FREE Blaise Pascal Unit Study at 3 Reading Levels for Kids

Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician, physicist, religious philosopher and inventor. He was the one who laid the foundation down for the modern theory of probabilities. Pascal is most famous for creating the very first calculator. If you are learning about famous scientists or inventors you will enjoy these free resources about this famous scientist Blaise Pascal. 

How often do you use a calculator in your home? I personally am not very good at math, and have always been thankful to have a calculator close by at all times. I know my older children are happy for their calculators when they are doing higher level math problems. I don’t know how we would live without a calculator because we aren’t very math minded in this house. 

Well, we can thank famous scientist and mathematician Blaise Pascal for the calculator! He was the inventor of the early 17th century calculator which was named the Pascaline. He was also homeschooled and never formally taught math. Pascal has a pretty interesting upbringing!

Biography of Blaise Pascal:

Blaise Pascal was born on June 19, 1623, in Clermont-Ferrand, France. His mother passed away when he was only 2 years old. He was raised by his father, who was a mathematician and his 3 sisters. His father moved the family to Paris and began homeschooling Blaise. He wanted to create his own curriculum for him to allow him to be curious and learn whatever he wanted, except for Math. He deliberately did not teach him math.

His father was afraid he would become obsessed with geometry that he did not teach math in his home! This plan backfired because when he was only 12 he started to teach himself geometry and came up with his own math vocabulary. His father was impressed and allowed him to read the works of Greek mathematicians and attend math meetings with him. 

At the age of 16, with his father, he presented his theorem of the Mystic Hexagram, to the premier mathematical thinkers of the time. In the 1640s he invented the Pascaline, which was an early calculator.

In 1646, Pascal joined the Jansenists—a group of Catholics in France who believed as Calvin did. He believed in salvation through God’s love and grace, rather than through good works.

You can read a more thorough biography of his life over at Biography.com.

FREE Blaise Pascal Unit Study

We’ve created free Blaise Pascal learning packs to help kids of multiple ages learn more about this scientist and his revolutionary work. Use the whole pack as a small unit study of Pascal or grab just a couple of page as a supplement to any homeschool curriculum you may already be using.

The free digital printable pack includes:

• Image Analysis of the scientist and/or his or her work
• Read a Passage about the scientist with a place to take short notes
• 5 Key Vocabulary Words from the passages with definitions as well as opportunity to use the word in a sentence and/or draw an image to help your student learn the word
• Vocabulary Flashcards to use 2 ways: fold and learn or cut apart to use as a memory game
• 3-2-1 Reflection which gives a child the opportunity to write 3 things learned, 2 connections made, and 1 thing he or she would like to learn more about
• 3 Multiple Choice Questions with an opportunity to explain the their answer
• 3 Short Answer Questions
• 3 Reflect and Discuss Questions which can be used for personal reflection or to discuss as a family, homeschool co-op or classs.

And because we know that homeschool families may want to learn about the history of Pascal’s life and work together, we’ve also designed it at 3 different reading levels:

• Level 1 = Approximately Grade 3 reading level
• Level 2 = Approximately Grade 6 reading level
• Level 3 = Approximately Grade 9 reading level

Grab your copy of one or all three reading levels below today!

More Printables and Resources About Blaise Pascal:

We’ve also searched the internet to compile a HSG FREE Resource Roundup list for you to give you even more choices. If you want additional homeschool resources to learn more about Pascal then check out these options:

• Blaise Pascal Facts for Kids – Kids Kiddle
• Information on Blaise Pascal from Easy Science for Kids
• Blaise Pascal Article – Kids Brittanica
• Seeking After Truth Blaise Pascal – learn more about Pascal the religious philosopher with this unit study and free printable from A Net in Time.
• Great Creation Scientists: Blaise Pascal – Answers in Genesis

Pascal Science and Math Educational Activities:

Pascal’s Triangle is a mathematical triangular array. It is pretty neat to add up the numbers because each number in the triangle is the sum of the two directly above it. It reminds me of a math puzzle. 

• Exploring Patterns in Pascal’s Triangle Free Printable – Math Geek Mama
• Pascal’s Triangle – Kids Kiddle– Check out some really neat pictures and a moving, cartoon triangle where you can see the numbers add up.
• What Do You Notice? Pascal’s Triangle Family Math Night Activity – Family Math Night
• 12 Days of Christmas Pascal Triangle Math Activity – Our Family Code
• Blaise Pascal Worksheets – Kiddy Math
• Pascal Science Worksheets – Learny Kids
• Pascal’s Triangle Worksheets – Math Drills
• Lesson Plan on Pascal’s Triangle – TPT
• Pascal’s Triangle Printable Math Worksheet – TPT
• Experiments with Barometers
• Baromter Experiments Made by Pascal – Vacuum Science

Paid Resource: Famous People Notebook: Scientists

Daily Skill Building has created an open-and-go notebooking study called Famous People Notebook: Scientists to explore the life and work of 10 scientists that changed history. This biographical unit studies include text, comprehension questions, written narration, and answers. If you are looking for one book your older students can use to independently explore multiple scientists, then this is a great option!

What to Explore More Famous Scientists?

This is part 6 of our 12 post series on famous scientists. If you would like to add even more scientists into your lesson plans then be sure to go to our Isaac Newton unit study below to get another free pack.