Hello April! This month, we will be focusing on two people who changed the world for the better in more ways than one and never let their failures stop them-- Benjamin Franklin and Margaret Knight. This months INVENTOR SPOTLIGHT will hopefully teach our students how to value their imagination and use it to make their school, community, or even the world a better place! Students will learn how Benjamin Franklin changed his community for the better and used his brain in innovative ways, just as Margaret "Mattie" Knight used her brainstorming notebook to bring innovative ideas to life!
Please be sure to check out the supplemental resources on all things gravity and space for teachers to use in conjunction with these texts. There are videos to serve as hooks/activators for the read aloud or to serve as background knowledge-building resources and/or inspiration for our Mableton Jaguar Scholars during their aligned STEAM Challenges. There are also additional fiction and informational texts listed you can check out as well as the emoji book reviews available for each grade level.
Please be sure to check out the supplemental resources on all things gravity and space for teachers to use in conjunction with these texts. There are videos to serve as hooks/activators for the read aloud or to serve as background knowledge-building resources and/or inspiration for our Mableton Jaguar Scholars during their aligned STEAM Challenges. There are also additional fiction and informational texts listed you can check out as well as the emoji book reviews available for each grade level.
Primary Book: "Now and Ben The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin" by Gene Barretta Synopsis: What would you do if you lived in a community without a library, hospital, post office, or fire department? If you were Benjamin Franklin, you'd set up these organizations yourself. Franklin also designed the lightning rod, suggested the idea of daylight saving time, and invented bifocals and the odometer-- all inspired by his common sense and intelligence. Intermediate Book: "Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor" by Emily Arnold McCully Synopsis: Armed with a toolbox inherited from her father and a lively imagination, young Mattie Knight loved to make things, which she drew in a notebook labeled My Inventions and which her brothers called her brainstorms. Throughout her life these brainstorms served her well, whether making a foot warmer for her mother or toys for her older brothers or, when she was twelve, designing a metal guard to prevent shuttles from shooting off looms and hurting workers… Based on the life of the inventor Margaret E. Knight, this introduction to “the Lady Edison” will leave young readers inspired |
Additional Resources
Videos about Benjamin Franklin | Videos About Margaret E. Knight |
| Check out this website dedicated to famous women inventors that details Mattie E. Knight's accomplishments. Click HERE. More Books About Ben Franklin and Mattie E. Knight |
STEAM and Writing Resources
Please check out the "April" Office 365 folder within the "Book of the Month" folder for this month's aligned STEAM challenges as well as the writing response resources.