By Sharon Fabian
1What makes a person famous -- great looks, athletic ability, musical talent, star quality?
2Ben Franklin has been famous for a long time. Maybe he had all of those qualities, or maybe he didn't. Either way, that's not what he is remembered for. Ben Franklin is remembered for his many great achievements, including some great inventions. None of those "star qualities" would have helped him invent the Franklin stove, but another great quality did, curiosity. Franklin was curious about how things worked. When something didn't work very well, he liked to go to his workshop and see what he could come up with. He liked to experiment to see if his ideas were right. His curiosity led to some more inventions too, including bifocal glasses and the lightning rod.
3Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod in 1752, during the time that he was experimenting with electricity. Everyone has heard the tale about how he flew a kite in a thunderstorm to see if lightning was really electricity. He also used other creations to test out his ideas about electricity. One of them was call lightning bells, which were bells that would jingle when there was electricity in the air. He first set up a lightning rod to test for electricity too. Later when he observed a house that had been struck by lightning he noticed that the entire house had burned down except for the parts that had metal in them. This gave him the idea to use his lightning rod to protect a house in a storm.
4In 1760, Franklin invented bifocal glasses. He had reached the age where he needed glasses both to read and to see things far away. Of course this meant two pairs of glasses: one that focused near, for reading and looking at things up close, and one that focused far away, for the rest of the time. Ben always had to change from one pair of glasses to the other, and that probably became a nuisance. He thought that there must be a better way, and so he cut the lenses from two pair of glasses in half, fastened half of each together, and created the first pair of bifocals. This was an invention that Ben could use everyday.
5In 1790, he invented the Franklin stove. This time, the problem that he had been thinking about was fireplaces. Fireplaces used lots of wood, wasted lots of heat, made lots of smoke, and could be dangerous. Franklin's idea for an improvement was an iron stove that would take in cool air through the bottom, and radiate heat from all sides. There was one problem with Franklin's design, and that had to do with the chimney. Another inventor, David Rittenhouse, improved Franklin's stove with a better chimney. Franklin stoves have been around ever since.
6How did Benjamin Franklin learn all that he needed to know to create these great inventions? He didn't spend a lot of years in school, like most people do today, but he did spend many years on his education. How was that possible? Franklin was mainly self-taught. His own curiosity led him to search for information. Franklin educated himself in the fields of math, science, and English, as well as several foreign languages. By experimenting and trying our new inventions, he continued his education throughout his whole life.
7Benjamin Franklin accomplished many things during his lifetime. If you follow Ben's simple advice, maybe you will too. He said "Employ thy time well."
Copyright © 2009 edHelper
Benjamin Franklin
1. / Benjamin Franklin did not invent _____.Electricity
Franklin stove
Lightning rod
Bifocals
/ 2. / Franklin lived in the _____ century.
Seventeenth
Twenty-first
Nineteenth
Eighteenth
3. / Franklin did not use _____ to test for electricity in a thunderstorm.
Lightning rod
Bifocals
Kite
Lightning bells
/ 4. / David Rittenhouse was _____.
A famous athlete
An inventor who improved on Franklin's stove
A customer who bought Franklin stoves
A scientist who studied electricity
5. / Rittenhouse made his improvements to Franklin's stove in the _____.
1790's
1750's
1600's
1760's
/ 6. / Franklin must have gained much of his knowledge by _____.
Reading
Watching educational TV
Attending college
Searching the internet
7. / According to the article, Franklin had musical talent.
Maybe
No
Yes
/ 8. / What do you think Franklin meant by "Employ thy time well."?
Benjamin Franklin
By Sharon Fabian /
inventions / problem / search
thunderstorm / bifocal / lightning
invention / radiate / during
education / bifocals / ability
experiment / experimenting / possible
better / entire / lifetime
Directions:Fill in each blank with the word that best completes the reading comprehension.
What makes a person famous -- great looks, athletic (1)______, musical talent, star quality?
