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Instructional Video

On This Day: Thomas Paine's Common Sense

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

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 include perspectives from historians and journalists, as well as a video tour from the Museum of the American Revolution.

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CCSS: Adaptable
Concepts
common sense, thomas paine, causes of the american revolution, the american revolution, propaganda, propaganda techniques, american history, the founding fathers, the loyalists, patriots
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Additional Tags
social studies
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Instructional Ideas
  • Use the resource to prepare pupils for a close examination of Common Sense
  • Create a Venn diagram to illustrate the connections between the ideas in Common Sense and other founding documents from the American Revolution
Classroom Considerations
  • To use resource, create a free C-SPAN Classroom account or the use of the following login credentials: Username: students, Password: C-SPANCLASSROOM
Pros
  • Clips include unique perspectives, including a scholar who studied the Loyalist response to Paine's writing
  • Videos include both factual information and analysis of the importance of Paine's writing
Cons
  • None