Philadelphia asked Jefferson to write a document declaring America's independence from Britain. The Continental Congress approved Jefferson's work with few changes.The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4,1776.The bonds that tied the colonies to Britain were broken. Jefferson wanted the reasons for America's independence stated clearly so the world wouk understand.He wrote"all men are created equal,"with rights to"life liberty,and the pursuit of happiness."Govemments are created to secure people's rights.The people could change a government that no longer protected their rights. 3.Introductory Remarks Though Jefferson died many years ago,some of his ideas are still useful for us.I hope that you can learn something from this great man. Step Two Global reading Give the students 10 minutes to read the text as quickly as they can,and ask them to think about these questions in the process of reading. 1.Questions: (1)Why is Thomas Jefferson less famous than George Washington and Abraham Lincoln? (2)Why do we associate the name of Thomas Jefferson with the Declaration of Independence? ()Why was Jefferson chosen to write the Declaration of Independence? (4)What was Jefferson's attitude towards"people of humble origins"? (5)Why did he insist upon having a free press? (6)What was the philosophy underlying Jefferson's determination never to answer his critics? (7)Why does the author say that American education owes a great debt to Thomas Jefferson? Philadelphia asked Jefferson to write a document declaring America’s independence from Britain. The Continental Congress approved Jefferson’s work with few changes. The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. The bonds that tied the colonies to Britain were broken. Jefferson wanted the reasons for America’s independence stated clearly so the world would understand. He wrote “all men are created equal,” with rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Governments are created to secure people’s rights. The people could change a government that no longer protected their rights. 3. Introductory Remarks Though Jefferson died many years ago, some of his ideas are still useful for us. I hope that you can learn something from this great man. Step Two Global reading Give the students 10 minutes to read the text as quickly as they can, and ask them to think about these questions in the process of reading. 1. Questions: (1) Why is Thomas Jefferson less famous than George Washington and Abraham Lincoln? (2) Why do we associate the name of Thomas Jefferson with the Declaration of Independence? (3) Why was Jefferson chosen to write the Declaration of Independence? (4) What was Jefferson’s attitude towards “people of humble origins”? (5) Why did he insist upon having a free press? (6) What was the philosophy underlying Jefferson’s determination never to answer his critics? (7) Why does the author say that American education owes a great debt to Thomas Jefferson?