Curated OER
Limited Government: Declaration of Independence
Learners study the limited government within the Declaration of Independence. They discuss the characteristics of a limited government in contrast to a despotic government. They identify principles of the limited government within the...
Curated OER
Roots of the Documents of Freedom
Students examine and analyze various excerpts from documents of freedom such as Magna Carta and Virginia Declaration of Rights, identify how documents influenced each other, and discuss ideas and rights necessary to build representative...
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Representation of the Common Citizen From Declaration of Independence to Present
High schoolers create working definition of common citizen, and investigate and discuss important sections of Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other Amendments. Students...
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A Close Look at the First Two Paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence
Twelfth graders identify the key phrases of the first two paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence and interpret the meaning of those key phrases. Students work in small groups to analyze the paragraphs and answering questions...
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Documents of Natural Rights: The Declaration of Independence and The Plan of Delano
Eighth graders analyze the philosophy of government in the Declaration of Independence. As a class, they discuss how this philosophy has caused other revolutions in history and how well it supports our natural rights. In groups, they...
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Grievances Against the British Monarchy
Students review George Washington's reasons for not wanting to be viewed as a monarch. They review the Declaration of Independence and identify five grievances the United States had against the British monarchy. In groups, students...
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The Declaration of Independence and Your Own Rights
High schoolers read and discuss the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of Sentiments. They discuss how the rights of the colonists and women were being violated. Students write about their own personal rights and how their...
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Building a Nation
Eighth graders identify the main ideas of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. They read and discuss text, read and summarize a section of the Declaration of Independence in small groups, and write a paper on why the colonists felt it...
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Examining the Declaration of Independence
Students examine the Declaration of Independence and its significance to American history. They read the document, identify America's grievances with Great Britain, and restate a part of the document in their own words.
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the Declaration of Independence Lesson
Students demonstrate reading comprehension skills, including reading strategies, inference, literal meaning, and critical analysis.
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To Be An American
Students research the symbols of America, present their research to the class, write a paper about being an American and write their own Declaration of Independence.
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Fragment on the Constitution and Union (1861). The Purpose of the American Union
Eleventh graders examine how President Lincoln formulated the principles of the Declaration of Independence as the goal of the American Union. In this American Government activity, 11th graders read and analyze primary sources...
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Social Studies: Jeffeerson and the Declaration
Students investigate Thomas Jefferson's intentions for the Declaration of Independence. In discussion, they consider what parts of the document are most useful today and to what purposes does it address the most. Finally, students...
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VS.5a
Fifth graders explore, examine and identify the reasons why the colonies went to war with England as expressed in the Declaration of Independence. They discover the conflicts that developed between the colonies and England over how the...
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The Declaration of Independence
Students explore the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. They research a philosopher using reference books and reliable
Internet sources and write a two-page paper utilizing proper writing conventions. In addition, they...
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American Revolution
Students review the events leading to the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence. Using the internet, they examine many different political cartoons from the time period and discuss the political atmosphere. In groups,...
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Understanding the Importance of the Declaration of Independence
Eighth graders examine the importance of the Declaration of Independence
by using a variety of research sources and computer technology to obtain information. They internalize the thoughts, actions, and motives of the signers of the...
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How Does Government Secure Natural Rights?
Students explain why a government with a constitution is not necessarily a constitutional government, and identify alternative models of government that the Founders had to choose from.
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Declaration of Independence
High schoolers research the Declaration of Independence and write a group paper. Students use a set of designated questions as a guide for the threee to four page paper.
Curated OER
Change: Just a Matter of Time
Learners analyze the Declaration of Independence and primary sources to explain civil rights. Then, students write a Declaration of Change to express the grievances of African Americans, and their desire to participate fully in the...
Massachusetts Historical Society
Mhs: Coming of the American Revolution: Declarations of Independence
Features the history behind the document that "shaped the course of American history" and gave Americans their independence. Includes many supporting original documents and teacher resources.
University of Groningen
American History: Presidents: Novariglus,february 6,1775
John Adams' response in this critical essay to the definition of the "British Empire", not an empire as other European monarchies, but a republic by constitution. Link to "Massachusettensis" for a Biography of Daniel Leonard.
George Mason University
George Mason University: Interpreting the Declaration of Independence
Read multicultural translations of the Declaration of Independence, including interpretation of the document by translation in languages like French, Spanish, German, and Italian. Also includes topics on individual cultures views of the...
Library of Congress
Loc: Thomas Jefferson's Original Letters and Documents
This page from the Library of Congress provides us with links to images of original documents. These includes letters from Thomas Jefferson, holographs, and the transcript of Jefferson's "original Rough Draft" of the Declaration of...