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Benjamin Franklin Reading Comprehension
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Benjamin Franklin Reading Comprehension
Read the passage, then answer the questions. Use details from the passage to support your thinking.
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston in 1706. As a boy, he loved reading, but his family had little money for schooling. At age 12, he became an apprentice in his brother James’s printing shop. An apprentice learns a trade by working with an experienced person. Benjamin set type, printed pages, and learned how words could reach many people.
At 17, Franklin left Boston for Philadelphia. He worked as a printer and later started his own printing business. He published Poor Richard’s Almanack, a yearly book filled with calendars, practical advice, weather information, and witty sayings. Franklin also helped establish a library so people could share books and ideas.
Franklin was curious about how the world worked. His experiments with electricity helped him understand that lightning is electrical. He promoted the lightning rod, which could help protect buildings from fire. He also developed useful designs such as bifocal glasses, which help people see both near and far, and the Franklin stove, which warmed rooms more efficiently. He did not invent the telephone.
Franklin served his community in many ways. He helped organize a fire company and supported projects such as better street lighting. Later, he became a diplomat, representing the American colonies in France. During the American Revolution, he helped gain French support for the colonies.
Franklin was one of the people who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Years later, he took part in the meeting that produced the U.S. Constitution. He was not the first president; George Washington was. Franklin died in 1790, remembered for his work as a printer, inventor, writer, scientist, and public servant.
Understand the Passage
Use the reading to solve each question.
1.Which sentence best describes how Franklin’s early work prepared him for later achievements?
- His printing work taught him how to share information and ideas.
- His work as a farmer taught him to build stoves.
- His schooling in France trained him to become a president.
- His work in a fire company taught him to publish books.
2.Franklin helped create Poor Richard’s Almanack. Name two kinds of information or writing it contained.
3.Select all the inventions or designs credited to Franklin in the passage.
- Lightning rod
- Bifocal glasses
- Franklin stove
- Telephone
4.Match each word to its meaning. Write the matching letter for each definition.
- A. Apprentice
- B. Almanac
- C. Diplomat
- A yearly publication with calendars, information, or advice
- A person who represents a country in relations with another country
- A person learning a trade by working with an experienced person
5.True or false: Franklin was the first president of the United States. Correct the statement if it is false.
TrueFalse
6.What did Franklin’s experiments help him understand about lightning, and what practical design followed from that understanding?
7.Put these events in order from earliest to latest: Franklin signs the Declaration of Independence; Franklin becomes a printer’s apprentice; Franklin takes part in producing the U.S. Constitution.
8.Why was Franklin’s work as a diplomat important to the American colonies during the Revolution?
9.The passage describes Franklin helping with a library, fire company, and street lighting. What do these examples suggest about the way he served his community? Support your answer with one detail.
10.Choose two different roles Franklin had. For each role, describe one contribution he made and explain how it affected other people.
3 printable pages
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