A Nation Begins Ryan Myers ED Dr. Helms

Common Sense 7 th grade Thomas Paine’s Common Sense Persuasive writing The Declaration of Independence

Objectives Students will be able to: Read and understand Common Sense by Thomas Paine Identify the passages that are persuasive Write a persuasive paper about a topic of their choosing

Materials Needed Classroom set of Common Sense Each student should have lined paper and a writing utensil Overhead projector Dry erase marker TV and VCR The Constitution Video

Web Sites mwww.encyclopedia.co m nology.comhttp://teachers.teach- nology.com

Student Activities Students will do the following: Read Common Sense Watch a video about the Constitution Participate in a class discussion of both the reading and video Help to generate a list of topics that they can take sides on Write a persuasive letter of their own using one of the topics

Common Sense Written by Thomas Paine to persuade others to join the fight for independence A well written argument in the classic sense, not the modern terms of an argument

Reading Students will now read Common Sense Each student should have their own copy of the brief work

Video Presentation Students will now watch the video titled The Constitution: The Compromise that Made a Nation Students are to decide if this was the right thing to do

Discussion Time Students will brainstorm a list of topics for a persuasive letter Teacher will lead discussion and write ideas on the overhead

How did this all lead to a new nation? Students should discuss how they think these rhetorical writings help lead to the new nation

The Declaration of Independence What effect did Paine’s pamphlets have on this happening? Was his argument persuasive enough to make you rebel against your king and country?

A poem for the nation Is this a persuasive piece of writing? If so, is it effective? Which would you choose to persuade others? A poem? An essay? A picture perhaps?

Web Related Sites Students are free to browse the web after the slide show to check out the list of related web sites

Writing the Argument Students will write their persuasive letter stating both fact and opinion just as Paine did in Common Sense

Revising the Argument Students should be prepared to write a minimum of two drafts of their persuasive argument

Publishing Students will hand in a final, typed copy of their persuasive writing

The Great Debate A mock debate will be staged for the students to argue their ideas on different sides of an issue

Is the new nation born? Students will reflect on whether their arguments were strong enough to sway opinion Did they garner enough support to win the debate? Was their argument worthwhile? Can they use this argument to change something in their surroundings?

And the winner is… Everyone who participates should be congratulated on their efforts to form a new nation, or solve some other crises they have argued for