National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: America in Class: Benjamin Franklin's Satire of Witch Hunting
Lesson uses primary resource to explore Benjamin Franklin's satire of a witch trial and his argument that human affairs should be guided, above all, by reason.
Bill of Rights Institute
Bill of Rights Institute: Benjamin Franklin
Although he was the old sage of the American Revolution and the Founding generation, Benjamin Franklin's considerable work in the areas of journalism, science, and invention often obscure his many contributions to the creation of the...
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Education: Making Friends With Franklin
Come meet Benjamin Franklin and some of his scientific friends. Learn about them through the eyes of early American portraiture. Following the introduction are three great lesson plans for teachers of language arts, science, and visual...
PBS
Pbs: Benjamin Franklin: An Extraordinary Life: Franklin's Inquiring Mind
Read a five-part essay that captures the essence of Franklin as a man of science.
University of Notre Dame
History of American Education Web Project: Benjamin Franklin
Biographical notes about Benjamin Franklin's role in the history of education in America, including his ideas about introducing science and new methodologies into school curricula.
Florida State University
Florida State University: Magnet Lab: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1750 1774
With his famous kite experiment and other forays into science, Benjamin Franklin advances knowledge of electricity, inspiring his English friend Joseph Priestley to do the same.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Education: Spotlight Biography Inventors
This site provides information on American inventors Benjamin Franklin, Robert Fulton, Eli Whitney, Thomas Jefferson, Isaac Singer, Wilbur Wright, Thomas Alva Edison, Elias Howe, and Alexander Graham Bell. It offers pictures from and...
My Hero Project
My Hero: Science Hero: Benjamin Franklin
This brief article overviews some of Benjamin Franklin's accomplishments as a scientist and a political diplomat, whose efforts not only made him "one of the most famous scientists of his day," but also a hero to early American Colonists.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Scientific American: The Art of Science: Ben Franklin's Harmonica
Investigate the science behind the glass harmonica, and try Ben Franklin's version. Explore the world of sound with hearing and other senses, and find out how different length straws influence sound by modifying frequency.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Learning Lab: Making Friends With Franklin
This site is an introduction plus a series of three lesson plans that explore Franklin's portraits plus aspects of his work in science and writing.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: History Comes Alive: Developing Fluency and Comprehension
Let the power of imagination and inference serve as a "time machine" to bring Benjamin Franklin into the classroom! History and science come to life in a dialogue with Franklin the inventor, developed through instructional activity...
Read Works
Read Works: The Shocking Truth
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about Ben Franklin's discovery of electricity. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
The Franklin Institute
A Penny Flipped Is Science Learned
What is the probability that a penny will land on heads when flipped? Test this on Ben Franklin's birthday and find out!
Curated OER
Science Kids: Science Images: Benjamin Franklin
This is a black and white image of Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America and a leading scientist who made discoveries related to electricity.
Curated OER
Smithsonian Libraries: Scientific Identity: Benjamin Franklin (1706 1790)
A portrait of Benjamin Franklin from the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology, made available through the Smithsonian Institution's Scientific Identity Collection.
Curated OER
Smithsonian Libraries: Scientific Identity: Benjamin Franklin (1706 1790)
A portrait of Benjamin Franklin from the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology, made available through the Smithsonian Institution's Scientific Identity Collection.
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature and Composition: Rationalism
This is an introduction to a unit on Rationalism, also known as The Age of Reason or Enlightenment, was set during the American Revolutionary period. It focuses on the belief that the power of reason and science would further human...