Why does Paine begin by separating society from government instead of treating them as the same thing?
Common Sense
30 minutes total
ByThomas Paine
Grade9-10
Time30 minutes
Essential question
Why does Paine begin by separating society from government instead of treating them as the same thing?
Marked passage
Passage location
Of the Origin and Design of Government
Start anchor
Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them;
End anchor
out of two evils to choose the least.
Passage focus
Society is a blessing; government a necessary evil
Ways to teach it
Listening
Listen to the exact passage; visual following is optional. Same question and evidence demand.
Solo
Read the exact passage independently.
Supported
Use narration and sentence highlighting while reading the same passage.
Teacher guide
Close
Name the single detail that most changed or sharpened your interpretation, and explain why.
Evidence
Use what society provides, what government responds to, and the phrase 'necessary evil.'
Mark
Create two labels: SOCIETY and GOVERNMENT. Underline what Paine says each one provides or responds to. Circle the phrase 'necessary evil' and identify what necessity he thinks creates it.
Instructional move
Build a political distinction from a model of human need
Notice
• What human need does society satisfy? • What human problem makes government necessary? • How does separating the two concepts make Paine’s criticism of government sharper?
Strong answer
Separating society from government lets Paine preserve cooperation as a positive human need while criticizing political authority as a response to human failure. The distinction sharpens rather than broadens his attack.
Think
Answer provisionally: Why does Paine begin by separating society from government instead of treating them as the same thing? Choose the strongest interpretation you can defend from this passage alone.
Watch for
Do not treat society and government as synonyms after the passage explicitly distinguishes them.
Why this passage
Paine separates society from government so that cooperation can remain a positive human need while political authority is treated as a response to human failure. The distinction prevents criticism of government from sounding like criticism of community itself.
Write
Write a short evidence-based response to: Why does Paine begin by separating society from government instead of treating them as the same thing? Use at least two details from the assigned passage and explain how they support your interpretation.
Student tasks
Mark
Create two labels: SOCIETY and GOVERNMENT. Underline what Paine says each one provides or responds to. Circle the phrase 'necessary evil' and identify what necessity he thinks creates it.
Notice
What human need does society satisfy? What human problem makes government necessary? How does separating the two concepts make Paine’s criticism of government sharper?
Think
Answer provisionally: Why does Paine begin by separating society from government instead of treating them as the same thing?
Write
Write a short response using at least two pieces of evidence from this passage. Use evidence from the assigned passage. Show what you noticed and how the text supports your interpretation.
Ready-to-teach lesson
TumbleTA 6-12 · TEXT-BASED LESSON
BATCH 08 · 9-10 · LESSON 168
Common Sense
Thomas Paine
Why does Paine begin by separating society from government instead
of treating them as the same thing?
TOTAL TIME
PASSAGE
30 minutes
Society is a blessing; government a necessary evil
FIND THE ANCHOR TEXT
Use the Anchor Text Table of Contents in the Enhanced Reader to open the START anchor. Then use the dropdown to select the END anchor.
SECTION / LOCATION
Of the Origin and Design of Government
START
Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them;
END
out of two evils to choose the least.
PASSAGE ID
sec-cs-02
THE MOVE
Build a political distinction from a model of human need
WHY THIS PASSAGE
Paine separates society from government so that cooperation can remain a positive human need while political authority is treated as a response to human failure. The distinction prevents criticism of government from sounding like criticism of community itself.
MARK
Create two labels: SOCIETY and GOVERNMENT. Underline what Paine says each one provides or responds to. Circle the phrase 'necessary evil' and identify what necessity he thinks creates it.
page 1
NOTICE
What human need does society satisfy?
What human problem makes government necessary?
How does separating the two concepts make Paine’s criticism of government sharper?
THINK
Answer provisionally: Why does Paine begin by separating society from government instead of treating them as the same thing? Choose the strongest interpretation you can defend from this passage alone.
WRITE
Write a short evidence-based response to: Why does Paine begin by separating society from government instead of treating them as the same thing? Use at least two details from the assigned passage and explain how they support your interpretation.
CLOSE
Name the single detail that most changed or sharpened your interpretation, and explain why.
STRONG ANSWER
Separating society from government lets Paine preserve cooperation as a positive human need while criticizing political authority as a response to human failure. The distinction sharpens rather than broadens his attack.
EVIDENCE
Use what society provides, what government responds to, and the phrase 'necessary evil.'
WATCH FOR
Do not treat society and government as synonyms after the passage explicitly distinguishes them.
SOLO
Read the exact passage independently.
SUPPORTED
Use narration and sentence highlighting while reading the same passage.
LISTENING
Listen to the exact passage; visual following is optional. Same question and evidence demand.
page 2
STUDENT PAGE · SAME PASSAGE, SAME THINKING
Common Sense
Thomas Paine
Why does Paine begin by separating society from government instead
of treating them as the same thing?
START ANCHOR
Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them;
END ANCHOR
out of two evils to choose the least.
Use the Anchor Text Table of Contents in the Enhanced Reader to open the START anchor. Then use the dropdown to select the END anchor.
OPEN THE MARKED PASSAGE IN TUMBLELIT
SOLO: read independently. SUPPORTED: use narration + highlighting. LISTENING: listen to the exact passage. The question and evidence task stay the same.
1.MARK - Create two labels: SOCIETY and GOVERNMENT. Underline what Paine says each
one provides or responds to. Circle the phrase 'necessary evil' and identify what necessity he thinks creates it.
2.NOTICE - What human need does society satisfy? What human problem makes government
necessary? How does separating the two concepts make Paine’s criticism of government sharper?
3.THINK - Answer provisionally: Why does Paine begin by separating society from government
instead of treating them as the same thing?
4.WRITE - Write a short response using at least two pieces of evidence from this passage.
Use evidence from the assigned passage. Show what you noticed and how the text supports your interpretation.
page 3
Original printable PDF
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