War and Peace Lesson Plan

Debate: Free Will or Pre-Determination

Kind of Activity:

Role Play

Objective:

To explore the philosophies of pre-determination and free will raised in the text

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.2; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.C; CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.3

Structure:

Tolstoy spends most of the two epilogues of his book defending his assertion that the course of history is pre-determined and not shaped by the free will of great men. This activity will allow students to consider his point of view and its inverse, and debate the merits of each argument.

ACTIVITY

1. Divide students into groups of 3 – 4. There should be an even number of groups. Assign each...