My treasure box focuses around Benjamin Franklin and the Declaration of Independence. Some items I included are photographs of the main signers of the Declaration, a picture of Independence Hall, a copy of the Declaration, a quill pen and ink, a map of the 13 colonies, and two books "Now and Ben" and The Journey of the One and Only Declaration of Independence.
My unit is focused around Ben Franklin so I wanted to keep a common theme when it came to my treasure box and show the role Ben Franklin had in the signing of the Declaration. Students used the map of the 13 colonies in the treasure box to map from the signers of the Declaration traveled from in their notebooks.
My main core subject I teach is Fourth Grade Science. I chose to focus my unit on Ben Franklin because of his contributions to science through his many inventions. After reading Signing their Lives away, I had a different view of the famous Franklin. We grow up viewing these historical figures as heroes who were perfect and upstanding citizens. Ben Franklin was quite an interesting guy. He was very conceited and quite the ladies man. The most interesting thing I read was the discussion that many believe Franklin's kite experiment never happened. After research, most believe that if the experiment with the kite actually happened as described he would have been "fried." It was also interesting how long it took him to publish the findings and information about the experiment.
I don't think I lost respect for Ben Franklin after reading all these details of his life, I think I became more aware that these historical heroes had crazy lives and stories as we do today. It made Ben's life more realistic to me. I will certainly not think of him the same way again though.
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I also chose to do my treasure box on the Declaration of Independence and used some of the same materials and manipulatives. I kept a common theme to my box as well...we teach "Our Country Long Ago" in 2nd grade. We touch briefly on a variety of important historical facts and figures. I would like to introduce Ben Franklin into the unit even though we don't discuss him much in our textbooks. He made so many important contributions that I feel students should have a "touch" of knowledge about him even at an early level.
ReplyDeleteI was also fascinated to learn that Ben may not have conducted the infamous kite experiment. Given the fact it took him so long to publish his findings, I wonder if memory served him correctly or if he altered the events to serve his own ego! I guess it proves again the importance of history being misinterpreted and misconstrued. Franklin was certainly a man of many talents and brilliant in many ways but I don't think I could have lived with the man . . . poor Deborah!
ReplyDeleteSince you teach science, Benjamin Franklin seems like a good choice on which to complete your treasure box assignment. There certainly seems to have been a number of myths regarding Ben that developed over the years. I liked the fact that you had your students locate the colony from which each signer traveled. How did your students react to this activity?
ReplyDeleteI think it was a good idea to use Benjamin Franklin for your treasure chest. Your expertise in Science really gives your students the background to learn with hands on activities.
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