release dates: January 7-13 2-1 (06) 2006 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc. By BETTY DEBNAM Our Fantastic Founding Father Ben Franklin From A to Z National Archives photo Do you know who the founding fathers were? Founding fathers were the men who helped found our country. These include George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and especially, Benjamin Franklin. Ben s 300th birthday is Jan. 17. The city of Philadelphia is planning a year-long celebration. It is hard to squeeze Ben into one Mini Page. We are using the ABCs to tell you a little about this man who did so much so well. **** Benjamin Franklin was an amazing American. He was a printer, scientist, diplomat, postmaster and swimmer, to name a few. He rose from humble beginnings to become a proud symbol of our country. Ben was born in Boston on Jan. 17, 1706. His father, a soapand candlemaker, came to this country from England. Ben was the youngest of 10 sons. His parents had 17 children. Ben signed the U. S. Constitution.At the age of 81, he was the oldest delegate to the convention, held in 1787. He also signed a treaty of peace with Great Britain and an alliance with France. National Archives photo What did Ben look like? He had a big, wide chest and strong, muscular arms and legs. His lips were thin, and he had gray eyes and a high forehead. Sometimes he tied his hair back in a bow; other times he wore a wig. Ben signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He served on the committee that helped write it. Ben had only two years of school education. He taught himself by reading many books, asking many questions, and writing and thinking a lot. photo courtesy National Park Service Ben sailed to France in 1776 as a member of a committee to represent the Colonies. He was successful in convincing the French to send troops and supplies to support the Colonies during their fight for independence. He returned home in 1785. Ben invented bifocal glasses.as he grew older, he did not want to change glasses to see up close and far away. Ben was known for his humor and wit, and often used them in his writing. Ben wanted to share his inventions with everyone. He did not expect to get patents to gain money from them. Some of his lesser-known ones include: brighter streetlights: By letting air in the globe, the glass would not get as covered with soot and the light would shine better. a library chair with steps as well as a seat. an extension arm that had two fingers to clasp books on high shelves. photo courtesy Franklin Institute
2-2 (06); release dates: January 7-13 More About Franklin Franklin s glass armonica glass armonica (English), Charles James (designed by Benjamin Franklin). Franklin Institute. The Franklin Collection, The Franklin Institute, Inc. Philadelphia. Have you ever rubbed your finger around a glass to make a musical sound? In Franklin s time, there were musicians who did just that. The amount of water in each glass decided the tone. Ben invented the glass armonica, an instrument that could play many types of music. Ben had glass blowers blow special bowls. Each bowl made a special sound. The musician dipped his hands in water and made the glasses spin by pumping a foot pedal. Franklin once said, Of all my inventions, the glass armonica has given me the greatest personal satisfaction. The first cartoonist Ben Franklin was one of our country s first political cartoonists. He ran this cartoon in his newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette, in 1754. The title was Join or Die. It encouraged the Colonists to join together if they were to survive. The parts of the snake are cut apart to represent the Colonies. The cartoon was based on an old story that a cut-up snake would live again if you put it back together before the sun went down. photo courtesy Join, Or Die, cartoon in the Philadelphia Gazette Franklin Court The house that Franklin built is no longer standing. On the site is a ghost structure. Steel planks outline the spot where the original house once stood. It is in an area called Franklin Court that also has other buildings still standing since Franklin s time. Underground is a museum with a film about Ben. It is a National Park Service site. The National Constitution Center is a museum with the purpose of showing how important the Constitution is in our everyday life. It is near Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed. photos courtesy Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. Mini Spy... Mini Spy and her friends have traveled back in time to hear Ben Franklin play his armonica. See if you can find: man in the moon word MINI letter A boat caterpillar snail mushroom banana letter D key horse olive letter E tooth frog Basset Brown The News Hound s Ben Franklin TRY N FIND Words and names that remind us of Ben Franklin are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find: CONSTITUTION, DECLARATION, INDEPENDENCE, BIFOCALS, LIGHTNING, ROD, PENNSYLVANIA, KITE, LONDON, INVENTION, STOVE, POST, OFFICE, HOSPITAL, SCIENTIST, BEN, FRANKLIN, AMERICAN. BEN WAS ONE OF THE BEST! P E N N S Y L V A N I A O G S B I F O C A L S T O V E F N C C O N S T I T U T I O N F I I Q N O I T A R A L C E D I N E I N D E P E N D E N C E C T N L A T I P S O H P O S T E H T Z I A M E R I C A N B V B G I K R O D N O I T N E V N I I S J F R A N K L I N O D N O L T
