LESSON 11 TEACHER’S GUIDE
Ben Franklin Goes to Paris
by Eric Oatman
Fountas-Pinnell Level R
Nonfiction
Selection Summary
As the Revolutionary War began, the Patriots sent Ben Franklin to the
French court in Paris to seek help. Franklin won the strong support
of the Count of Vergennes, who convinced the French king to send
soldiers, money, ships, and guns. That turned the tide. Who knows
how the war would have ended had Franklin not gone to Paris!
Number of Words: 1,603
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Nonfiction
• Two to four short paragraphs on each page
• Events presented in chronological order
• American Revolution, from 1775–1783
• Benjamin Franklin’s effort in seeking help from the French
• British spies
• Benjamin Franklin helped secure America’s independence.
• The American Revolution was not won with military power alone.
• Clear presentation, enlivened with quotes, exclamations
• Many descriptive details
• Figurative language, simile
• Introductory phrases, compound and complex sentences
• Short, declarative sentences for change of pace or emphasis
• Historical names and terms, such as Revolutionary War, Continental Congress,
Declaration of Independence, Count of Vergennes, Louis XVI, King George III
• Primarily one- or two-syllable words
• Compounds, affixed words
• Portraits and paintings related to the American Revolution
• Benjamin Franklin’s signature
• Thirteen pages of text, twelve with illustrations
• Captions
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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Ben Franklin Goes to Paris
by Eric Oatman
Build Background
Help students use their knowledge of Benjamin Franklin to visualize the selection. Build
interest by asking questions such as the following: What do you know about Benjamin
Franklin? Did you know that he helped Americans win the Revolutionary War—and that
he did it from Paris? Read the title and author and talk about the cover illustration. Explain
that it shows Benjamin Franklin charming French society in Paris.
Introduce the Text
Guide students through the text, noting important ideas and nonfiction features. Help with
unfamiliar language so they can read the text successfully. Give special attention to target
vocabulary. Here are some suggestions:
Pages 2–3: Have students read the chapter heading and captions.
Suggested language: In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the representatives from the colonies met.
Page 3 shows the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Why did this mean
war with Britain?
Pages 4–6: Have students read the chapter heading and captions. The war has
just started, yet Franklin is going to Paris. Why? He would embark to France
secretly on a cramped ship with little space. As you can see in the picture on page
5, his ship was in danger. What if the British had caught his ship? The British saw
Franklin as a traitor.
Pages 12–13: Point out that captions can give clues about information in the
text. What do the captions on these pages tell you? Discuss the heading. When he
was about to hear the outcome of the battle of Saratoga, Franklin had to brace, or
support, himself. Bad news would shatter his hopes of persuading the French king
that the Americans could win the war. He needed an American victory to change
the king’s viewpoint.
Now turn back to the beginning and read to find out why Ben Franklin went to Paris
and why Americans should be glad that he did.
Target Vocabulary
bracing – placing oneself against
a support to keep from being
knocked over, p. 12
conduct – behavior, p. 14
cramped – small and tightly
packed, p. 5
Grade 5
distracted – to have one’s
attention drawn away, p. 11
shattered – broken suddenly into
many smaller pieces, p. 9
embark – to set out on an
adventure or task, p. 4
surveyed – looked over its parts
and features, p. 13
pressing – urgent, p. 11
viewpoint – a way of thinking
about something, p. 9
representatives – people chosen
to speak for others, p. 2
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Read
Have students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their
understanding of the text as needed.
Remind students to use the Visualize Strategy
minds the people and events described in the text.
and to picture in their
Discuss and Revisit the Text
Personal Response
Invite students to share their personal responses to the text.
Suggested language: What information about Benjamin Franklin did you find most
surprising? What do you admire most about Benjamin Franklin?
Ways of Thinking
As you discuss the text, help students understand these points:
Thinking Within the Text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
• Franklin went to Paris to seek
help for the Patriots.
• Franklin knew how to win people
over and gain their support.
• Captions help to explain the
illustrations.
• The colonies needed France to
send soldiers, money, guns, and
gunpowder.
• Americans may not have been
able to win the Revolution
without the help sent by France.
• The illustrations contain a lot of
visual information.
• The American victory at Saratoga
convinced the French king that
he should support them.
• Franklin was in danger of being
tried as a traitor if the British
caught him.
• Most of the illustrations are of
paintings from the Revolutionary
period.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Further Support
• Fluency Invite students to choose a passage from the text to read aloud. Suggest that
they read several paragraphs as if they were narrating a documentary or TV special.
• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion,
revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go
back to the text to support their ideas.
• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using
examples from the text. Remind students that shorter words are sometimes combined
to form a new, compound word. Examples from the book include gunpowder,
warships, Frenchmen, bareheaded, eyeglasses, alongside, and viewpoint.
Grade 5
3
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Writing about Reading
Vocabulary Practice
Have students complete the Vocabulary questions on BLM 11.1.
