Watch a Video: Newsie’s Challenge: The U.S. Constitution
Ask: What facts about the U.S. Constitution did you find most interesting? Why?
Students will understand how Benjamin Franklin helped shape the United States.
Lesson Plan - History Makers: Benjamin Franklin
Learning Objective
Text Structure
Profile, Sequence
Content-Area Connections
U.S. History, Civics
Standards Correlations
CCSS: RI.4.1, RI.4.2, RI.4.3, RI.4.4, RI.4.5, RI.4.7, RI.4.8, RI.4.10, L.4.4, SL.4.1
NCSS: Time, Continuity, and Change
TEKS: Social Studies 4.15
1. Preparing to Read
Newsie’s Challenge: The U.S. Constitution
Watch a video to learn more with Newsie!
Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.
- colonial
- delegates
Set a Purpose for Reading
Invite students to be on the lookout for the two famous documents Franklin helped create.
2. Close-Reading Questions
1. Which details in the article support the idea that Benjamin Franklin was a skilled inventor? The article notes that Franklin made glasses called bifocals to help people see clearly and a stove to better heat homes. He also invented lightning rods, which helped prevent lightning from hitting buildings.
(RI.4.8 REASONS AND EVIDENCE)
2. Based on the article, what are colonists? The article states that at the time Franklin was born, America was made up of Colonies controlled by Great Britain. You can infer that colonists were the people in those Colonies.
(RI.4.4 DOMAIN-SPECIFIC VOCABULARY)
3. How are the documents Franklin helped create an important part of U.S. history? The Declaration of Independence declared that the Colonies were free from Great Britain. The Constitution was a plan for running the new nation. It is still used today.
(RI.4.2 MAIN IDEA)
3. Skill Building
FEATURED SKILL: Text Evidence
Use the Skill Builder “All About Benjamin Franklin” to have students complete a biographical profile of Franklin.
(RI.4.1 TEXT EVIDENCE)
Text-to-Speech