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Lesson Plan

Thomas Jefferson's Library: Making the Case for a National Library

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This Thomas Jefferson's Library: Making the Case for a National Library lesson plan also includes:

The United States Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. But such was not always the case. The library was destroyed during the War of 1812. In a persuasive letter to Samuel H. Smith, Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his complete library to Congress as replacement, arguing for the importance of every volume. Groups first examine Jefferson's letter, the contents of the library, and then craft their own argument for the purchase of collection.

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Concepts

libraries, thomas jefferson, primary sources, persuasive letters, persuasion, persuasive arguments

Additional Tags

social studies

Instructional Ideas

To gain an understanding of the wealth of material in the library's collection, ask individuals to search for items on a topic of their choosing

Classroom Considerations

Prior knowledge of the elements of persuasive writing techniques is required
Presumes class members are experienced working with primary and secondary source materials

Pros

The detailed plan provides links to Jefferson's letter, to a persuasive techniques worksheet, and to images of volumes from Jefferson's library

Cons

No rubric for the activity is included

Common Core

View 70,722 other resources for 6th - 12th Grade English Language Arts