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LESSON: WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA, BEN
FRANKLIN?
Lesson Summary
This is a brief and sometimes humorous
life story of Ben Franklin, one of our most outstanding inventors,
scientists, philosophers, and politicians. Students learn about all
the many ideas and inventions of this famous American.
Concept: Entrepreneur
Definition: An entrepreneur is someone who takes
the risk to develop a new product or start a new business.
Comprehension
Questions
Ben Franklin came from a family of
entrepreneurs and small businessmen. What is an entrepreneur?
What types of businesses did his family run?
An entrepreneur takes
the risk to develop a new product or start a business. father -
candle and soap business, Samuel – blacksmith, James and uncle -
printers.
What were entrepreneurs/business
people who worked with their hands and had a trade called during this time
in history? Why?
Leather Aprons - because they wore leather
aprons when they worked
How did Ben’s father cultivate the
skills – academic and practical - that would help Ben become an
entrepreneur?
He sent Ben to ordinary writing and arithmetic school
for two years. He later had him become an apprentice in the printing
business with his Uncle James.
At only age 24 Ben Franklin was
well on his way as an entrepreneur owning and running several
businesses. List the many businesses he owned.
A print shop,
his own newspaper, a variety store that sold many types of practical
items
Was it a sure thing that Ben’s
businesses would succeed?
No! Many businesses fail.
Ben’s succeeded because he had good ideas and worked hard.
Entrepreneurs always take some risk when they start a new
business.
Ben helped his city of Philadelphia
in other “entrepreneurial” ways that were not directly related to his own
businesses. What were they?
- Formed
the first circulating public library
- Organized
the fire department
- Suggested
ways to light streets, deepen the rivers, dispose of garbage, and keep
people from slipping on ice during winter
- As
Postmaster General, he organized a speedy mail delivery system.
- He
helped organize a fire insurance company and a hospital
What are some of Ben Franklin’s
other inventions?
- the
Franklin stove, which provided more heat that an ordinary fireplace, was
less smoky, and was less costly to operate
- a
stepladder stool with a folding seat
- an
automatic windmill to turn meat as it was roasted
There are many inventions that are
not successful in a business sense – they don’t make a profit for
the
inventor. Why is this?
There are many reasons: inventors
are sometimes not good business people and don’t know how to run a
business; sometimes the new product isn’t marketed well – it’s a great
idea, but people just don’t learn about it.
Explain how one of Ben Franklin’s
inventions greatly benefited the community by reducing the number of
building fires due to lightning strikes.
He invented the lightning
rod, which attracts lightning and leads it harmlessly through a wire into
the ground.
Describe a good that Ben Franklin
printed for 25 years that helped make his printing business so
successful.
“Poor Richard’s Almanack was a collection
of calendars, weather forecasts, the schedule of tides, the time the sun
rose and set, advice on when to plant, how-to’s about many subjects, and
some humorous comments.
What do you think are some
characteristics of a successful entrepreneur?
Persistence (this is
maybe the most important characteristic), creativity, hard work, being
able to work with people to meet a goal, no fear of failure, “see a need”
and meet it, etc.
Other Concepts: Goods and
Services,
Human
Resources, Specialization,
Consumers,
Profit | 
