Learn facts about Benjamin Franklin with an informational reading and writing activity focusing on the constructed response format.
What is a Constructed Response?
Constructed Responses are non-fiction reading and writing experiences connected to content in all subject areas and geared toward students in grades K-6. These writing opportunities are critical to assessing student understanding of nonfiction texts and are heavily weighted on standardized tests. Using short reading passages and constructed response examples is an excellent way to prepare students for response to text requirements.
Looking for Ben Franklin Activities for Kids? We Can Help!
Studying Benjamin Franklin isn’t just for primary grades. You can also learn about him in upper grades while integrating Reading, Writing, and Social Studies. We’ve put together a series of biographical texts to assist you in teaching history and writing with the R.A.C.E.S. constructed response format. This two-page resource consists of the following stages of writing development.
- Students will read a short history passage including facts about Ben Franklin. Students will learn about Ben Franklin’s role in the American Revolution and his affinity for creating revolutionary inventions.
- Students will complete a R.A.C.E.S. graphic organizer to plan their responses.
- Students record their answers as a constructed response paragraph and use a checklist to verify that all parts are included.
Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding
In addition to independent student work time, use this worksheet as an activity for:
- Guided writing groups
- Lesson wrap-up
- Formative Assessment
Benjamin Franklin Extension Activities
- Challenge your fast finishers to extend their constructed response topic into a research project or informative essay development activity.
- Provide your students with Benjamin Franklin books for kids to read in your classroom library.
- Have your students use websites or trade books to learn more about Benjamin Franklin’s contributions to the American Revolution.
- For students with devices or digital learners, provide them with access to the Liberty’s Kids Video Series for additional learning about Benjamin Franklin and the American Revolution.
Support Struggling Students
- Support struggling writers or ESL students by providing sentence frames to aid them in constructing their sentences.
- Read the passage together and highlight ideas that could be used as evidence and supporting details.
Easily Download & Print
Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to download this resource’s PDF or Google Slides version.
To save paper, we suggest printing this 2-page worksheet double-sided.
Additionally, project the worksheet onto a screen and work through it as a class by having students record their answers in their notebooks.
This resource was created by Nicole Ellis, a teacher in New York and Teach Starter Collaborator.
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