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.
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Guess What Benjamin Franklin Did!
Students research Ben Franklin's inventions. In this invention lesson plan, 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...
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 lesson 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. In this biographical lesson, 4th graders listen to the teacher read facts of Benjamin Franklin's life and analyze his contributions to our current...
Curated OER
Ben Franklin's Inventions
Learners 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. Learners create a commercial in an...
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
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...
Curated OER
Electricity for Kids! It's Shocking!
Students investigate the world of electricity by completing a KWL sheet. In this energy lesson, students view PowerPoint presentations about electricity, who invented it, and how it is used today. Students define several electricity...
Curated OER
The Final Word
Pupils research biographies of Americans who advanced science. They create an obituary for the person to share what information they have gathered. They discuss the importance of the obituary as the "final word" of a person to complete...
Curated OER
Electric Circuits
Students model the flow of electrons in a circuit, draw diagrams of an electric circuit and build an electric circuit. Students explain how to tell when the path of an electric circuit is complete, and test the conductivity of a variety...
The Franklin Institute
Franklin Institute: Music to Our Ears
Part of a larger site on the armonica, an instrument created by Ben Franklin. Introduce yourself to the human ear. This section looks at how sound is collected and transmitted and provides diagrams of the parts of the auditory pathway...