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Declaration of Independence

This Declaration of Independence lesson plan also includes:

Scholars work in pairs to decide whether leaders wrote the Declaration of Independence for the rich and powerful or for every man. To draw their conclusion, pairs read excerpts from two historians and complete a graphic organizer citing textual evidence. They write the preamble in their own words then examine specific points of the source. A whole-class discussion closes the lesson with a reflection.  

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CCSS: Adaptable
Concepts
the declaration of independence, the united states, thomas jefferson, colonies, the american colonies, representatives, july, the fourth of july, independence, england, freedom, the preamble to the united states constitution, colonial america, the colonial era, the thirteen colonies, responding to reading, informational texts
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Additional Tags
social studies
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Instructional Ideas
  • Save paper—make pairs one copy of the Historian's Interpretation worksheet to share
  • Recreate the graphic organizer on chart paper, fill it in as a class, writing responses in different color marker 
  • Post discussion questions on a classroom blog, direct pupils to answer each question and reply to at least one peer to keep the digital discussion going 
Classroom Considerations
  • Requires several copies
  • Participants should be familiar with the Declaration of Independence 
  • This resource is only available on an unencrypted HTTP website. It should be fine for general use, but don’t use it to share any personally identifiable information
Pros
  • The lesson plan is written in detail 
  • Includes two levels of worksheets based on reading level 
Cons
  • None