Leveled Readings / Common Sense by Thomas Paine
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776)
These are adaptations, not the original. The original wording is always shown first. Each adapted version restates the same passage at about a grade 4, grade 7, or grade 10 reading level without adding or removing ideas. Quote the original in student writing.
Original wording
“Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil…”
Adapted · about grade 4
Living together is good. But government, even at its best, is something we only need because we have to.
Adapted · about grade 7
Society is a blessing in every form, but government, even at its best, is only a necessary evil.
Adapted · about grade 10
Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil.
Used in: Were the colonists justified in declaring independence?