each vocabulary word. Notice that each rectangle on the vocabulary page contains both a word to define and lines to write the definition.

Cut out each rectangle and attach them to the blank vocabulary page. Print as many of the blank pages as needed. Students can add illustrations if desired.

To complete the definitions, we use older versions of both the Scholastic Children’s Dictionary and Webster’s New World Children’s Dictionary.

Elijah McCoy FREE Printable Activity Pages

Download Instructions:

Ready to download the FREE printable Elijah McCoy activity pages? Click the button below to go to the special download page containing the pdf file.

Click here to get the printable!



This post was originally published on May 1, 2012.

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Category: Black History Activities, History Activities, History Printables, Printables
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Comments

  1. Stacy

    January 19, 2023 at 9:49 pm

    How do I download these free pages? Every time I click on it, it just takes me to the same page over and over… not to the worksheets.

    Reply
    • Mama Jenn

      February 24, 2023 at 9:09 pm

      Hi Stacy, thanks for letting me know! The problem should be all fixed now.

      Reply
  2. Mama Jenn

    May 11, 2012 at 3:24 pm

    You are most welcome! Thanks for pinning it! 😉

    Reply
  3. Mary

    May 11, 2012 at 12:04 am

    This is a great lesson! Thank you so much… I have never heard of McCoy. I’m pinning this so we can study this!

    Reply
  4. Mama Jenn

    May 3, 2012 at 7:59 pm

    You are so welcome! 😉

    Reply
  5. Wonder Mom

    May 2, 2012 at 10:23 pm

    You have done it AGAIN, Mama Jenn! Thank you so much for your continuous generosity for us homeschooling mamas in need of free resources…

    Reply
  6. Mama Jenn

    May 2, 2012 at 3:08 pm

    Awh Heather, you are too sweet!!! 😉

    Reply
  7. Heather McGlathery

    May 2, 2012 at 12:20 pm

    Excellent. I had know idea . . . however, I DID know that Mama Jenn is the “Real McCoy” of homeschooling mommas! Have a blessed week and thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  8. Corrie_sandefer

    May 1, 2012 at 10:35 pm

    awesome!

    Reply

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Hi there! I'm Jennifer (aka Mama Jenn).

My goal is to help you homeschool with both ease and creativity by providing educational activities, crafty ideas, and homeschool resources along with loads of free printables that can be used by anyone with a heart to make learning fun and engaging! Read more here >>

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