To Be An American

Class members adopt the persona of real figures in American history, Patriots and Loyalists, research these individuals to determine their stance, and then debate the question of whether or not to declare independence from England. 

Your class can write a PSA about the Declaration of Independence! They write public service announcements and present them to the class. They also engage in reading and discussion activities to further understand a challenging—yet...

Teach your class about the Declaration of Independence while giving them practice working as a team. The resource breaks participants into groups and has them answer questions about specific grievances from the Declaration of...

Are learners heavy sighing at the idea of reading a primary source, written in a language that is difficult to understand and in cursive? Look no further, because the resource breaks down the Declaration of Independence in an...

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...

Give budding historians a guided exploration of the Declaration of Independence, historic photos, videos, and more as they deepen their understanding of the American Revolution and the attitude of the colonists leading up to the war.

Thomas Jefferson is one of the most recognized names and faces in America—but is there more to the third president of the United States? Upper elementary and middle schoolers conduct research on Jefferson, his famous home at Monticello,...

Hook your class into an exploration of and discussion about violence in video games with a cute animal clip and a video game trailer. After a quick discussion about how media can affect mood, class members read a related article and...

Learners working in small groups to compare and contrast the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson with the final version. They list the differences and decide on why the changes were made.

Did you know that the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 2, 1776? Did you know that five men, not just Thomas Jefferson, are credited with writing the Declaration? Did you know that references to slavery were excised from the...