Declaration + Drive = Deeper Learning

Whenever I teach the Declaration of Independence, students always think they already know all about it. Most know Jefferson wrote it, and most know it starts out with "When in the course of human events... all men are created equal" yadda yadda yadda. But, for the past few years, I've forced students to read and react to more of it, and I'm confident they've reached a better understanding of this seminal work in American History.

After sharing the Declaration on Google Drive, I have students pair up and read a section of the grievances underneath the famous, "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness." In this section of the document, students I have students connect the grievances outlined with the events and policies of the pre-revolutionary period in the colonies. Check out this screen shot:

Not only did the students learn just what drove our founding father to commit treason by signing this document, but the lesson also served as a review of our previous lessons. Students had to revisit the Quartering Act, the Declaratory Act, and the Intolerable Acts, to name a few. Therefore, this primary source served as a direct connection between what we were studying and how that drove the decisions of the founding fathers at the time. And for that alone, this lesson delivered deeper understanding of the period and the document.

Perhaps my favorite part of this year's lesson is that one of the students in my class muttered to his partner, "man the founding fathers were a bunch of whining babies." Hopefully that kind of interest continues when we address other primary sources this year.