Curated OER
Ben Franklin Timeline
Celebrate inventions such as lightning rods, bifocals, and stoves with a Ben Franklin Day. Young historians conduct research and write a paragraph about an accomplishment of Benjamin Franklin including an illustration or collage that...
Chandler Unified School District
Ben Franklin Aphorisms
Benjamin Franklin's famous aphorisms are a perfect time capsule of colonist values in the mid-18th century, as well as a clever reminder of the way life still works today. Middle and high schoolers select one aphorism to interpret...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Simple Machines, Ben Franklin and the Technology of the 1700s
Benjamin Franklin was an inventor, and he was fascinated by the mechanics of machinery. Using a fun exploration, pupils examine simple machines from the pre-Industrial era. Then, they must identify and build their own using common objects.
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Jefferson vs. Franklin: Revolutionary Philosophers
Students cite connections among Franklin's Albany Plan of 1754, his Plan of Confederation of 1775 and the U.S. Constitution and/or the Declaration of Independence. In an essay, they give examples of the philosophical and political...
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Wisdom of Ben Franklin
Students recognize the wit and wisdom of Ben Franklin. They examine a list of proverbs of Ben Franklin and select a proverb to paraphrase. In addition, they create a modern proverb that has the same meaning as the one they picked by...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Franklin’s Philadelphia: Another Point of View
While Benjamin Franklin enjoyed fame and success in colonial Philadelphia, that was not the experience of all coming to the British colonies. Young scholars trace the life of an indentured servant using a scholarly biography and reading...
Curated OER
What Would Ben Franklin Do?
Employ Ben Franklin's 13 virtues to a modern drug-abuse prevention plan.
Federal Reserve Bank
Ben Franklin: Highlighting the Printer
By studying Benjamin Franklin's work as a printer, your class will have a fantastic opportunity to learn about the economic concepts of entrepreneurship, human capital, and investment.
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Ben Franklin and the Rising Americans
Students prepare for and learn through a walking tour of Philadelphia. In this history lesson plan, students support their studies with a field trip. This lesson plan could be adapted to suit regions with other historic places or museums.
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Electrifying Franklin
Fourth graders research and present information about Benjamin Franklin's life and accomplishments. In this lesson on Benjamin Franklin, 4th graders review idioms and sayings written by Franklin then compare and contrast his various...
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Ben Franklin the Good Citizen
Students investigate Benjamin Franklin's contributions to society. In this history lesson, students read about Franklin's philanthropic behavior and play a bucket brigade game to re-enact how fires were put out during colonial times.
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Guess What Benjamin Franklin Did!
Students research Ben Franklin's inventions. In this invention lesson, students see the relationship between a need and an invention. Students will engage in a class discussion, read a handout, and play a match the invention to its...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Lists to Live By: Developing a Self-Improvement Plan
Ben Franklin was a man with a plan. Learners investigate his plan for self-improvement using excerpts from Franklin's autobiography. Then, pupils develop their own plans and discuss how to sell them to others using the two-session lesson...
Curated OER
Benjamin Franklin - Master of Electricity The Kite Experiment and the Invention of the Lightning Rod
Students study Benjamin Franklin including who he was, what he invented and his experiment. In this inventive instructional activity students follow the steps of Ben Franklin and build a Leyden jar.
Curated OER
Electricity and Magnetism: Ben Franklin and His Influence
Fourth graders explore electricity by examining the life of Benjamin Franklin. For this biographical lesson, 4th graders listen to the teacher read facts of Benjamin Franklin's life and analyze his contributions to our current society. ...
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Ben Franklin's Inventions
Students discover the life of Benjamin Franklin by studying his inventions. In this biography lesson, students identify the inventions of Benjamin Franklin and their impact on society today. Students create a commercial in an attempt...
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Benjamin Franklin- Philanthropist
Students research and read a profile of Benjamin Franklin. In this philanthropic lesson plan, students research the projects of Benjamin Franklin and determine which were philanthropic, which were governmental and which were business...
San Francisco Symphony
Admirable Armonica Admirers
What do Ben Franklin and Wolfgang Mozart have in common? Find out about the musical invention, the armonica or glassy-chord. Learners will read about how Ben Franklin invented this new instrument and how Wolfgang Mozart came to play it....
Read Works
The United States Constitution
The US Constitution is the beginning of Americans' rights. Use a five-paragraph passage to give a brief history of the US Constitution. A great last minute addition to a lesson on Constitution Day.
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Autobiographies: A Jigsaw Puzzle
Learners read The Autobiography of Ben Franklin. Using construction paper, they cut out five jigsaw puzzle pieces in different shapes using the entire sheet of paper. They write events from their own lives on the puzzle pieces, thus...
Curated OER
Weather Lessons: Explore the Possibilities
Looking to the sky isn't just for day dreamers.The weather is a fascinating way to explore science and history.
Curated OER
Making a Chiminea
A chiminea is an outdoor fireplace usually made from terracotta. Your class will make miniature versions of this useful heating device to practice specific sculpting techniques. This lesson spans four days. It includes vocabulary and an...
Curated OER
Borrowing and Lending
Fourth graders investigate the advantages and disadvantages of borrowing money. In this financial awareness lesson, 4th graders read the book Ben and Me and create a table displaying the advantages and disadvantages of borrowing money.
Curated OER
Discovering Flight
Students discuss what wind can do such as cause a ball to roll, a book to open, water to move. They observe in the book, "Up, Up and Away!: the Sciene of Flight" things that fly and begin brainstoring things on paper that can fly. They...