Why does Paine treat habit itself as an obstacle to political reasoning?
Common Sense
30 minutes total
ByThomas Paine
Grade9-10
Time30 minutes
Essential question
Why does Paine treat habit itself as an obstacle to political reasoning?
Marked passage
Passage location
Introduction
Start anchor
a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right
End anchor
equally to reject the usurpation of either.
Passage focus
Custom makes wrong look right
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 the 'long habit' claim, the reaction to challenging custom, and the invitation to inquiry.
Mark
Underline the phrase about long habit making wrong appear right. Circle the reactions Paine predicts when a familiar system is challenged. Star the sentence that calls for inquiry rather than inherited acceptance.
Instructional move
Explain why an argument attacks familiarity before attacking policy
Notice
• Why can familiarity feel like evidence even when it is not? • What emotional reaction does Paine expect when a long-standing arrangement is questioned? • Why must an argument against policy first challenge the reader’s trust in custom?
Strong answer
Habit is an obstacle because familiarity can feel like evidence. A wrong arrangement repeated long enough begins to look natural, so Paine must weaken custom's authority before readers can examine policy rationally.
Think
Answer provisionally: Why does Paine treat habit itself as an obstacle to political reasoning? Choose the strongest interpretation you can defend from this passage alone.
Watch for
Do not say custom makes people stupid. Explain how repetition changes the appearance of what counts as normal or right.
Why this passage
Paine begins by attacking habit because familiarity can make an unjust arrangement feel natural before anyone examines its logic. The argument has to loosen custom’s authority before it can persuade readers to reconsider government.
Write
Write a short evidence-based response to: Why does Paine treat habit itself as an obstacle to political reasoning? Use at least two details from the assigned passage and explain how they support your interpretation.
Student tasks
Mark
Underline the phrase about long habit making wrong appear right. Circle the reactions Paine predicts when a familiar system is challenged. Star the sentence that calls for inquiry rather than inherited acceptance.
Notice
Why can familiarity feel like evidence even when it is not? What emotional reaction does Paine expect when a long-standing arrangement is questioned? Why must an argument against policy first challenge the reader’s trust in custom?
Think
Answer provisionally: Why does Paine treat habit itself as an obstacle to political reasoning?
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 167
Common Sense
Thomas Paine
Why does Paine treat habit itself as an obstacle to political reasoning?
TOTAL TIME
PASSAGE
30 minutes
Custom makes wrong look right
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 Introduction
START a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right END equally to reject the usurpation of either.
PASSAGE ID
sec-cs-01
THE MOVE
Explain why an argument attacks familiarity before attacking policy
WHY THIS PASSAGE
Paine begins by attacking habit because familiarity can make an unjust arrangement feel natural before anyone examines its logic. The argument has to loosen custom’s authority before it can persuade readers to reconsider government.
MARK
Underline the phrase about long habit making wrong appear right. Circle the reactions Paine predicts when a familiar system is challenged. Star the sentence that calls for inquiry rather than inherited acceptance.
NOTICE
Why can familiarity feel like evidence even when it is not?
What emotional reaction does Paine expect when a long-standing arrangement is questioned?
page 1
Why must an argument against policy first challenge the reader’s trust in custom?
THINK
Answer provisionally: Why does Paine treat habit itself as an obstacle to political reasoning? Choose the strongest interpretation you can defend from this passage alone.
WRITE
Write a short evidence-based response to: Why does Paine treat habit itself as an obstacle to political reasoning? 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
Habit is an obstacle because familiarity can feel like evidence. A wrong arrangement repeated long enough begins to look natural, so Paine must weaken custom's authority before readers can examine policy rationally.
EVIDENCE
Use the 'long habit' claim, the reaction to challenging custom, and the invitation to inquiry.
WATCH FOR
Do not say custom makes people stupid. Explain how repetition changes the appearance of what counts as normal or right.
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.
STUDENT PAGE · SAME PASSAGE, SAME THINKING
Common Sense
Thomas Paine
Why does Paine treat habit itself as an obstacle to political reasoning?
page 2
START ANCHOR
a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right
END ANCHOR
equally to reject the usurpation of either.
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 - Underline the phrase about long habit making wrong appear right. Circle the reactions
Paine predicts when a familiar system is challenged. Star the sentence that calls for inquiry rather than inherited acceptance.
2.NOTICE - Why can familiarity feel like evidence even when it is not? What emotional reaction
does Paine expect when a long-standing arrangement is questioned? Why must an argument against policy first challenge the reader’s trust in custom?
3.THINK - Answer provisionally: Why does Paine treat habit itself as an obstacle to political
reasoning?
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
Open this section to load the PDF.
The plan opens at a readable size. Scroll across on a narrow screen, or choose Fit width to see the full page.