EQUAL L IVESTOCK GRA IN R IGHTS 1869 1890 M INES O IL Go dot to dot and color. 2-3 (06); release dates: January 7-13 Rookie Cookie s Recipe Spice Cookies (From the "City Tavern Baking & Dessert Cookbook," 2003 by Walter Staib Running Press, Philadelphia & London) Ingredients: 1 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup dark molasses 2 large egg yolks 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Method: 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium to high until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl often. 2. Add the molasses, egg yolks and vanilla extract; beat well. 3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt and nutmeg. 4. With the electric mixer on low, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. 5. Drop the dough by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool 15 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen cookies. Note: You will need an adult s help with this recipe. photo courtesy Franklin Institute Meet Ralph Archbold Ralph Archbold dresses each day in his Colonial gentleman s clothing and becomes the Ben Franklin of the 1700s. During the summer he can be found under the mulberry tree at Franklin Court, the site of Ben s home, telling stories to visitors. Mr. Archbold is known as the official Ben Franklin of the City of Philadelphia. He has been part of more than 7,000 school programs and has met six presidents, including Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. In 2006, Mr. Archbold and others will be celebrating Ben Franklin s 300th birthday on Jan. 17 which happens to be his birthday, too! Ralph, soon to be 65, loves what he does and enjoys his young audiences. He says, The real key to happiness is to find something you love to do and figure out how to make a living at it. From The Mini Page Flags of Our States Poster To Alabama Full-color flags from all 50 states Date each state entered the union To order, send $4.95 plus $2.75 postage and handling (folded and mailed flat) or $4.95 plus $4.25 postage and handling (rolled in a tube). Send check or money order (U.S. funds only) payable to: Andrews McMeel Universal, P.O. Box 6814, Leawood, KS 66206. Please send copies of The Mini Page Flags of Our States poster (Item #5637-0) at $7.70 each (folded) or $9.20 each (tube). (Bulk discount information available upon request.) Toll-free number: 1-800-591-2097. www.smartwarehousing.com Name: Address: City: State: Zip: To Missouri Wyoming Display size is 221/2 inches by 281/2 inches Ideal for the classroom or home All the following jokes have something in common. Can you find the common theme or category? Alice: What goes around everywhere? Alvin: Belts! Alfred: Why did the belt end up in prison? Aleesha: Because it held up a pair of pants! Alfonso: What can be tight one day and loose the next? Avery: The belt of someone who is dieting!
art courtesy Currier & Ives, American Philosophical Society The Junto was a club Ben organized. The group of men worked hard to try to better themselves and their community. Ben gained fame with his kite experiment. In 1752, he discovered that lightning and the air around it were charged with electrical currents. As a lightning storm approached, Ben and his son, William (age 22), went to a nearby shed and flew the kite from there. Ben touched a key hanging from the kite string with his knuckle and sparks flew. Ben invented a lightning rod to protect buildings from strikes. He attached a tall metal rod to the side of a house. The rod pointed upward and attached to a chain buried at least 10 feet into the ground. The rod would send a lightning charge down the chain into the ground. The Ben Franklin National Memorial is a statue in the big lobby, or rotunda, of Memorial Hall at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The statue is 20 feet high and weighs 30 tons. The Franklin Institute is a science museum featuring many of Franklin s original possessions and other science exhibits. photo courtesy The Franklin Institute Ben was skilled as a negotiator and diplomat. (Diplomats work out agreements between people or countries.) Ben invented an odometer, which counted the number of times a wheel turned to get the distance for mail routes. He was put in charge of the Colonial postal service and came up with many new ways of delivering the mail. Ben became a printer s apprentice at age 12 to his older brother James. When Ben was 17, he ran away to Philadelphia. He later had his own print shop and published a newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette. By 1748, when he was only 42 years old, he had made enough money to retire. Ben s son, William, quit as the royal governor of New Jersey and fled to England. William did not support the American Revolution. Ben was very upset by this. Poor Richard s Almanack, or yearly calendar, was Ben s big printing success. What made it popular were the witty sayings. It was published from 1732 to 1758. Ben invented the Franklin stove. At that time there were many fires when sparks flew out of fireplaces. The new stove produced more heat, used less wood and was safer. Ben liked to travel. