Just what did Ben Franklin read? By juxtaposing Ben Franklin’s reading material as a young man with an analysis of his developed ideas, learners gain the opportunity to see how the influences of his youthful reading played out. Roman, British, and colonial American writers all figure in Franklin’s self-education and form the core of the challenging reading-based lesson.

Concepts

critical reading, character development, american history, philosophers, character traits, education

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Use the lesson in connection with teaching about life in Colonial America, the history of education, Benjamin Franklin, the Founding Fathers, the development of the idea of tolerance, or character education
• Rather than use the lengthy Time article as
  homework, divide the class into eight groups and assign the introduction and each of the seven virtues to a group, who read it, discuss it, and present it to the class; then continue with the second part of the lesson
  

Classroom Considerations

• Assumes students are strong readers of academic material

Pros

• Lesson creates interdisciplinary links between literature, character education, and history
• Brings together works from different countries and periods in a cogent context
• Provides a powerful lesson about the importance of cultural influences

Cons

• Many of the resource links do not work, but resources may be found online, for the most part
  

Common Core

RI.9-10.1 RI.11-12.1