Course Sample for Our Benjamin Franklin Writing Method Homeschool Language Arts Curriculum

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Benjamin Franklin Writing Method
By Cheri Blomquist

Week One: Introduction

Focus concepts: Who was Ben Franklin? Why is his writing admired? What was his method, and how did it serve to transform him from a poor writer to a brilliant one?

Everyone has heard of him—the famous early American, Benjamin Franklin. He is so famous, in fact, that he has become part of our cultural consciousness. Not only was a discount store chain and a stove named after him, his picture is even on our hundred-dollar bill! He is also the only person to sign all three of our country’s founding documents. As important as he is to our history, however, you may not know anything about him beyond a few random facts like these. Who was he? And why spend six months learning how to write from a dead guy? Well, let me introduce you…

A Very Short History of a Really Cool Dead Guy

Born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1706, Benjamin Franklin was the 15th of 17 children—seven of whom were half-siblings by his father’s first wife. His family lived in humble circumstances, his father being a soap-maker and candlemaker. This meant that Ben had to learn a trade early in life, even though he did well in school. At age 10 he left the Boston Latin Schoolto work in his father’s shop. Since he found it dull, however, his father decided to apprentice him to his brother James in his print shop. Ben liked this, but eventually, due to differences with his brother, he left his apprenticeship and eventually settled in Philadelphia, which he called home for the rest of his life.

It was here that he not only made a name for himself, but also made history. He began to publish his writing, especially the famed Poor Richard’s Almanack in 1732, and he soon became successful in various ventures, such as starting businesses, creating a lending library, inventing new products (such as the Franklin stove), taking leadership by election of the Pennsylvania Masons, and becoming a solider—among other things! He even found his way into political leadership, which led him to sign all three of our country’s founding documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Treaty of Paris. He is the only American with this distinction.

Amazingly, these are only a few things that Franklin achieved; there are just too many to list here! He was a true “renaissance man” in every sense. He was even a romantic, married once and enamored with a number of other women after his wife’s death. Today, he is still honored with his nickname “the First American” and with his image on our $100 bill. And all this from a man who hardly had any formal education!