Liberty or Death Editorial
French flag
French Revolution
Introduction | Stay on Task | Learning Advice | Evaluation | Conclusion
Books | Teacher's Page



Introduction

Liberté ! Égalité ! Fraternité ! ou la mort
("Liberty! Equality! Fraternity! or Death" - A Tale of Two Cities)
"Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!" screamed the French revolutionaries.  Welcome to Paris, a place of upheaval from 1789 to 1799.  This was a time period Charles Dickens called "the best of times [and] the worst of times."  You are a part of this world, a French citizen of noble or common birth, and you are trying to express your opinion about the times but beware of Robespierre and the guillotine.  Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" could apply literally if you anger the wrong people.
Introduction | Stay on Task | Learning Advice | Evaluation | Conclusion


Stay on Task
Your task is to write an editorial
expressing your opinion of the French Revolution
during the Reign of Terror.
First Step | Second Step | Third Step | Fourth Step


First Step

Read background about the French Revolution.  Choose one of these sites. 
Make sure you read about the Reign of Terror and start forming your opinion.

       This website divides the French Revolution into the causes,
      the major government changes in the revolution, and the results.
       This is a brief summary of the French Revolution.
       You can look at several events that occurred during the French Revolution


First Step | Second Step | Third Step | Fourth Step


Second Step

Choose who you are during this time period.  Here are some options.
   
Options:
  1. You could be a peasant approving of the guillotine.
  2. You could be a middle class worker cautioning people to be reasonable.
  3. You could be a noble pleading for your life
  4. You could be a preacher appealing to people's faith for the revolution or against.
  5. You could be a famous person from the Revolution (Robespierre, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Napoleon, Lafayette).
First Step | Second Step | Third Step | Fourth Step


Third Step

Research your person and their daily life and opinions of the French Revolution.
Peasants | Preacher | Middle Class | Noble | Famous People

    Peasants
     Preacher
     Middle Class
     Nobles
     Biographies of the Famous
    Liberty or Death Biographies
    Biography Channel Search

    Marquis de Lafayette
     Marie Antoinette
     Robespierre
     Louis XVI
 First Step | Second Step | Third Step | Fourth Step

Fourth Step
  • Now you are ready to write your editorial.
  • Write an introduction that grabs your readers' attention. 
  • Then present your argument, leaving your most persuasive argument for last. 
  • Then conclude with a call to action (for example, stop the guillotine or continue with the purging of the infidel aristocrats). 
  • Check your writing by using the rubric in the evaluation section.


Introduction | Stay on Task | Learning Advice | Evaluation | Conclusion


Learning Advice

Web Search
  • Take good notes at each of the sites you visit.  By the end, you will need at least five facts to support your argument.
  • When you are visiting the Freedom or Death website, hit the "Visit Site" link to get to that exact page.
  • If you don't know a word in a website, visit Merriam-Webster's Word Central and type in the word for the definition.
       Word Central

Editorial
  • Make your argument persuasive.  You want to convince someone who does NOT believe what you believe to change their mind.
  • Here are places to find example editorials from today's newspapers.
          New York Times Editorials
          USA Today's Editorials
          Syndicated Columnists
          This site takes you to a list of people who are so good at convincing other people
          they are published in more than one newspaper. 
          Take note of their techniques.  
      
Introduction | Stay on Task | Learning Advice | Evaluation | Conclusion



Evaluation Rubric

Category
 Description
 Points
 Student Evaluation
 Teacher Evaluation
Introduction
 Introduce your point of view
with a hook to draw people
into your editorial
with background information.
 15

Persuasion
Points
 Have at least three reasons why
your view is the best one.
(Each point is a paragraph.)
 15

Persuasion
Order
 Present a convincing argument
for point of view in order from
least to most persuasive point.
 15

Facts
 Use at least four facts from the
French Revolution to support your argument.
 20

Conclusion
 Conclude your argument with
an appeal to your reader that
will stir them to action.
 15

GUMS
 Grammar, Usage, Mechanics,
Sentence Formation
(Proofread your work!)
 10

Deadline
 Meet assigned deadline.
 5

Web Search
 Use time wisely during web search
and do not stray from subject.
 5



Introduction | Stay on Task | Learning Advice | Evaluation | Conclusion





Conclusion

Félicitations!


Congratulations on finishing your article!  Whether you support or oppose the Revolution, you have chosen to embody the motto of "Liberté!"  You may have chosen death, but remember Martin Niemoller's famous words from the Holocaust.

            "In Germany, they first came for the communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist.
           Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
           Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
           Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Catholic.
           Then they came for me -- and by that time there was nobody left to speak up."

Introduction | Stay on Task | Learning Advice | Evaluation | Conclusion



Books
Books
For more information, check out these books!

A Tale of Two Cities
Scarlet Pimpernel




All rights reserved
Posted July 23, 2004
Graphics from Microsoft Digital Library

Laura Miller
West Jackson Middle School
Jefferson, Georgia