Was Puritan society governed as more of a theocracy or democracy? After comparing and contrasting a series of primary source documents, middle and high schoolers form small groups and debate the question.

Concepts

puritanism, the puritans, massachusetts, democracy, freedom of religion, religious beliefs, religious freedom, religious tolerance, the bill of rights

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Instead of breaking pupils into small groups, assign them to answer the activity question in an essay
• Flip your class by giving the reading portion of the article as a homework assignment

Classroom Considerations

• Requires little prep time

Pros

• Includes images and case studies to help explain concepts
• Teaches learners to evaluate texts with two perspectives and to compare those perspectives

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.8.4 SL.11-12.4 RH.6-8.1 RH.6-8.8 RH.9-10.8 RH.11-12.1 WHST.6-8.1.a WHST.9-10.1.a