Benjamin Franklin's Many Lives
A WebQuest for grade 3 computer technology skills, English
language arts, information skills, social studies, and science
by James Mccully
(mjimme@aol.com)
Student
introduction
You and your team are flying kites. Suddenly, lightning
strikes and a big wind hurls you back in the time of
Benjamin Franklin. Ben Franklin, you will find, was a man of many talents. Your
team will be recording information on the many roles that Benjamin Franklin had
during his life.
The Task
You will work in
assigned teams of four. You and your team will create different pages that will
become a book about Benjamin Franklin and his many roles. (Some of your pages
will be done by each member in your group.) You will also include information
about your life that will be part of your book.
The Process
1.
You will work in assigned groups.
2. Your group will explore the world of Benjamin Franklin on the Internet.
3. Visit the timeline to learn about important dates in Ben's life.
4. Write down the answers to the following questions:
-- What was Ben's birthdate?
-- Why did Ben become a vegetarian in 1722?
-- How old was Ben when he had his last day of school?
-- What did he invent in 1717?
-- What did he publish in 1732?
-- What year did Ben die?
-- What year did he start the first library?
Pick one more fact that you find important
Write down the answers to the above questions after you visit the timeline.
5. Draw a timeline of Ben's life as a group with the above information. Put
this in sequential order.
6. Draw a timeline of your life - one timeline for each member of your group.
Include the following:
-- your birthdate
-- your first day in school
-- your first day of 3rd grade
-- your favorite birthday
-- two other favorite dates in your life
Make sure you write the dates and the events in order.
7. Look at the following web site, scroll down to
Inventions and read about the Odometer,
the Bifocals,
the Franklin
Stove, and
the Lightning Rod.
Ben Franklin, Printer
8. Design an ad which would persuade people to buy one of Ben's inventions. In
your ad, give reasons why someone would want this invention. Check out these ads, for an
example of what to do. Be sure and try to "sell" one of the
inventions with your ad.
At the age of 12, Ben Franklin began to learn the business
of printing. His older brother, James, had set up a shop in Boston
and Ben learned quickly as an apprentice. When Ben was 17, he was able to work in
any print shop. With this skill, Ben found work in Philadelphia
and in London. Over the years he
wrote many famous sayings.
Check out "Poor
Richard's Almanack". Choose a letter of the
alphabet and write down the saying next to the letter.
Write down what you think that saying means and then check out what other
people thought Ben meant by clicking on the alphabet letter.
9. Ben Franklin, Musician
Ben played several musical instruments. His great love of
music led him to build his own glass armonica. This
musical instrument was played by touching the edge of the spinning glass with
damp or wet fingers.
Check out this armonica and play a tune of your own.
Make up your own song about Benjamin Franklin. You may use the same tune as a
song you already know. You may want to tape record your song. Ask your teacher
for help.
10. Ben Franklin, Statesman
Check out Ben Franklin and pick one of the documents he
signed. Click on it and find out why it was important. Write the name of the
document and its importance.
Documents (http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/documents/index.html)
11.
Ben Franklin, Scientist
It's time to take on the role of scientist. Choose one
experiment to try. You will need to find the container with the materials you
need. I will help you do this during science period.
The Thermometer
The
Bottlepipes
Letterpress
Stamps
12. Ben Franklin,
Librarian
Ben Franklin started the first library. Why did he
do this? Why was this a good idea?
13. Your team is almost finished. Design a Title page for your book and a back
cover. Staple or hole punch your book with ribbon.
14. Take this quiz
on Ben Franklin as a group. Let me know how you do.
15. You may now visit these sites and play some of these games.
-- Play checkers
with Ben Franklin.
-- Play a slider
game with Ben Franklin.
-- More Games
One Final Question: Who is the town of Franklinton
named for?
Evaluation
"Make a book"rubric
.
Conclusion
Congratulations!
By performing the tasks in this Webquest, you have created a book proving your
knowledge of the world of Benjamin Franklin and you also have some nifty pages
about your life!
Credits and
references
The
Many Lives of Benjamin Franklin by Aliki
McGraw Hill Publishing Company
Special thanks to Aileen Whitney who gave hours of technical help.
Teacher
introduction
This lesson was
developed as a part of a requirement for the course, Integrating the Internet
and Research in the Classroom on the Learn NC, North Carolina Teacher's
Network.
This lesson is for
students to learn about the accomplishments of Benjamin Franklin and then to
create a book which shows their knowledge of Benjamin Franklin's life. The book
will include information about Benjamin Franklin's life as well as information
about the students' lives. From investigating Franklin's many roles, students
will begin to think about their own roles now and in the future. They will work
in cooperative groups as well as individual work.
Learners
This
lesson is anchored in 3rd grade language arts and involves social studies,
science, informational skills, as well as guidance skills. A suggestion for
this plan would be to read The Many Lives of Benjamin Franklin by Aliki before proceeding with the Webquest. However, this
plan can be performed without reading the text.
