Unit Title ‖ Lesson Title : D.O.I. Reading
Goals & Objectives
Lesson Goals: Students will read the Declaration of Independence as a whole-class reading, and together, annotate the document to analyze the meaning and purpose of the document.
Lesson Objectives: Students will write a minimum of 15 annotation notes on the Declaration of Independence.
California State Content Standards
11.1 Students analyze the significant events in the founding of the nation and its
attempts to realize the philosophy of government described in the Declaration
of Independence.
1. Describe the Enlightenment and the rise of democratic ideas as the context in which
the nation was founded.
2. Analyze the ideological origins of the American Revolution, the Founding Fathers’
philosophy of divinely bestowed unalienable natural rights, the debates on the
drafting and ratification of the Constitution, and the addition of the Bill of Rights.
Common Core Literacy Standards
CCSS HSS RST 1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
CCSS HSS RST 2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
Driving Historical Questions
How did the Enlightenment influence the Declaration of Independence?
What does the Declaration of Independence say?
What was the purpose of the Declaration of Independence?
Lesson Introduction (Anticipatory Set/Hook/Accessing Prior Knowledge) ‖ Time: 15 minutes.
The lesson introduction will utilize a whip around strategy. The teacher will pose a question, and the students will be asked to respond individually. The whip around strategy asks students to, one-by-one, identify one thing they already know or have learned. The question that will be posed for this whip around activity would be “ What does independence mean to you?” The students would then respond, and as students respond the teacher may ask questions of the students, asking students to elaborate on their answers. The whip around activity is designed to assess student’s prior knowledge on the topic of independence. Students will demonstrate their understanding of a idea and how that idea relates to their life. This whip it around activity will also allow the teacher to better relate the lesson to students experiences, interests, and ideas.
Vocabulary (Content Language Development) ‖
Vocabulary that will be highlighted
- Natural Rights
- Unalienable
- Abolish
- Endowed
- Tyrant
- Independence
This assignment asks students to read a document and annotate. Annotation is a note taking and comprehension tool where students break down a documents ideas and vocabulary. The vocabulary development will be infused throughout the reading and the annotation, and any complex vocabulary terms will be defined and discussed during reading/annotation.
Content Delivery (Method of Instruction) ‖ Time: 30 minutes
The content delivery method for this instruction is a popcorn reading strategy with annotation. Annotation is writing notes directly onto the document, defining vocabulary, making connections, asking guided questions, and is a way for students to really engage with a resource and dissect it. The instruction will begin with the teacher passing out the document, the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence. As the teacher passes out the document there will be some review of the previous lesson, to set up the Declaration of Independence, and put it in context. The teacher will lead a class discussion/review on the causes of the American Revolution, the various Acts, and confrontations that led up to the D.O.I. The class will then do popcorn reading, with each student who reads reading only a few lines.
The teacher will begin by first annotating the title of the document. We will break down word like Declaration and Independence and discuss the meaning of those words in the context of the content.
The popcorn reading will now begin, and the teacher will choose a student to read the first few lines. The class will read a few lines, and then come back and annotate those lines. The class will break them down for their meaning and purpose. Then the student will popcorn another student in the class, and that student will read the next few lines, and then more annotation. This process will continue until the entire Preamble to the Declaration of Independence is read and annotated. Discussion will be encouraged throughout annotation, to clarify meaning and clear up any misconceptions. During the annotation, the teacher will model the annotation for students through the use of a projector. The teacher will project annotations for the whole class to see, modeling the activity. The teacher will annotate the document with the help of the students; the students will have to be actively contributing. The teacher will ask guided questions to get the students to think about an issue, and ask for the students to associate vocabulary with other words and ideas to aid in clarification. The students will turn in their annotation on the following day, being given the opportunity to do additional annotation at home, to ensure they have 15 annotation notes.
Student Engagement (Critical Thinking & Student Activities) ‖
The first student engagement activity is the whip around activity. This student activity asks students to respond to a question presented by the teacher. The students will be required to briefly state their response orally, to the whole class. The students will receive oral feedback directly from the teacher. The students are expected to reflect on their knowledge and respond thoughtfully.
The next student activity is the popcorn reading and annotation. The students will be expected to read out loud to the whole class, and then pass the reading to another student, who will then read the next passage to the whole class. Students will be expected to read if called upon. When students are not reading they are expected to sit attentively, and reflect on what they are hearing/reading. The students will guide the annotation, so they will be expected to actively contribute and follow along with the annotation. The students should write all annotation notes the teacher writes on the projector. The students should also write additional notes that will help in their individually clarity. The students should ask clarifying questions, help making word associations, and draw links between ideas, all which should be noted in the annotation. The students are required to have 15 annotation notes, most of which will be modeled in class. The students will need to do additional annotation at home until they have 15 annotations notes. They will turn in their annotations on the following day.
Lesson Closure ‖ Time: 10 minutes
The lesson closure activity will be a whip around activity, in the same fashion as the lesson introduction. Using the whip around activity at the introduction and at the lesson closure will allow the teacher to progress monitor student’s comprehension, and assess how far students have come since the beginning of the lesson The students will be asked the same question as they were asked in the lesson introduction, “What does Independence mean to you?” Students will quickly briefly discuss their responses with the class, one-by-one, until all students have shared. The teacher may ask students to elaborate on their response.
Assessments (Formative & Summative)
The reading and annotation activity will include whole-class discussion. The whole class discussion throughout the reading and annotation activity will serve as an informal formative assessment, allowing the teacher to progress monitor student comprehension.
The students will turn in their annotated documents, which will serve as a summative assessment. The student’s annotation should demonstrate their engagement and comprehension of the document, and they will receive written feedback on this assignment. The students will receive a score, based on their engagement with the document and comprehension demonstrated, with a maximum score of 10 points.
Accommodations for English Learners, Striving Readers and Students with Special Needs
An accommodation for English Learners will be to provide students with a copy of the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence translated in their native language. This will enable EL students to work closely with the document and support their comprehension of the content and English language development skills.
Resources (Books, Websites, Handouts, Materials)
The only resource for this lesson will be a copy of the Declaration of Independence. Each student will receive a copy of only the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence. The whole document is more extensive than can be covered through the lesson, so we will just use the Preamble. The teacher will also need a projector, to project teacher annotation and demonstrate to the class.
Preamble to the Declaration of Independence
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.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
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.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.