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Lesson Plan

Teaching the Declaration of Indpendence

Students understand the reasons why the colonists wrote the Declaration
Victoria C.
 Online Independent Study Teacher
Vista Visions Academy
Vista, United States
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My Grades 9, 11, 12
My Subjects English Language Arts, Social Studies
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Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • understand key terms (declaration, grievance)
  • explain why the colonists wanted to "break up"with Britain
  • explain the parts of the declaration and what they mean
  • create their own declaration
  • present their declaration to their peers
  • evaluate another student's declaration and presentation skills
Subjects
Social Studies
Grades 5 – 8
See Common Core Standards
STEPS
1 Step One 2 Step Two 3 Step Three 4 Step Four
All Notes
Teacher Notes
Student Notes

1 Step One

Nearpod
Free, Paid

Using the Nearpod lesson “The Declaration of Independence--The Great Break-Up Story,” teach students about the reasons behind the DoI.  This Nearpod also walks students through the difficult language of the 18th Century and “translates” it into modern English. It includes short videos and quick checks for understanding.  

In addition to the info in the Nearpod, teachers should explain the parts of the declaration (the preamble, natural rights, list of grievances, resoultion.

2 Step Two

Google Drive
Free, Paid

As a follow--up, students can write their own Declarations based on a list of grievances.  They can create it using Google Docs.  Be sure to emphasize the parts of a good declaration and the power of loaded words, logos and pathos, etc.

3 Step Three

VoiceThread
Paid
Voki
Free to try, Paid
Vocaroo
Free

Have students present their Declaration to the class or use VoiceThread, Vocaroo, or Voki to record it.  

4 Step Four

Google Drive
Free, Paid

Have students share the Google Doc of their Declarations with a partner.  The partner watches/listens to the other's Declaration and and use the comment feature in Google Docs to identify parts of the declaration and to give feedback on their speaking skills

Key Standards Supported

Reading History/Social Studies

  • RH.6-8.6

    Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).

  • RH.6-8.7

    Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.

  • RH.6-8.8

    Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.

  • RH.6-8.9

    Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.

Reading Informational Text

  • RI.5.4

    Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.

  • RI.5.5

    Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts.

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