North Carolina
curriculum alignment
Computer
Technology Skills (1998 version - Replaced
but still is tested.)
Grade
3 Goal 3: The
learner will use a variety of technologies to access, analyze, interpret,synthesize, apply, and communicate information.
Objective
4: Evaluate the usefulness of
information obtained using telecommunication technologies. (Telecommunications)
Information
Skills (1999 version - Implemented but not
tested.)
Grade
3 Goal 2: The
learner will IDENTIFY and USE criteria for excellence to evaluate information
and formats.
Objective
3: Recognize the diversity of
ideas and thoughts by exploring a variety of resources (print, non-print,
electronic) and formats (print, graphical, audio, video, multimedia,
web-based).
Grade
3 Goal 5: The
learner will COMMUNICATE reading, listening, and viewing experiences.
Objective
1: Respond to reading, listening,
viewing experiences orally, artistically, dramatically, through various formats
(e.g., print, multimedia).
Objective 2: Produce media
in various formats (print, graphical, audio, video, multimedia) appropriate to
audience and purpose.
Science (1999 version - Implemented but not yet tested.)
Grade
2 Goal 4: The
learner will build an understanding of the concepts of sound.
Objective
1: Discover how sounds are made by
using a variety of instruments and "sound makers".
Objective 2: Discover that
sound is produced by vibrating objects.
Objective 3: Determine the
pitch of the sound by changing the rate of the vibration (how fast).
Objective 4: Analyze the
pitch produced by changing the size and shape of a variety of instruments.
English
Language Arts (2001 version - Implemented
and Tested.)
Grade
3 Goal 5: The
learner will apply grammar and language conventions to communicate effectively.
Objective
1: Use correct capitalization
(e.g., geographical place names, holidays, special events, titles) and
punctuation (e.g., commas in greetings, dates, city and state; underlining book
titles; periods after initials and abbreviated titles; apostrophes in
contractions).
Objective 2: Use correct
subject/verb agreement.
Objective 4: Compose two or
more paragraphs with:
-topic sentences.
- supporting details.
- appropriate, logical sequence.
- sufficient elaboration.
Objective 5: Use a number
of strategies for spelling (e.g., sound patterns, visual patterns, silent
letters, less common letter groupings).
Objective 6: Proofread own
writing for spelling and correct most misspellings independently with reference
to resources (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, word walls).
Objective 7: Edit (with
assistance) to use conventions of written language and format.
Objective 8: Create
readable documents with legible handwriting.
Social
Studies (2003 version - Implemented but not
yet tested.)
Grade
03 Goal 1: The
learner will characterize qualities of good citizenship by identifying people
who made a difference in the community and other social environments.
Objective
1: Identify and demonstrate
characteristics of responsible citizenship and explain how citizen
participation can impact changes within a community.
Objective 2: Recognize
diverse local, state, and national leaders, past and present, who demonstrate
responsible citizenship.
Grade
03 Goal 7: The
learner will analyze the role of real and fictional heroes in shaping the
culture of communities.
Objective
1: Identify the deeds of local and
global leaders.
10
Days
The process
I
chose this topic because of a story in our reder, The
Many Lives of Benjamin Franklin. This may take more than 10 days as I
described. I would suggest you work at whatever pace is comfortable. I would
divide the students into groups of 4, but it may work better doing in groups of
2. I think that this could be facilitated by any teacher, novice or
experienced. The teacher will act as a facilitator. Some students will be more
computer literate than others. Your students will need to be able to use the
browser back buttons to go back to directions in the Webquest.
Variations
The
Many Lives of Benjamin Franklin by Aliki(Optional)McGraw
Hill 3rd Grade Reader
See Resource pages
Resources
Access
to the Internet in the classroom.
Art materials
The Many Lives of Benjamin Franklin McGraw Hill Reader for third grade(optional-This
lesson may be performed without the book. It was available on Amazon but is out
of print. However, it may be in your school library or public library.
If you have an aide for experiments and distributing art material such as
paper, markers, and so forth, this would be helpful.
http://www.berksiu.k12.pa.us/webquest/centrella/default.htm
http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/timeline/index.htm
http://www.fi.edu/franklin/
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/
http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/
Evaluation
This project
should be evaluated based on performing the different tasks described in the
Webquest. Did they include everything that was asked? Is the grammar and
spelling correct?
See Rubric
Conclusion
This
Webquest is intended for students to identify Benjamin Franklin's
accomplishments and to compile them into a concrete example of what they have
learned. It also will help them to work cooperatively as a group, to think
about their potential. What might the students do with their lives? It is hoped
that they will be more aware of their goals, dreams, and possible career ideas.
Credits and
references
Technical
Support -- Aileen Whitney, Technology Resource Teacher, Franklinton Elementary
School
