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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin

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Use Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Barretta to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

Go beyond Ben's most famous kite and key experiment with this nonfiction text. The colorful illustrations and lively presentation of the many inventions and contributions of Benjamin Franklin will grab your students' attention. Use this text to encourage the development of comprehension strategies like asking questions, determining importance, making connections and predictions, and synthesizing.
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Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin in the drop down below.

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Asking Questions with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin

When readers are able to ask questions before, during, and after reading, they are thinking about what they need to know to understand the text. With Gene Barretta's Now & Ben and this asking questions mini lesson, students will be able to practice this important skill with a nonfiction text.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.3.1,RI.3.4,RI.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1c,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7E,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.13A,3.9D(iii),3.9D(ii),3.9D(i),3.7G,3.7F,3.1A,3.7D,3.7C,3.7B,3.6I,3.6B,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Determining Importance with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin

Now & Ben by Gene Barretta is full of important information about the inventions and contributions of Benjamin Franklin. This focused mini lesson will show students how to sort through the information as they read to find the most important details to remember.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.3.2,RI.3.5,RI.3.6,RI.3.7,RI.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7D,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.13A,3.10A,3.9D(iii),3.9D(ii),3.9D(i),3.7G,3.7F,3.7E,3.1A,3.7C,3.7B,3.7A,3.6I,3.6G,3.6E,3.6B,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Making Connections with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin

Making connections is one way for readers to better understand a text. This set of resources will help students make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections using a nonfiction text.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.3.1,RI.3.4,RI.3.7,RI.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7D,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.9E(iii),3.9E(ii),3.9E(i),3.7G,3.7F,3.7E,3.1A,3.7C,3.7B,3.7A,3.6I,3.6E,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Making Predictions with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin

Making predictions with Now & Ben by Gene Barretta is an engaging way for readers to understand the text. This focused mini lesson will encourage students to think about how life might be different if Benjamin Franklin's inventions and contributions never happened.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.3.1,RI.3.2,RI.3.3,RI.3.5,RI.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7C,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.9D(iii),3.9D(ii),3.9D(i),3.7G,3.7F,3.7E,3.7D,3.1A,3.7B,3.7A,3.6I,3.6C,3.6B,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Synthesizing with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin

Many students already know some facts about the many contributions that Benjamin Franklin made. As they read Gene Barretta's Now & Ben, they will have the opportunity to gain new details that might change their thinking about this famous inventor.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.3.10,L.3.6,W.3.8,SL.3.3,SL.3.2,SL.3.1d,SL.3.1c,RF.3.4,RF.3.3,RI.3.1,RI.3.8,RI.3.7,RI.3.6,RI.3.5,RI.3.4,RI.3.3,RI.3.2
TEKS Alignment
3.7D,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.9D(iii),3.9D(ii),3.9D(i),3.7G,3.7F,3.7E,3.1A,3.7C,3.7B,3.6I,3.6H,3.6G,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Suffixes with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Ben Franklin by Gene Barretta as a springboard for instruction focused on suffixes.

By anchoring word study to the text, students will benefit from seeing how words ending in -tion are used inside of the text before engaging in both guided and independent practice with suffixes.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
RF.3.3,RF.3.4
TEKS Alignment
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Vocabulary Connections with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin

This set of vocabulary development resources for Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin highlights the words that are most important for students to know and understand while reading the book. Through engaging in fun word games, matching words to definitions and pictures, and practicing how to categorize words, students will develop the vocabulary necessary to comprehend this story and many others.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
L.3.4a,L.3.5b,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7E,3.7F,3.3A,3.3B
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Comprehension Assessment with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin

Use this Common Core aligned comprehension assessment to evaluate students' comprehension of Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Running Record with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin. Track meaning, structure, and visual accuracy using the first 100 words of the text to determine whether or not this book is a good fit for the readers in your classroom.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Cause and Effect Matching with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin

Read Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin then have some fun matching cause and effect sentences from the book. By using these cause and effect cards, students will demonstrate both their comprehension of the text and their understanding of cause and effect relationships in hands-on and interactive way.

This resource includes matching/sorting cards and a sorting mat for four cause and effect sentences in Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin. Each cause card is marked with a square and each effect card is marked with a circle, making it easy to support students who struggle with matching cause and effect relationships.
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Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin

Understanding cause and effect is a key comprehension and language skill. The text structure of Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin includes several examples of cause and effect relationships, making it easy to use as a springboard for modeling or independent practice.

This simple resource includes four sentence stems. Each sentence stem presents an effect. Students will use what they know about the book to fill in the cause of the effect.
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Retelling and Summarizing with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin

The BookPagez extension activities are a great way to push student engagement beyond the pages of the text. Try using this activity with early finishers, with students who show a deeper connection with the text, or as a center activity.
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TEKS Alignment
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Asking Questions with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Determining Importance with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Making Connections with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Making Predictions with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Synthesizing with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Retelling and Summarizing with Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin (Spanish)

Worksheet
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About the Book

The cover for the book Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin
Title: Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin
Author: Gene Barretta
Genre: Biography, Nonfiction
Themes: History, STEAM / STEM
ISBN: 9781429917315
Publisher's Summary:
Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin is a lively and engaging nonfiction picture book that introduces young readers to the remarkable creativity and far-reaching influence of Benjamin Franklin. Written and illustrated by Gene Barretta, the book explores how Franklin's inventive spirit and curiosity have shaped many aspects of modern life. Each spread cleverly compares common things we use today with their origins in Franklin's time, helping students make real-world connections between the past and present.

Through cheerful illustrations and simple, informative text, readers discover Franklin's wide-ranging contributions—from inventions like the lightning rod, bifocals, and Franklin stove to societal improvements such as the first public library, hospital, and fire department. The book also touches on Franklin's role in shaping important documents and institutions that continue to impact society.

Now and Ben is an excellent choice for classroom discussions about innovation, history, and problem-solving. Its approachable style makes complex ideas accessible to elementary students, sparking curiosity about how everyday items and community services came to be. Teachers can use this book to launch lessons on inventors, encourage creative thinking, or inspire students to imagine their own inventions for the future. With its blend of history, science, and humor, Now and Ben is sure to become a favorite resource for exploring the legacy of one of America's most influential thinkers.
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