What Do You Know About Benjamin Franklin?

(Teacher Notes to use during reading)

Vocabulary:
Remarkable-special enough to be mentioned

Prolific inventor-a person who creates new ideas or products

Publication-a book, newspaper, or magazine that is created to be put out for sale for others to
buy

Predictions-saying something that may happen in the future

Founding father-on of many men that put together the way power and the government was
going to work in the United States

Declaration of Independence-the public document by which the thirteen American colonies

declared their independence from England in 1776

Coat of Arms=the symbol of a family, country, or organization. It shows designs and figures on
and around a shield
 The Many Hats of Benjamin Franklin
by Mr. Nussbaum
Benjamin Franklin was unquestionably one of the most remarkable figures in American

history. For starters, he discovered that lightening was electricity through his famous key

experiment. He was also a prolific inventor, creating the Franklin Stove, bifocals, and the

lightening rod among other things. He penned Poor Richard’s Almanac, a famous publication

which included predictions, jokes, and sayings such as “a penny saved is a penny earned.” He

helped the city of Philadelphia create its first library, fire insurance company, and hospital. He

also founded the University of Pennsylvania in 1740. Finally, he was a founding father who

spent many years in Europe championing the American cause, before coming back to America

to help write the Declaration of Independence.

If you could create a shield or coat of arms that illustrated Benjamin Franklin’s life and all

of his accomplishments, what would it look like? Choose correct items (9 of them) that match

what Benjamin Franklin did throughout his life to put on his shield or coat of arms. Choose

carefully as some of the pictures (2 of them) are not something that is related to his life. Once

chosen, cut them out, color the pictures and glue them on the shield.

**Once Finished with Benjamin Franklin’s life, lets look at your life. Use the other shield to

draw and color at least 4 pictures of accomplishments you have made in your life. Be creative

and create your own coat of Arms.

References

Nussbaum. (2021). Franklin shield. Retrieved from https://mrnussbaum.com/the-franklin-shield

Benjamin Franklin’s
________’s Coat of