Target Grade/Subject
Our lesson plan on Benjamin Franklin is for first-grade students. First-grade students generally range in age between six and seven. According to Piaget, children at the first-grade level are in the Concrete Operational Stage of the Cognitive Development Theory. They understand concepts of conservation, reversibility, and classification. Therefore, the students understanding of the different concepts covered in the lesson plan on the Benjamin Franklin should be easily obtainable. Students at this age are often interested by historical figures but can not grasp the complex facts about the person's life. Upon completion of this lesson, students should be able to identify some important facts about Benjamin Franklin's family, life, education, career, and inventions.
Objectives
SOL 1.2 The student will understand through biographies and stories the deeds for which our nation honors leaders from the past, including a variety of political, scientific, social, and military leaders, including Benjamin Franklin, George Washington Carver, Jane Addams, and John Paul Jones.
Materials
Biographical Book(s) on Benjamin Franklin
Examples include:
Lesson Description
1. Begin the lesson by telling the class that they are going to learn about Benjamin Franklin.
2. Write on a tablet on an easel the word "Know." Ask the students to state facts that they know about Ben Franklin before the lesson begins. Write their responses on the tablet.
3. Write the words "Want to Know" on the easel. Ask the students to volunteer questions that they would like answered about Benjamin Franklin as we go through the lesson. Write these questions on the tablet.
Teacher Tip: Since we are focusing on Benjamin Franklin's life/family, career/education, and his inventions, make sure that the students include questions about these topics or add them to the list yourself after the students have finished suggesting questions.
4. Read a book or books on Benjamin Franklin to the entire class.
5. After reading the book, discuss with the students the answers to the questions on the easel (focusing mainly on the questions about Benjamin Franklin's life/family, career/education, and his inventions).
6. Pass out a sheet of paper to each student which includes a drawing of a diamond to represent a kite, a string, and a key.
7. Have each student cut out each of these items.
8. Tell each student to write his or her name on the key.
9. Tell the students to write one fact that they thought was particularly interesting from the story and discussion on Benjamin Franklin on the diamond part of the kite. (For example, a student could write: Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals; He wrote Poor Richard's Almanac; or Benjamin Franklin was one of 17 children.)
10. After the students have written their individual sentences on their kite, have each student draw a picture on the diamond part of their kite that illustrates their sentence.
11. Tell the students to glue the string to their kite and their key to the string.
Evaluation
To determine whether the students have mastered the objectives, the teacher will conduct two different assessments.