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 Ben Franklin is a
mischievous, curious young lad, concocting some remarkable contraptions as
his earliest inventions. Despite having less than two years of schooling, he
quickly learns the printing trade from his brother, James, and leaves home at
age 17 to make his own way in the world. He eventually lands in Philadelphia,
where he opens a printing business, the success of which enables him to
"retire" by age 42.
He then becomes intrigued with the study of static
electricity, and children join Ben in conducting some of his electrifying experiments. He also
founds America's first circulating library, greatly improves the postal
service, and continues to solve problems with his numerous inventions,
including the Franklin Stove, swim fins, the lightning rod, bifocals, and the
glass armonica, the first musical instrument invented by an American.
As he matures, the call for America's freedom beckons him, and
he becomes pivotal in drafting both the Declaration of Independence and
America's Constitution.
Ben's fascinating story will ignite the natural curiosity of
all students and challenge them to ask, "Why?" "What if?"
and "What can I do to make a
difference?"
**FOR SHOW PICTURES AND REVIEWS,
SEE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ON FACEBOOK!**
RELATED CURRICULUM SUGGESTIONS
*Inventors
*Leadership
*Biographies
*Citizenship
*Colonial Period
*Founding Fathers
*Character Education
*STEM Common Core
*ELA Common Core
*Illinois Social Science Standards
SPECIFIC COMMON CORE TIE-INS ARE
LISTED BELOW
 SPECIAL
CELEBRATION DATES
*October - National Book Month
*October 14-20 - CHARACTER COUNTS! Week
*November - Inspirational Role Models Month
*November 12-16 - American Education Week
*December 15 - Bill of Rights Day
*January 17 - Ben Franklin's birthday
*February - Youth Leadership Month
*February 1 - Freedom Day
*February 11 - National Inventor's Day
*April - National Poetry Month/School Library Month
*April 7-13 - School Library Week
*April 14 - First Abolitionist Society founded by Ben Franklin
*April 29-May 3 - Children's
Book Week
*May – National Inventor’s Month
COMMON
CORE TIE-INS
--ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS:
*Reading:
Craft and structure, integration of knowledge and ideas, key ideas and
details
*Writing: Text types and purposes
*Speaking and listening
*Research to build on knowledge
--ILLINOIS SOCIAL SCIENCE STANDARDS
*Civics
in all respects
*Colonial Period, American Revolution
*History - past and present, how people shape change
*Conflict resolution, perseverance, empathy, concern for others
--NEW ILLINOIS SCIENCE STANDARDS
*Experiments
with static electricity
*Electric/magnetic interactions between objects
*Cause and effect; energy, motion and matter
*Asking questions/developing new ideas to solve a problem
FOR A MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF COMMON
CORE TIE-INS, PLEASE CALL OUR OFFICE. WE'D BE HAPPY TO EMAIL THIS TO YOU.
TESTIMONIALS
CHICAGO
"My
kids just loved it. Very age-appropriate. Interesting to see him from the
child to the adult – kids could really relate to him. Thoroughly enjoyed the
experiments, too! "
--First Grade Teacher, Divine
Providence School, Westchester
"Fantastic! Awesome! Very relevant to both social studies and
science. Great experiments with the kids as helpers. The best we've seen!
"
--Fourth Grade Teacher, Fierke School,
Oak Forest
"Humorous, interesting, very energetic production. Kids loved the
static electricity experiments, too. What a wonderful way to learn history!
"
--Fifth Grade Teacher, Lowrie School, Elgin
"Allowing the students to see Ben at an early age and hear of some
of his mistakes enabled them to relate to him. Excellent!"
--Fifth Grade Teacher, St. Michael, Wheaton
**SEE
SHOW PICTURES AND ADDITIONAL REVIEWS AT HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ON
FACEBOOK.**
BOSTON:
"Outstanding
presentation! Educational, humorous and entertaining. Children were
captivated from the first moment to the last. Really enjoyed the experiments,
too!"
--K-8 Teachers, Holy Trinity School, Fall River
"Just excellent! Many of these types of programs "dumb
down" the material and talk down to the students. This group maintains
an appropriate intellectual level and is totally entertaining at the same
time."
--Third Grade Teacher, MacDonald School, West Bridgewater
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL:
"Very
enjoyable and informative for all ages! Good humor, good life lessons,
fun experiments, great audience participation! Excellent!"
--First Grade Teacher, All Saints Catholic School, Lakeville
"I loved how it tied in with our Life Skills unit - "Do
something good today!"
--Sixth Grade Teacher, Rush Creek School, Maple Grove
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