Lesson Plan

The Declaration of Independence

Alyssa Van Duzee and Jason Sue

Strategies: Compare/Contrast and Re-Create

Old method: In a bird unit for a lesson plan like this, the teacher would probably go through the Declaration of Independence with the students and have a discussion. Students would be asked questions about what key ideas or concepts mean. They would be expected to demonstrate their knowledge through a quiz or exam.

Overview: In this redesigned lesson, students will take their knowledge of the Declaration of Independence several steps further. Not only will they be asked what it means, but they will have to understand the context in which it was written. They will research documents to determine what Thomas Jefferson’s true intentions were at the time it was written. To further amplify their understanding, students will be asked to research whether this living document is still relevant today. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of their chosen position and their interpretation of the original document through a debate.

Learning Strategy: Compare/Contrast (pg. 65 from Ban Bird Units)

• Stages: Discover/understand the reason for comparison → Establish criteria for comparison → Gather data → Sort based on criteria → Make the comparison → The Big Think

Big Think: Recreate (pg. 65 from The Big Think)

• Knowledge journey: Determine what is already known → Recreate to transform content and process→ Determine what can be done with the new knowledge → Knowledge building and growth

Goals and objectives:

• Content Objectives (from California Common Core Standards):

Core Standard 8.1 Students understand the major events preceding the founding of the nation and relate their significance to the development of American constitutional democracy.

Sub Standard 2: Analyze the philosophy of government expressed in the Declaration of Independence, with an emphasis on government as a means of securing individual rights (e.g., key phrases such as “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights”).

• Process Objectives:
  • Teach students about source credibility and how to find reliable sources

Essential Questions:

1. What does the phrase “All men are created equal” mean as written in the Declaration of Independence?
2. Did the founding fathers live their own ideals as presented in the Declaration of Independence?
3. Are we living the phrase “All men are created equal” today?

Assessment:

• Content Assessment:
  • Evidence Compilation worksheet (Thomas Jefferson)
  • Multimedia presentation (Thomas Jefferson)
  • Debate notes/Evidence Compilation Sheet (Declaration vs. Today)
  • Debate video critique (living it vs. not living it groups)
• Process Assessment:
  • Turned in list of citations and research notes

Learning Activities: (These are based on block scheduling)

Day 1 (Teaching kids how to research)

• Today the students will be learning how to do research and find reliable sources on their own. This will help them as they move into the next section.
• Break the kids into two groups--each group will be given an envelope and a worksheet.
  • Group A: You are to conduct research about the Civil War . . . you may use this section of the library and this carefully selected list of sources found by the librarian. Record the information gathered.
  • Group B: You are to research the following learning standards pertaining to the Civil. . . . you may only use Google. Record the information gathered.
• Students will be given about 15 minutes to complete as much research as they can. Then bring the class back together for a discussion.
  • How did each group do? Was it easier than they thought or harder than they thought? Why?
  • What kinds of information and sources did they find?
  • Which group found more reliable information? Why?
  • Could group B have found reliable information as well?
  • In analyzing websites, what are some things that we should pay attention to?
  • What is the value in print and online sources? Is it necessary to use both?
  • Regardless of source, how can we make sure that it is a reliable source and not just somebody’s opinion or made up altogether?
• Put students into groups of 4 and assign them each a role--
  • Each student will be responsible for looking at two websites...one put out by the Smithsonian and one put out by Wikipedia. Each person will have different questions to answer, but will answer the same questions for both sites.
  • Once students have finished their research, they will get together as a group to discuss the similarities and differences between the sites. A class discussion will follow to wrap this up.
    • Which one was more reliable and why?

As students leave for the day, have them write down three takeaways--what will they need to remember as they begin the next portion of their research? Have students turn this in as a formative assessment. Be prepared to review at the beginning of Day 3 if necessary.

Day 2

• Review the basic purpose of the Declaration of Independence (students should already have some understanding of this prior to coming into the library--this will be done with the classroom teacher prior to coming to the library). Today begins the examination of certain key concepts of the document.
• Begin with a brainstorming activity on the meaning of equality. Students brainstorm individually at first. After a few minutes, divide into groups of 4. Students share interpretations of the word within each group. Each student should add two additional interpretations of equality to his or her list for variety.
• Bring everyone back to discuss the various meanings developed both individually and within the group.
• After discussion, introduce the phrase "all men are created equal" from the Declaration of Independence. Return to groups to interpret what Jefferson meant by this phrase in the document. Then discuss as a whole the interpretations of this phrase.
• Next consider, "Who was not represented by this statement?" Allow groups time to discuss.
• Compare definitions from the various groups as to their actual meaning and the interpreted meaning of this phrase. Some key questions to ask (allow students time to think and discuss prior to sharing out):
  • What was Jefferson's intended purpose for the phrase?
  • Were there ethical considerations?
  • Could he justify such a statement for inclusion in the Declaration of Independence?

