Teachers Question and Answer Page for Students
1. Statesman: Which important political documents did he sign?
Answer: He was the only Founding Father to sign all four of the founding documents of this country. The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, The Alliance with France (which drew France into giving us their support) and The Treaty of Paris (which ended the war)
2. Inventor: Name several of Benjamin’s inventions that are recognizable today.
Answer: a. Bifocals (which Ben called “double spectacles”)
b. Lightening rod (a practical result of his kite experiment)
c. Glass Armonica
d. Library Chair
e. Long Reach Device (Ben called it the “long arm”)
f. Franklin stove
g. Daylight Savings Time
h. Swim fins
i. Catheter
3. Scholar: Why was he such an avid reader?
Answer: If you read his book, “The Way to Wealth”, he explains that the way to success is knowledge and to obtain knowledge is to read.
4. Family man: How many children were in his parent’s family? Who did he marry?
Answer: There were 17 children in his family, only 12 lived. His wife’s name was Deborah Read. They had three children: William, Frances and Sarah
5. Printer: Name his well known pseudonyms?
Answer: a. Silence Dogood
b. Polly Baker
c. Richard Saunders
6. Writer: What was Poor Richard’s Almanack?
Answer: Every printer printed a yearly Almanack. It would show the tides, the changing of the moons, when to plant and when to fish. Poor Richard took it further and included short stories, Words of Wisdom, new items and discussions.
7. Scientist: What did he discover? What did he observe?
Answer: a. Discover:
1. Chartered the Gulf Stream
2. Whirlwinds (how they form and worked)
3. Electrostatic machine
4. Day Light Savings Time
5. That Lighten is Static Electricity (please make sure your students understand that he did not “discover” or “invent” electricity. He only proved that Lightening contained static electricity. He did many, many electrical experiments.
b. Observe:
1. Vaccinations
2. Fresh air baths
3. Colored cloths (he did experiments in the snow with all different colors of cloth to
Find out what which colors would melt the snow quickest).
4. Weather (he was a storm chaser
5. Hot air balloons
8. Self-Improvement Advocate: How did he improve himself?
Answer: His whole life he strived to be better intellectually, morally and physically. He developed his “Virtues” and graded himself daily on them. He constantly tried to learn everything he could from books, from experiments and from others. He may not have looked very fit in his older years, but he was and advocate for swimming and physical activity. Challenge your students to develop a plan for themselves covering these three items and carry it through.
9. Community Service: What services did he organize and found for Philadelphia?
Answer:
a. Street lighting
b. Street paving
c. Sewer system
d. Improved the postal deliveries
e. Fire Company
f. Fire Insurance
g. Library
h. Institutions he help develop
a. University of Pennsylvania
b. American Philosophical Society
c. Hospital
d. Abolitionist Society of Philadelphia
e. Junto
10. How do you think one man could accomplish so much in one lifetime?
Answer: Open this up to classroom discussion.
Teachers: We hope this helps you plan for your visit with us. Expand on the few questions that we have included here at the proper level for your class. Benjamin Franklin was such a wonderful, multi-faceted, complex man: it is sad that we only have a few minutes to tell your students about him. If your students come with pre-planned questions, we can add to what you want your students to learn.
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