Common Sense Teacher Resources

Many Americans can identify Thomas Paine and his seminal work, Common Sense. Yet, only six people showed up at his funeral. Using video resources, class members study both the document and the outcomes of his inflammatory words. Clips...

Most American are familiar with Thomas Paine's impassioned plea about the importance of liberty, but they may not be as familiar with the other ideas put forth in his pamphlet Common Sense. Introduce class members to Paine's...

Students identify important arguments for independence made in Thomas Paine's Common Sense. They explain why these arguments helped persuade American colonists that independence was necessary. Students describe the importance of Common...

Is the pen really mightier than the sword? Scholars analyze the impact Thomas Paine's book Common Sense had on the American Revolution. Video clips and primary sources investigate the role Paine had on dissent in the colonies. They...

Tenth graders explore the impact of Thomas Paine on the American Revolution. In this colonial America lesson, 10th graders analyze Common Sense and then paraphrase selected excerpts of the pamphlet. Students also respond to discussion...

The words of "Common Sense" and Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech ring throughout history. Scholars explore the nuances of each patriot's argument using excerpts from the famous pamphlet and speech and a recorded...

"The Crisis, No. 1" is the focus of a series of exercises that ask learners to read closely and annotate Thomas Paine's text. Groups identify claims and evidence in the essay and present their arguments to the class. Teacher background...

Beginning with the experience of hearing that lockers in school will be taxed, through analysis of political cartoons and informational text, and culminating in a debate between loyalists and patriots, your class members will engage in a...

Colonial Independence is a hot topic in the 4th and 5th grade; this PowerPoint highlights the victories, the decision for Independence, and the forces for and against colonial independence from England. This PowerPoint presents scant...

Introduce learners to the key players of the American Revolution. Each slide provides biographical information on the following people: John Adams, Samuel Adams, Crispus Attucks, King George III, Lord Cornwallis, Thomas Paine, Polly...

Students examine excerpts of Thomas Paine's Common Sense. For this early American history lesson, students read Paine's pamphlet and analyze the information according the rubric provided.

Students examine excerpts of "Common Sense" and determine how it influenced the times. Using other primary source documents, they identify the amount of political discourse before and during the American Revolution. They answer questions...

Use this presentation about Thomas Paine's The American Crisis series to guide any number of assignments. The slides provide instructions for a literary terms assignment, an open response journal entry, two research writing projects, and...

In this Deism worksheet, students read an article about the opinions of Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson. Students then respond to 12 short answer questions.

Matching exercises can help learners build a functional vocabulary related to many different concepts. They match ten ideas and key players commonly associated with the Enlightenment to their definitions. Ben Franklin, Edward Gibbon, and...

Fourth graders, using Thomas Paine's "The Crisis, No. 1" from The American Crisis, form a human jigsaw.

Here is part two of this terrific four-part series on the American Revolutionary War. Concepts covered include trade and the British Empire, the debt from the Seven Years' War, Colonial interests in trade in the East India Company, the...

So many fantastic activities on the American Revolution! From drawing political cartoons illustrating events of the Boston Massacre to writing a diary entry as a shopkeeper during the Boston Tea Party, your young historians will...

Eighth graders identify the reasons why colonists were fed up enough to want to break free of colonial rule and create their own government. They complete an in-dept analysis of the pamphlet Common Sense and it's role in fueling the...

March your students off to war with this presentation, which provides details to the American Revolution such as important figures (Jefferson, Franklin, Henry), facts about the Declaration of Independence, and definitions of key terms. A...

Eleventh graders examine the road to the American Revolution. In this American Revolution lesson, 11th graders read Thomas Paine's works and identify the issues that the colonists had with the British government.

What was the main cause of European colonization in America? How did Thomas Paine's Common Sense play a role in the establishment of the United States? What was the trans-Atlantic slave trade? These are just a few of the many questions...

Posing a guiding question about the inevitability of the American Revolution, the presentation guides students through the circumstances leading up to "The shot heard 'round the world" up to the Declaration of Independence. Teachers can...

Students are explained that they are going to use a part of Thomas Paine's 1776 pamplet Common Sense as a starting point for exploring about argumentation, or persuasive writing. They are given a copy of the excerpt. Students discuss...