When you introduce your students to Ben Franklin, you absolutely must include some of his witty quotes in your classroom study.

We just can’t match the Franklin wit, wouldn’t you agree?!?

Sayings like, Well done is better than well said and Haste makes waste are applicable to our lives even today.

Discussing Ben Franklin’s contributions during the American Revolution and showing primary sources related to his life are valuable for students, but adding his witty quotes adds depth and dimension to this brilliant founding father.

Grab the quote images and analysis sheets below and then keep reading to find out how I use Franklin’s witty quotes in my own classroom.

Ask students to connect Franklin’s witty quotes with their modern lives!

Helping students make connections between Franklin’s quotes and their modern lives builds deeper historical understanding.

A great quote to discuss with students is from Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1733.

“He that lies down with Dogs, shall rise up with fleas.”

I can think of so many connections between this quote and 21st Century life.

One of my favorite connections to make is about choosing friendships.

Franklin certainly wasn’t referring only to dogs in this short, witty quote.

Your students will understand that Franklin was warning us that if we spend time with unethical, inconsiderate, or downright rude people, that we’ll start to act just like them.

Place two of Franklin’s short, witty quotes on the board and allow students to choose one to which they can make 21st Century connections.

Create a display or bulletin board using Ben Franklin’s quotes!

Making an attractive bulletin board or display using Franklin’s witty quotes is fairly easy with the freebie I’m offering at both the top and bottom of this blog post.

Simply print the five quote images and arrange them on the bulletin board with space around each.

Then, have small groups of students complete the analysis pages.

Choose analysis pages to staple around each quote image.

Voila, all done and ready to show off!

Allow students to add their own interpretations to Franklin’s witty quotes!

It’s important in both social studies and ELA to encourage students to think critically and make their own interpretations using many different kinds of text, including quotes.

As a teacher, I love using quotes to help students practice making their own interpretations. I also love that every student creates a different interpretation based upon his/her life experience.

My fifth graders can ALWAYS spot someone who is being “fake” or insincere with them. Have you noticed that with your students?

This short quote from Franklin, originally published in Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1744, is such a great one for students to interpret.

“What you seem to be, be really.”

They understand the implications of this quote and that Franklin is encouraging individuals to be sincere and avoid simply “putting on an act.”

Show students how to use Franklin’s witty quotes in their writing!

As any writing teacher will tell you, Franklin’s quotes are perfect to add to students’ five paragraph essays as openers and closers.

When students add social studies facts and quotes to their essays and journal entries, their writing becomes richer.

Teaching students to use quotes in their writing is a valuable ELA and writing skill.

When learning to add quotes to writing, I keep it simple.

For example, if we’re adding a quote to students’ writing, this is how I would model this skill to students:

According to Ben Franklin in Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1745, there are “No gains without pains.”

OR

In summary, I think Ben Franklin said it best in 1745, “No gains without pains.”

Help your students use their own creativity and wit to create Franklin-style sayings!

I have one more idea to help you use Ben Franklin’s witty quotes in your classroom.

This is SUCH a fun activity!

I give students a variety of witty Franklin quotes to read and ponder.

Then, I create a few of my own witty quote examples to show students how it’s done.

“She who gossips instead of being a friend will find herself alone on the playground.”

“If you take school seriously, the world will take you seriously.”

“Don’t let history be a mystery… Read more, learn more, know the past.”