Step one Introduction 1.Warm-up questions: Give the students the following topics to discuss and then ask them to answer these questions (1)Do you know anything about Thomas Jefferson,George Washington and Abraham Lincoln?Say a few words about each of them. (2)Do you know anything about the Declaration of Independence? ()Who is the Chinese political leader you admire most?Why? 2.Background Information (1)A Brief Introduction to Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson(1743-1826)is best remembered as a great President and as the author of the Declaration of Independence.He also won lasting fame as a diplomat,a political thinker,and a founder of the Democratic Party Jefferson's interests and talents covered an amazing range.He became one of the leading American architects of his time and designed the Virginia Capitol,the University of Virginia,and his own home,Monticello.He greatly appreciated art and music and tried toencourage their advancement in the United States Jefferson invented a decoding device,a lap desk,and an improved type of moldboard plow.His collection of more than 6400 books became a major part of the Library of Congress.Jefferson revised Virginia's laws and founded its state university He developed the decimal system of coinage that allows Americans to keep accounts in dollars and cents. Jefferson did not consider himself a professional politician.Instead,he regarded himself as a public-spirited citizen and a broadminded,practical thinker.He preferred his family,his books,and his farms to public life.But he spent most of his career in public office and made his greatest contribution to his country in the field of politics. (2)The Declaration of Independence In April 1775,colonists in Massachusetts took up arms against British troops. The American Revolution had begun.The following year,the Continental Congress inStep one Introduction 1. Warm-up questions: Give the students the following topics to discuss and then ask them to answer these questions. (1) Do you know anything about Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln? Say a few words about each of them. (2) Do you know anything about the Declaration of Independence? (3) Who is the Chinese political leader you admire most? Why? 2. Background Information (1) A Brief Introduction to Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) is best remembered as a great President and as the author of the Declaration of Independence. He also won lasting fame as a diplomat, a political thinker, and a founder of the Democratic Party. Jefferson’s interests and talents covered an amazing range. He became one of the leading American architects of his time and designed the Virginia Capitol, the University of Virginia, and his own home, Monticello. He greatly appreciated art and music and tried to encourage their advancement in the United States. Jefferson invented a decoding device, a lap desk, and an improved type of moldboard plow. His collection of more than 6400 books became a major part of the Library of Congress. Jefferson revised Virginia’s laws and founded its state university. He developed the decimal system of coinage that allows Americans to keep accounts in dollars and cents. Jefferson did not consider himself a professional politician. Instead, he regarded himself as a public-spirited citizen and a broadminded, practical thinker. He preferred his family, his books, and his farms to public life. But he spent most of his career in public office and made his greatest contribution to his country in the field of politics. (2) The Declaration of Independence In April 1775, colonists in Massachusetts took up arms against British troops. The American Revolution had begun. The following year, the Continental Congress in