Objective:
The students will identify facts about Benjamin Franklin.

Materials

• Links to the following sites: Benjamin Franklin - Timeline, Electrified Ben, The Electric Franklin, and Benjamin Franklin.

• Benjamin Franklin Worksheet

Procedure

1. Share information from the web sites about who Ben Franklin was.  Emphasize his electricity experiment with the kite.  Although there is some controversy about how accurate the legend is, it appears to be based in truth and to have occurred in June of 1752.

2. Pass out the Benjamin Franklin Worksheets.

3. Have the students complete the sheet and then share them with the rest of the class.

Other Lesson Ideas

1. Construct a large timeline of Benjamin Franklin's life.  Use the following web site Benjamin Franklin - Timeline.  For an extension activity have the students create a timeline of their own lives.

2. Have a lesson on China and the kite as a Chinese invention.  Use the following web sites for assistance: The Kite, and  Kite History.  There are also good books on the Chinese Legends regarding kites, such as The Legend of the Kite by Chen Jiang Hong and Kites: Magic Wishes that Fly Up to the Sky by Demi.  Locate China on a map.