Everyone knows Benjamin Franklin was an important statesman, inventor, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. But did you know he started the first public library in America? Ben Franklin was always a "bookish" boy. The first book he read was the Bible at age five, and then he read every printed word in his father's small home library. Ben wanted to read more, but books were expensive. He wanted to go to school and learn, but his family needed him to work. Despite this, Ben Franklin had lots of ideas about how to turn his love of reading and learning into something more. First, he worked as a printer's apprentice, then he set up his own printing business. Later, he became the first bookseller in Philadelphia, started a newspaper, published Poor Richard's Almanac, and in 1731, with the help of his friends, organized the first subscription lending library, the Library Company. Ruth Ashby's fast-paced biography takes young readers through Franklin's life from his spirited, rebellious youth through his successful career as an inventor and politician and finally to the last years of his life, surrounded by his personal collection of books.

"This read-along shows how Ben Franklin, one of 17 children in a poor family in Colonial Massachusetts, became one of our greatest statesmen and inventors. This straightforward biography is embellished with soft background music and sound effects that are picked up from the details in the lively, quaint illustrations in the accompanying book." -AudioFile

Benjamin Franklin was a 17-year-old runaway when he arrived in Philadelphia in 1723. Yet within days he'd found a job at a local print shop, met the woman he would eventually marry, and even attracted the attention of Pennsylvania's governor. A decade later, he became a colonial celebrity with the publication of Poor Richard: An Almanack and would go on to become one of America's most distinguished Founding Fathers. Franklin established the colonies' first lending library, volunteer fire company, and postal service, and was a leading expert in the study of electricity. He represented the Pennsylvania colony in London but returned to help draft the Declaration of Independence. The new nation then named him Minister to France, where he helped secure financial and military aide for the breakaway republic. Author Brandon Marie Miller captures the essence of this exceptional individual through both his original writings and hands-on activities from the era. Readers will design and print an almanac cover, play a simple glass armonica (a Franklin invention), experiment with static electricity, build a barometer, and more. The text also includes a time line, glossary, Web and travel resources, and reading list for further study.

This practical, accessible resource will help future and practicing teachers integrate literature into their middle school or high school classrooms, while also addressing content area standards and improving the literacy skills of their students. Two introductory chapters are followed by five chapters that each cover a different genre: Chapter 3, Informational Books; Chapter 4, Fiction; Chapter 5, Biography, Autobiography, and Memoir; Chapter 6, Poetry; and Chapter 7, How-to and Hands-on Books. Each genre chapter consists of four parts: Part 1: Discusses the genre and how content area teachers can use books within that genre to further content learning and enhance literacy skills. Part 2: Offers hands-on instructional strategies and activities using literature, with activities for use in a variety of disciplines. Part 3: Presents individual author studies (three or four per chapter) with bibliographies and guidelines for using the authors' books in content area courses. Part 4: Features an annotated bibliography of specially selected children and young adult literature for that genre, organized by content area. The annotations provide information about the book, which can be used to prepare booktalks, and teaching ideas for using in a specific content area. Altogether these sections contain more than 600 annotated entries tabbed by subject area, including art, English/language arts, languages and culture, math and technology, music, PE/health, science, and social studies/history.

Presents a biography of the eighteenth-century printer, inventor, and statesman who played an influential role in the early history of the United States.

Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and text highlighting for an engaging read aloud experience! Let's Meet a Librarian! Are you curious about dinosaurs? Music? Volcanoes? You're in luck! Mr. Field is a librarian. He knows how to find information about all kinds of cool things. He shows the students in Mrs. Ríos's class how to use the library. Let's hear it for librarians! "Cartoon-style animated drawings in bright colors introduce diverse characters who will capture children's interest." —School Library Journal "In each book introducing a community-benefiting career, schoolchildren meet one adult to learn about his or her job; information includes the training required to become a firefighter, doctor, etc., daily routines, and primary responsibilities. The content is inclusive and up-to-date but delivered though vapid stories. Peppy computer-generated cartoons are amateur." - The Horn Book Guide Free downloadable series teaching guide available.

On February 20, 1962, as millions of Americans waited anxiously, astronaut John Glenn blasted off in his rocket ship, Friendship 7, and became the first American to orbit the Earth. Although the risks of such a mission for Friendship 7 were well known, no one including Glenn knew the peril he was about to encounter in space. John Glenn was one of the Mercury 7 astronauts, the early pioneers of manned space flight. His historic flight followed years of intensive physical training and a devotion to a career in the exciting but risk-filled world of aviation. Ruth Ashby's dramatic story of John Glenn's near-disastrous mission in Friendship 7 also takes young readers through his small-town Ohio childhood, his extraordinary experiences as a fighter pilot in two wars, and his life as an astronaut in the prestigious and dangerous Mercury 7 program. The book concludes with Glenn's successful career as a US senator and his triumphant return to space in 1998 at the age of 77.

Describes strategies teachers can use to promote reading comprehension in students from kindergarten through eighth grade; and includes examples of student work, illustrations, and other reference tools.

Few people have accomplished as much in as many different areas as Benjamin Franklin. He became the first internationally famous American scientist. In 1752, he proved that lightning is electricity. His dozens of inventions ranged from swim fins to bifocals. He proposed daylight savings time. In the colonies, he set up police and fire departments, public libraries, and post offices. As a famous printer, he was also one of the country s most popular writers. Franklin also excelled in politics. He helped establish the United States of America: He was on the committee that drew up the Declaration of Independence, he convinced France to provide crucial assistance to the colonial army, he signed the Treaty of Paris, and he contributed ideas for the U.S. Constitution. In this book for young readers, author Jim Whiting overviews the life of one of the most famous Americans, Benjamin Franklin.