Days 3-5

• Each student picks a card that has either "for" or "against" written on it. The card also includes a number that designates the student's group for the rest of this portion of the lesson (students will get a choice later in the process).
• Students will be using the Was It Compromise or Hypocrisy? web page to begin their research. Students enter the side they are supporting - for or against Jefferson. Each link leads students to sources necessary to gather and record their evidence.
• Students gather information from the web links and record their findings on their Evidence Compilation Sheets. Students take this information to their respective groups. Each team is responsible for presenting their respective evidence sheets to the rest of the class. The presentation must be done using some form of multimedia (slides, video, screencast-o-matic, etc).
• After reviewing all of the evidence for both sides, discuss the pros and cons of each side of the argument.

Day 6

• Review again the phrase "all men are created equal" in the Declaration of Independence. What did it mean in 1776? (Students should remember this from a few days ago) What do you think it means today? Is it the same as it was in 1776?
• By now students should have a thorough understanding of what the Declaration meant in 1776, but begin by asking students to jot down a few notes and answer the question “Are “all men created equal”?” Then have them go to different sides of the room--this could even be a continuum. Ask students whether or not we are living the Declaration of Independence today. Allow students time to share and agree or disagree (respectfully) with one another. As students answer, they may feel free to move about if their opinion changes.
• At the end of this discussion, have students choose a side--yes, we are living it today, or no, we are not. Even if they’re unsure at this point, it’s okay, but they do need to pick a side. Hopefully it will be about 50/50, but you’ll have to see and adjust based on your classroom dynamics. Students should be placed into groups of 3-5 so that they can research and debate together.

Day 7-8 (Culminating Activity Preparation)

• Students will research and find evidence to support their side. In addition, they should also be finding research for the other side so that they are prepared for their debates. What arguments could the other side make and how do they plan to refute those arguments with their own evidence?
• Everything they do should be in preparation for the debate. They need to fill out the Evidence Compilation sheets (paper copies will be supplied, but they must also be filling out the Google sheets). Teams will have access to the evidence of other teams, but this should make for even more interesting debates. It will give students an opportunity to further research and find evidence for their rebuttals. Even though they are working in groups, each member should be finding their own evidence. They should then be compiling their evidence together to form the basis of their debates.

Day 9 (Culminating Activity) Counselors/administrators will be enlisted to help facilitate and film debates.

• Each side will begin with a 3-5 minute opening statement. At this time, the other side is not allowed to interject, but they should be taking notes.
• Once opening statements are done, the teams should take turns making a point and then allowing for rebuttal. This has a 10 minute time limit.
• At this point, teams will get five minutes to work together to create a closing argument (although a rough draft should already be done). The 5 minutes is simply to allow for teams to revisit anything that came about during the debate itself that they would like to be sure to address.
• Closing arguments should be about 2-3 minutes.
• Videos will uploaded to a class YouTube channel.
• At home, students will be asked to view the other debates. Students will be asked to take notes (what salient points were made? Where is there room for improvement?) They also need determine who “won” and why. Their reasons and rationale need to be specific.

Day 10 (The Big Think)

• Have a follow up discussion about the debates. What was successful? What was not successful? Were they prepared? If not, how could they have been better prepared?
• Students will think about everything that was presented (whether it was their own or others). They will then rewrite one section of the Declaration of Independence to make it more applicable to today’s society. This could be simply modernizing the language or it could be changing it completely.

Culminating Activity:

Students will be working in groups of 4 to hold and film a debate. Each team is responsible for demonstrating a thorough understanding of the Declaration of Independence as well as relating it to today’s society. To do so, they will have to pull out sections of the Declaration and argue whether or not we are living what it said today. They will also use current events and research to support their claims. Once all films are taped and uploaded, students will have to critique the others as well as reflect on their own. The specific steps and outline are given above.

Assessment:

Students will receive multiple grades over the course of this research and process.

1. Presentation of evidence for Thomas Jefferson
2. Debate for Today Comparison

The Big Think:

• Content Big Think: Whether or not students agree that the statement still holds true today, we can all agree that the language with which it was written is a bit outdated. Students will be asked to recreate the following statement in modern language or completely rewrite it to fit modern society.
  • “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

• Process Big Think: Students will write a reflection about the process of research, from beginning to end. Students will specifically comment on their ability to evaluate and give credit to sources. In addition, students will analyze whether throughout the research process their opinions changed at all. What was this like? Why is it important to sometimes let the research guide you instead of you always guiding the research?

Defense: This learning experience is more constructivist than behaviorist because the students are guiding their own learning. They are learning the research process, how to evaluate and site credible sources and making connections between a document that was written nearly 250 years ago and today. They are also practicing real life skills because they are learning how to collaborate, present information, debate with others and respond to others in a kind and respectful manner.