Ben Franklin has been famous for a long time. Maybe he had all of those qualities, or maybe he didn't. Either way, that's not what he is remembered for. Ben Franklin is remembered for his many great achievements, including some great inventions. None of those "star qualities" would have helped him invent the Franklin stove, but another great quality did, curiosity. Franklin was curious about how things worked. When something didn't work very well, he liked to go to his workshop and see what he could come up with. He liked to (2)______to see if his ideas were right. His curiosity led to some more (3)______too, including (4)______glasses and the lightning rod.
Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod in 1752, (5)______the time that he was experimenting with electricity. Everyone has heard the tale about how he flew a kite in a (6)______to see if lightning was really electricity. He also used other creations to test out his ideas about electricity. One of them was call lightning bells, which were bells that would jingle when there was electricity in the air. He first set up a lightning rod to test for electricity too. Later when he observed a house that had been struck by lightning he noticed that the (7)______house had burned down except for the parts that had metal in them. This gave him the idea to use his (8)______rod to protect a house in a storm.
In 1760, Franklin invented bifocal glasses. He had reached the age where he needed glasses both to read and to see things far away. Of course this meant two pairs of glasses: one that focused near, for reading and looking at things up close, and one that focused far away, for the rest of the time. Ben always had to change from one pair of glasses to the other, and that probably became a nuisance. He thought that there must be a (9)______way, and so he cut the lenses from two pair of glasses in half, fastened half of each together, and created the first pair of (10)______. This was an (11)______that Ben could use everyday.
In 1790, he invented the Franklin stove. This time, the (12)______that he had been thinking about was fireplaces. Fireplaces used lots of wood, wasted lots of heat, made lots of smoke, and could be dangerous. Franklin's idea for an improvement was an iron stove that would take in cool air through the bottom, and (13)______heat from all sides. There was one problem with Franklin's design, and that had to do with the chimney. Another inventor, David Rittenhouse, improved Franklin's stove with a better chimney. Franklin stoves have been around ever since.
How did Benjamin Franklin learn all that he needed to know to create these great inventions? He didn't spend a lot of years in school, like most people do today, but he did spend many years on his education. How was that (14)______? Franklin was mainly self-taught. His own curiosity led him to (15)______for information. Franklin educated himself in the fields of math, science, and English, as well as several foreign languages. By (16)______and trying our new inventions, he continued his (17)______throughout his whole life.
Benjamin Franklin accomplished many things during his (18)______. If you follow Ben's simple advice, maybe you will too. He said "Employ thy time well."
Copyright © 2009 edHelper
Name ______/ / Date ______Benjamin Franklin
1. / Benjamin Franklin did not invent _____.Lightning rod
Bifocals
Electricity
Franklin stove
/ 2. / Franklin lived in the _____ century.
Nineteenth
Twenty-first
Eighteenth
Seventeenth
3. / Franklin did not use _____ to test for electricity in a thunderstorm.
Lightning bells
Kite
Bifocals
Lightning rod
/ 4. / David Rittenhouse was _____.
An inventor who improved on Franklin's stove
A customer who bought Franklin stoves
A famous athlete
A scientist who studied electricity
5. / Rittenhouse made his improvements to Franklin's stove in the _____.
1760's
1600's
1750's
1790's
/ 6. / Franklin must have gained much of his knowledge by _____.
Watching educational TV
Attending college
Reading
Searching the internet
7. / According to the article, Franklin had musical talent.
Maybe
No
Yes
/ 8. / What do you think Franklin meant by "Employ thy time well."?
Name ______/ / Date ______
(Key 1 - Answer ID # 0753199)
Write each word three times.
inventor / / /mainly / / /
change / / /
iron / / /
radiate / / /
problem / / /
design / / /
reading / / /
self-taught / / /
better / / /
search / / /
follow / / /
curiosity / / /
everyday / / /
quality / / /
Activity:
Electricity Is All Around
A. Pennell
Materials: Balloons
Goals:
· The student will be able to find that static electricity occurs in our daily lives.
· The student will understand that everything has an electric charge using balloons.
Vocabulary:
· Protons have a positive charge.
· Electrons have a negative charge.