Responding
Have students use their Reader’s Notebook to complete the vocabulary activities on
page 15. Remind them to answer the Word Teaser on page 16. (Answer: shattered)
Reading Nonfiction
Nonfiction Features: Captions and Illustrations Remind students that nonfiction
has many features to help readers find and understand important information. Explain
that captions and illustrations are two of these features. Captions tell what the book’s
illustrations, photos, or other graphic features are about. They may also supply additional
details. Reading the captions in a nonfiction book is a good way to preview the book
before reading it. It is important to not skip over them because they supply necessary
information. Have students choose a caption and rewrite it in their own words.
Illustrations are another important source of information. They often add details that are
not in the text. Explain that since the events in this book took place over 200 years ago,
there are no photographs of them. Instead, the illustrations are photographs of paintings
from that period. Ask students to choose an illustration from the book, write its page
number, and then write several sentences about interesting details they observe in the
illustration.
Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the Text
Have students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they
think beyond the text, they use their personal knowledge to reach new understandings.
Assessment Prompts
• What is the meaning of representatives on page 2?
• On page 13, which sentences support the idea Ben Franklin was adored in France?
• What is a main idea of the selection?
Grade 5
4
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English Language Development
Reading Support Pair beginning and intermediate readers to read the text softly, or have
students listen to the audio or online recordings. Or, have beginning speakers read the captions.
Cultural Support Explain, as necessary, that before the United States was a country,
it was ruled by Great Britain. The land was divided into colonies, which later became
states. Britain treated the colonies unfairly. The colonists rebelled and started the
Revolutionary War. Benjamin Franklin was on the side of the colonists, against Britain.
Explain the terms Continental Congress and delegates (p. 2).
Oral Language Development
Check student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’
English proficiency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.
Beginning/Early Intermediate
Intermediate
Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: Whom did the Patriots send
to Paris?
Speaker 1: Why did Benjamin Franklin
go to Paris?
Speaker 1: What happened on
July 4, 1776?
Speaker 2: Benjamin Franklin
Speaker 2: He went to obtain money,
soldiers, ships, and war supplies from
the French.
Speaker 2: The Congress declared
independence from Britain.
Speaker 1: Why did the American army
need money from France?
Speaker 2: to pay its soldiers
Speaker 1: How did the American
victory at Saratoga help
Franklin’s cause?
Speaker 1: What was the Treaty of
Paris?
Speaker 2: The Treaty of Paris ended the
Revolutionary War with Britain.
Speaker 2: It showed the French
king that the Americans could
win.
Lesson 11
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 11.1
Date
Target Vocabulary
Ben Franklin Goes
to Paris
Target Vocabulary
Complete the Web with words that relate to the Target
Vocabulary word in the center. Use one of the related words in a
sentence with the Target Vocabulary word. Then make Webs and
write sentences for five of the other Target Vocabulary words on
another sheet of paper. Possible responses shown.
Vocabulary
cramped
shattered
representatives
conduct
distracted
surveyed
embark
viewpoint
pressing
bracing
elevator
hot
cramped:
crowded
small
airplane
Sentence:
I felt cramped in the crowded elevator.
___________________________________________________________
3
Target Vocabulary
Grade 5, Unit 3: Revolution!
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Confirming Pages
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Name
Date
Ben Franklin Goes to Paris
Thinking Beyond the Text
Think about the question below. Then write your answer in one or two
paragraphs.
Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal
knowledge to reach new understanding.
Think of all the work Franklin did that led to America’s winning its
independence, beginning with his trip to London in 1775. What were
Benjamin Franklin’s contributions to America? Why do Americans owe
a debt of gratitude to Benjamin Franklin?
Grade 5
6
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Lesson 11
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 11.1
Date
Target Vocabulary
Ben Franklin Goes
to Paris
Target Vocabulary
Complete the Web with words that relate to the Target
Vocabulary word in the center. Use one of the related words in a
sentence with the Target Vocabulary word. Then make Webs and
write sentences for five of the other Target Vocabulary words on
another sheet of paper.
Vocabulary
cramped
shattered
representatives
conduct
distracted
surveyed
embark
viewpoint
pressing
bracing
elevator
hot
cramped:
crowded
Sentence:
___________________________________________________________
Grade 5
7
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Student
Lesson 11
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 11.23
Ben Franklin Goes to Paris
• LEVEL R
page
Ben Franklin Goes
to Paris
Running Record Form
Selection Text
2
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
In the spring of 1775, Ben Franklin felt like a failure. He
was in London trying to get the British to let its thirteen
American colonies run their own affairs. But the British
wouldn’t listen to him.
Finally, he gave up and sailed home to Philadelphia. There,
some shocking news awaited him. American and British
soldiers were killing each other! The Revolutionary War had
begun.
Franklin joined the Continental Congress the day after he
got home. Meeting in Philadelphia, the Congress was made up
of 61 men, or delegates. They had come to Philadelphia as
representatives for their colonies.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/99 × 100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 5
Behavior
Error
0
0
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
cat
Error
1414143
Behavior
ˆ
Word told
1
8
T
cat
1
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