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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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CCSS: Designed
Concepts
libraries, thomas jefferson, primary sources, persuasive letters, persuasion, persuasive arguments
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Additional Tags
social studies
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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
RI.7.1 RI.7.2 RI.7.3 RI.8.1 RI.8.2 RI.8.3 RI.8.9 RI.9-10.1 RI.9-10.2 RI.11-12.1 RI.11-12.2 RI.11-12.7 W.7.1.a W.7.1.c W.7.2.a W.7.2.b W.7.4 W.7.7 W.7.8 W.7.10 W.8.1.a W.8.1.c W.8.2.a W.8.2.b W.8.4 W.8.7 W.8.8 W.8.10 W.9-10.1.a W.9-10.1.b W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5 W.9-10.7 W.9-10.8 W.9-10.10 W.11-12.1.a W.11-12.1.b W.11-12.1.c W.11-12.4 W.11-12.5 W.11-12.7 W.11-12.8 W.11-12.10 SL.7.1.a SL.7.1.b SL.7.1.c SL.7.1.d SL.7.3 SL.8.1.a SL.8.1.b SL.8.1.c SL.8.1.d SL.9-10.1.a SL.9-10.1.c SL.9-10.1.d SL.11-12.1.a SL.11-12.1.b SL.11-12.1.c RH.9-10.1 RH.9-10.2 RH.9-10.3 RH.9-10.5 RH.9-10.6 WHST.9-10.1.a WHST.9-10.1.c WHST.9-10.1.d WHST.9-10.1.e WHST.9-10.2.a WHST.9-10.2.b WHST.9-10.2.c WHST.9-10.2.d WHST.9-10.2.e WHST.9-10.2.f WHST.9-10.4 WHST.9-10.5 WHST.9-10.7 WHST.9-10.8 WHST.9-10.9 WHST.9-10.10 WHST.11-12.1.a WHST.11-12.1.c WHST.11-12.1.d WHST.11-12.1.e WHST.11-12.2.a WHST.11-12.2.b WHST.11-12.2.c WHST.11-12.2.d WHST.11-12.2.e WHST.11-12.4 WHST.11-12.5 WHST.11-12.7 WHST.11-12.8 WHST.11-12.9 WHST.11-12.10