Lesson 6

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • “Inaugural Address, 20 January 1961,” John F. Kennedy and Ted Sorensen, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, 1961

Materials

Tools

• Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool

Question Sets

• Who Changes the World?: Section 1 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool

• Who Changes the World?: Section 1 Question Set

Activity 1: Read – Write – Discuss

We will closely read John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address by working in small groups to answer text-dependent questions on meaning and choices related to the author’s craft and language structures.

Work with your group to reread John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech and answer the following text-dependent questions on John F. Kennedy’sinaugural address, using textual evidence from the speech to support your answers:

1. In Paragraph 2, how does President Kennedy characterize his victory?

2. In Paragraph 3, President Kennedy says, “The world is very different now.” How is the world different? How, according to Kennedy, is it the same?

3. In Paragraph 4, how does President Kennedy create sameness with the audience? Does he do this in other areas of the speech as well?

4. Paragraphs 7-12 each contain a repeated sentiment: “We pledge . . .” What is a pledge? How does President Kennedy speak for the nation and to the world in these paragraphs?

5. What phrase is repeated in Paragraphs 16-20? How does this section differ in meaning and tone from Paragraphs 7-12?

6. In Paragraph 22, President Kennedy says, “In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.” What is the purpose of this sentence?

7. One of the most famous lines from the speech comes near the end. “And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.” How does this sentence align with the rest of the speech?

8. What is the main premise of President Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural address?

Activity 2: Discuss

We will solidify our understanding of John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address by reflecting on key take-aways in our Learning Logs.

Step 1

In your Learning Log, write down your thoughts on the premise of John F. Kennedy’s speech.

What change agent characteristics can you glean from this premise?

Use your Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool to address this question. The Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool is used to form an evidence-based claim as you deepen and extend your understanding of one or more texts. Follow the steps below:

1. Write down the guiding question in the space provided at the top: What change agent characteristics can you glean from the premise of the speech?

2. Reread the inaugural address, thinking specifically about the guiding question. As you read the text, pay attention to key details that relate to the guiding question. Write down key details and citations that relate to the question.

3. In the Analyze the Details row, show your thinking. Doing so can help you ensure there is a clear connection among the details you identified, your analysis, and the guiding question.

4. Explain Connections between the details by identifying how the details connect to each other.

5. Finally, form and express a claim. Reread your work. Consider the guiding question, the details, and how they all connect to each other. The conclusion you have drawn based on your analysis of the details in the previous rows should become your claim. Communicate that claim in a clear, direct sentence.

Step 2

Review and revise your claim by asking yourself the following questions:

1. Is the claim clearly stated?

2. Does the claim communicate your opinion or conclusion about your character?

3. Is the claim based on evidence that you gathered from the text?

4. Is the claim supported by evidence?

If you answered "no" to any of the questions, think about how you might revise your claim.