Founding Brothers Lesson Plan

A Tale of Two Prefaces

Kind of Activity:

Classwide Discussion

Objective:

To analyze how a piece of writing can imply an author's point of view

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.3

Structure:

Have students read the preface of Ellis's 2015 book, The Quartet. Students can either complete reading in class or as homework the day before. If they are doing the reading in class, have them first discuss what they would expect to remain the same and/or change between the two prefaces. After they have completed the reading, lead a class discussion comparing the claims Ellis makes in the two texts. Some...