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean three times to go to England and once to visit France. 2-4 (06); release dates: January 7-13 The unique fur hat that Ben wore when he was in France got him much attention. Ben was popular both with common people and royalty. When he was a young man, he made a list of 13 virtues that he planned to live by for the rest of his life. Ben married his wife, Deborah, in 1730. When he started his print shop, she ran the store. She died in 1774 while he was away in France. She and Ben had one daughter named Sally. They also had a son, Francis, who died in 1736 at the age of 4. Ben believed in exercise to keep in shape. He was a great swimmer at a time when most people did not enjoy the sport. At one time he used a kite to pull him across a pond. Ben was a Yankee. He was born in Boston and lived most of his life in Philadelphia. Ben lived with zeal. He had a great love of life and interest in other people. He wanted to do what he could to make their lives better. He also organized the first lending library, fire insurance company and public hospital. Ben Franklin: In Search of a Better World is an exhibit at the National Convention Center in Philadelphia from Dec. 15, 2005, to April 30, 2006. In the next two years it will travel to St. Louis, Houston, Denver, Atlanta and Paris. Teacher s guide at: www.benfranklin300.com/education.htm Sites to see: www.benfranklin300.org www.gophia.com/ben www.constitutioncenter.org Independence Park at: www.nps.gov/inde The Franklin Institute at: www.fi.edu
Read all about Ben Franklin in photo courtesy National Park Service by Betty Debnam Appearing in your newspaper on. from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam 2006 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc. (Note to Editor: Above is cameraready, one column-by-4 1 /4-inch ad promoting Issue 2.) release dates: January 7-13 2-5 (06) from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam 2006 The MIni Page Publishing Company Inc. Standards Spotlight: Ben Franklin From A to Z Mini Page activities meet many state and national educational standards. Each week we identify standards that relate to The Mini Page s content and offer activities that will help your students reach them. This week s standard: Students understand that history relates to events and people of other times and places by identifying examples of interesting Americans. (Social Studies: History) Activities: 1. Look through your newspaper for pictures of things that Ben Franklin invented or used. Make a poster showing his many activities. 2. Make a list of Franklin s inventions. Then ask family members and friends to tell you which invention they think is most important, and why. Do many people agree on the most important invention? Which one do you think is the most important? 3. Ben Franklin represented the United States in talks with other countries. Find a newspaper story about relationships between the United States and another country today. What is the issue? Why is the United States talking with the other country? What do you think will happen as the result of talks? 4. Find someone in the newspaper today who (a) would have been happy that Ben invented bifocals, (b) could learn lessons about diplomacy from Ben, (c) would have approved of Ben s interest in exercising, (d) would appreciate Ben s interest in style, and (e) might like to travel as much as Ben did. Explain your choices. 5. Write several paragraphs discussing how Ben Franklin influenced life as we know it today. Use these questions to plan your writing: How did Franklin contribute to our understanding of democracy? How did Franklin support and encourage education? How did Franklin s inventions make our lives easier? (standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi) Supersport: Allen Iverson Height: 6-0 Birthdate: 6-7-75 Weight: 165 Away from the arena, Allen Iverson sometimes settles into a quiet spot and draws pictures. While enjoying drawing, it s on the basketball court that the Philadelphia 76ers guard is most artful. He is a Picasso with a jump shot. Now in his ninth NBA season, Iverson has earned first- or second-team All-Star honors five times and won one league Most Valuable Player award. He has a career scoring average of almost 28 points per game and was scoring at a league-leading 33.7 clip in mid-december. In 1997 he fired in 40 points or more in five straight games, an NBA record at the time. Iverson is a former Georgetown University star who also makes steals and dishes out assists. He assists off the court as well. His Crossover Foundation Inc. strives to improve the health, education and social needs of children in inner cities. (Note to Editor: Above is the Standards for Issue 2.) (Note to Editor: Above is copy block for Page 3, Issue 2, to be used in place of ad if desired.)