Task

In groups of five to six, your team will build an argument to convince the Continental Congress members from New York to either abstain or support the passage of the Declaration of Independence. Once you are in your groups and have selected one of the historical figures listed later in the WebQuest, your team will need to delegate roles as described in the **Process** section. Your ultimate goal as a group is to research enough information about your position so as to compose a persuasive speech arguing for your opinion. On the scheduled day, your group will be responsible for presenting your research and results to the class. At that time, each group member will be responsible for giving a brief summary over his or her role during the project, and then the **Speaker** of the group will present the group’s persuasive speech in front of the class. At the end of class, students will also need to turn in their individual **I-Search essays**; the assignment is described in more detail later in the WebQuest. Individual and the group grades will be determined based upon the in-class summaries, speech presentation, and I-search essays. The project will conclude the day after the in-class presentation when the students will present their persuasive speeches in a great debate between the 8th grade English classes. Each group from the classes will perform their speeches in front of the school, and a decision will be made as to which side (pro-independence or anti-independence) made the better overall argument.
 * Task **

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