Those Rebels John & Tom #2

Think about the term "common ground" and what you have read in the text, and then answer the questions.

What does it mean to have "common ground"?

• To clear the ground

• To have the same belief/goal

• To work at something slowly

• To be very different

Which quotation from the text best supports the answer to John and Tom having "common ground"?

• "John and Tom were indeed very different, but they did have two things in common: They both cared deeply about the American colonies, and neither of them cared much for King George."

• "The two very different men sensed that, working together, they might accomplish more than by working alone."

• "Day after day, the delegates met to discuss their problems with George. 'Tedious indeed is our business-slow as snails,' John wrote home to his wife, Abigail."

• "He found farming 'very muddy,' but he liked it 'very well' - learning the stumps to plow his fields and then carting the manure to fertilize them."

How did Thomas Jefferson's skills contribute to America's independence?

• Tom used his skill of persuasion and gift of debating to argue for independence.

• Tom used his skill of writing to draft the Declaration of Independence.

• Tom used his skill of reading to review the Declaration of Independence.

• Tom used his skill of farming to help the colonies make money to support independence.

Which quotation from the text best supports the answer to how Thomas Jefferson used his skills.

• "The delegates agreed on so little and argued so much! Would they every reach a consensus on what to do?"

• "He loved.....reading all the books in his father's library."

• "He found farming 'very muddy,' but he like it 'very well'...."

• "The delegates now turned to Tom and his mighty pen to justify why Americans were taking up in arms."

What could be one central idea of the text Those Rebels, John and Tom?

• Tom was smarter so that's why he got picked to write the Declaration of Independence.

• John wasn't a good writer so they didn't want him to be the first to sign the Declaration of Independence.

• John and Tom learned how to be allies and work together, despite their differences.

• John and Tom could never work together since they were so different.