Exploros | Hero of the Revolution: Benjamin Franklin

Hero of the Revolution: Benjamin Franklin

Students interpret Benjamin Franklin’s cartoon, Join or Die. Then they examine his role as an American statesman. Next they review some of his other accomplishments and write a short report on one of them. Finally, they analyze a saying from Poor Richard’s Almanack.

This learning experience is designed for device-enabled classrooms. The teacher guides the lesson, and students use embedded resources, social media skills, and critical thinking skills to actively participate. To get access to a free version of the complete lesson, sign up for an exploros account.

Overview

In this experience, students interpret Benjamin Franklin’s cartoon, “Join or Die.” Then they examine his role as an American statesman. Next they review some of his other accomplishments and write a short report on one of them. Finally, they analyze a saying from Poor Richard’s Almanack.

If you have access to leveled readers that include a biography of Benjamin Franklin, assign them to the students in parallel to this experience.

Estimated duration: 40–60 minutes or several days, depending how much time you want to give students to research their short reports

Vocabulary words:

opinion
exaggerate
statesman, stateswoman
ambassador, diplomat
alliance

Objectives

Describe the political, scientific, and cultural contributions of Benjamin Franklin.
Evaluate Poor Richard's Almanack as an expression of colonial America.

Engage

One of the most important people in colonial America and the new United States was Benjamin Franklin. His contributions were in many different areas—politics, science, culture. In this experience, you will learn about this interesting man.

Objectives

Describe the political, scientific, and cultural contributions of Benjamin Franklin.
Evaluate Poor Richard's Almanack as an expression of colonial America.

A snake cut into pieces with the initials of the names of the colonies; the cartoon has the title: Join, or Die

Cartoon by Benjamin Franklin (1754)

A political cartoon is a drawing that makes fun of a political leader or issue while expressing the author’s opinion. The cartoonist often exaggerates the subject in order to point out weaknesses.

The political cartoon shown above was drawn by Benjamin Franklin during the French and Indian War. The cartoon became very popular during the War of Independence.

What do you think that Franklin is trying to say? Hint: The initials stand for the names of the colonies. For example, N.Y. is New York.

Post your answer

Benjamin Franklin was expressing his opinion that if the colonies did not cooperate and act together, they would all fail.

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