· Static Electricity is the charge on an object that has an unequal number of protons and electrons.
Directions:
1. Pick a balloon from the bag and blow it up.
2. Once you have blown up your balloon, tie the end in a tight knot to keep in the air.
3. Now, take the balloon and rub it on your hair.
4. Record your observations and infer: What happened to your hair? Why do you think your hair was able to stand up?
5. Read the explanation card to check how accurate your inference was!
6. Now that you have experimented with static electricity, explain why your hair was standing up.
7. Also try rubbing your balloon on your shirt. Record what happens.
8. Think about the activity you just completed. What does it tell you about electricity?
9. Lastly, name two examples of static electricity underneath your observations and inferences.
Explanation for Students:
When you rub a balloon against your hair, some of the electrons from your hair move to the atoms on the balloon. The balloon now has more electrons. This is causing it to have a negative charge. Your hair now has more protons than electrons. This is giving your hair a positive charge. When the protons and electrons are unequal, static electricity is produced. Static electricity is the charge on an object that has an unequal number of protons and electrons. Static electricity is causing your hair to stick up.
Assessment:
Students will turn in their science notebooks that include their observations, inferences, and reflection.
Benjamin Franklin - Answer Key1Electricity
2Eighteenth
3Bifocals
4An inventor who improved on Franklin's stove
51790's
6Reading
7Maybe
8Answers will vary.
By Sharon Fabian /
Answer Key
What makes a person famous -- great looks, athletic (1)ability, musical talent, star quality?
Ben Franklin has been famous for a long time. Maybe he had all of those qualities, or maybe he didn't. Either way, that's not what he is remembered for. Ben Franklin is remembered for his many great achievements, including some great inventions. None of those "star qualities" would have helped him invent the Franklin stove, but another great quality did, curiosity. Franklin was curious about how things worked. When something didn't work very well, he liked to go to his workshop and see what he could come up with. He liked to (2)experiment to see if his ideas were right. His curiosity led to some more (3)inventions too, including (4)bifocal glasses and the lightning rod.
Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod in 1752, (5)during the time that he was experimenting with electricity. Everyone has heard the tale about how he flew a kite in a (6)thunderstorm to see if lightning was really electricity. He also used other creations to test out his ideas about electricity. One of them was call lightning bells, which were bells that would jingle when there was electricity in the air. He first set up a lightning rod to test for electricity too. Later when he observed a house that had been struck by lightning he noticed that the (7)entire house had burned down except for the parts that had metal in them. This gave him the idea to use his (8)lightning rod to protect a house in a storm.
In 1760, Franklin invented bifocal glasses. He had reached the age where he needed glasses both to read and to see things far away. Of course this meant two pairs of glasses: one that focused near, for reading and looking at things up close, and one that focused far away, for the rest of the time. Ben always had to change from one pair of glasses to the other, and that probably became a nuisance. He thought that there must be a (9)better way, and so he cut the lenses from two pair of glasses in half, fastened half of each together, and created the first pair of (10)bifocals. This was an (11)invention that Ben could use everyday.
In 1790, he invented the Franklin stove. This time, the (12)problem that he had been thinking about was fireplaces. Fireplaces used lots of wood, wasted lots of heat, made lots of smoke, and could be dangerous. Franklin's idea for an improvement was an iron stove that would take in cool air through the bottom, and (13)radiate heat from all sides. There was one problem with Franklin's design, and that had to do with the chimney. Another inventor, David Rittenhouse, improved Franklin's stove with a better chimney. Franklin stoves have been around ever since.
How did Benjamin Franklin learn all that he needed to know to create these great inventions? He didn't spend a lot of years in school, like most people do today, but he did spend many years on his education. How was that (14)possible? Franklin was mainly self-taught. His own curiosity led him to (15)search for information. Franklin educated himself in the fields of math, science, and English, as well as several foreign languages. By (16)experimenting and trying our new inventions, he continued his (17)education throughout his whole life.
Benjamin Franklin accomplished many things during his (18)lifetime. If you follow Ben's simple advice, maybe you will too. He said "Employ thy time well."