Lesson Plan: Declaration of Independence

United States History

Lesson Objective

Students will analyze the main ideas of the Declaration of Independence and reflect on those
ideas in their own creation of a Student Declaration of Independence.

State Standard addressed

CSS 8.1 Students understand the major events preceding the founding of the nation and relate
their significance to the development of American constitutional democracy.
CSS 8.1.2 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”).

Instructional procedures

Anticipatory Set​: Instructor will begin by asking students to write down their answer to a simple
question: “What does it mean for something to be fair?” Instructor may probe further thinking by
asking, “What does it mean for a government or law to be fair?” Students should write for five
minutes, then Think-Pair-Share with a neighbor before instructor asks students to share their
thoughts with the class as a whole.

Perceived Objective and Rationale​: “Today we will look at the various parts Declaration of
Independence, evaluate its main ideas, and decide whether we side with the colonists or the
British. Then you will get to draft your own Student Declaration of Independence.”

Input​: The instructor will be begin by putting a number of statements on the screen, asking
students to determine whether the statements/scenarios are fair or unfair. Students will respond to
the following prompts on the screen one at a time, by giving a “thumbs up” for fair or a “thumbs
down” for unfair. After each visual response, instructor will ask a student on each side to
verbally justify their answer.
1. Girls should be allowed to leave class at the end of a period first (before boys)
2. A star football player was kicked off the team for not attending practice (skipping a lot)
3. Some students playing basketball at lunch do not let another student play because they
say he is too short
4. Only students getting As in the class do not have to do homework
 5. Only students who turn in their homework may get a study guide for the test

Instructor will continue with a PowerPoint mini lecture on the Declaration of Independence to
introduce what it is, who wrote it, why it is important. Students should take notes as shown on
the slides:
Drafting of Declaration of Independence
- Written by Thomas Jefferson
- Drafted at Second Continental Congress
- 12 colonies voted yes, 1 abstained (New York)
- Signed by 56 delegates
Format of Declaration of Independence
- Preamble
- Statement of beliefs
- List of complaints
- Prior attempts to address grievances
- Declaration of independence
- Signatures
Main Ideas of Declaration of Independence
- All men are created equal
- Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
- Government is responsible for protecting the rights of the people
- People have the right to assemble and protest unfair/bad governments

Instructor will then show a short video to summarize ideas of the Declaration of Independence in
modern words that students are more familiar with. After the video, instructor should pass out
the Declaration of Independence Vocab (see attached) and Declaration of Independence
Summary (see attached). Instructor will read a vocab word aloud and students repeat the word as
a class. Instructor should lead the class in a reading of the summary, with one student reading
each paragraph aloud. After each paragraph, instructor should pause and ask for a student to
summarize the ideas of that paragraph. As they read, students should be underlining or
highlighting words or phrases that reflect the main ideas of the Declaration of Independence.

Modeling​: Instructor will lead the class in an example reading of the summary, with instructor
reading the first paragraph aloud with the class and highlighting important words or phrases,
such as “Declaration of Independence” and “Thomas Jefferson.” Students will then read the rest
aloud with the partner sitting next to them. They should be underlining or highlighting words or
phrases that reflect the main ideas of the Declaration of Independence.
After the summary reading exercise, instructor will model how students will be forming their
own Student Declaration of Independence.

Checking for Understanding (informal assessment)​: There are plenty of opportunities for
checking for understanding throughout this lesson. Asking students to justify why they took a
“fair” or “unfair” stance on a statement determines whether they understand why an idea is a
certain way. Throughout the mini lecture, instructor will pause and call on students to repeat
what was just said, rephrase a point in a new way, or ask any clarifying questions. As new ideas
are presented throughout the entire lesson, instructor should continuously ask students for verbal
cues, “give me a thumbs up if you understand, thumbs down if you are confused, and a sideways
thumbs if you kind of get it,” or “show me on your hands with 5 fingers as totally confident and
one finger as not confident how you feel about the task at hand.” Instructor will circulate around
the room during the summary reading in partners to check that each pair is on task and
understanding the reading. After explaining the Student Declaration of Independence project,
instructor will ask students to recall the 6 parts of the draft to ensure they know all the details
they must include.

Guided Practice​: After the instructor demonstrates reading and highlighting the Declaration of
Independence summary, students will then read the rest aloud with the partner sitting next to
them. They should be underlining or highlighting words or phrases that reflect the main ideas of
the Declaration of Independence. Once each set of partners has finished reading the entire
summary, they will turn to a set of partners next to them to compare the items they found most
important and underlined or highlighted. Instructor will be closely listening and watching to the
pairs as he/she goes from group to group checking in with them.

Using the Powerpoint slide from the mini lecture that describes and outlines the 6 parts of the
Declaration of Independence, instructor will explain that students are to create their own draft
that will declare their independence from school, their parents, California, or the United States.
In instructor-made groups of 4-6 students, they will collectively write their draft in the same
six-section format of the real US Declaration of Independence: preamble, statement of beliefs,
list of complaints, prior attempts to address grievances, declaration of independence, and student
signatures.

Independent Practice​: Students will be working in groups to create a Student Declaration of

Closure​: The class will close with a reflective discussion on the Student Declaration of
Independence activity. Instructor should ask probing questions, such as “how did your
declaration compare to the colonists’ declaration?” “What made your declaration ‘fair’?” “Is
there anything another group included in theirs that you wish you included in yours?”

Differentiation:

The lesson appeals to all types of learners by including visual aids in the powerpoint and on the
vocab and summary handouts, modeling note-taking, and frontloading vocabulary before the
mini lecture and summary activity. Auditory learners will benefit from the class discussion and
lecture. Kinesthetic learners will have the opportunity to markup the text and draw a visual of
their declaration while drafting it. I also aid learning by using 8th grade relatable scenarios, and
“Think-Pair-Share” to activate ideas.

For students who may have social anxiety and do not feel comfortable sharing their thoughts
verbally in class, they may hand write their thoughts to be turned in at the end of class for
participation credit. If a student is a slow reader or writer and needs extra time taking notes, I
will provide a print out of the PowerPoint slides in note taking format. Instructor should walk
around during independent practice to make sure all students understand each task at hand in
every step of the lesson. This will account for students who may not feel comfortable raising
their hand to ask clarifying questions during pair-share, independent, or group work. This also
allows instructor to work one-on-one with any students who may be struggling learners.