The Alger Hiss Trial – Doreen Rappaport

Author: Doreen Rappaport
Subject: Social Science/History
Suggested Grade Levels: 7-8

Reading

RI.8.3 Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).
RI.7.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others.
RI.7.9 Analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts.

Writing

W.8.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence
W.8.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3.)
W.7.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

Speaking and Listening

SL.8.3 Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and relevance and sufficiency of the evidence and identifying when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

Language

L.7.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

Teaching Links
Ideas to extend the learning with Common Core links:

Have students create a time line to show significant events through time using pictures and captions to support their thinking.
Have students consider the purpose of this text. What did the author want to teach the reader? Was it effective? Ask them to write a paragraph giving their opinion about this text using information from the selection to support their thinking.
Ask students to create a Venn Diagram comparing two versions of this case using evidence from the text to support their thinking.