GOALS 2000 CYCLE 11 SOCIAL STUDIES COLLABORATIVE
LESSON/UNIT PLAN TEMPLATE
THEME/NAME OF UNIT (Big Rocks or Big Ideas):
SUBJECT
Social Studies (Civic Perspective)
LESSON NAME: The Birth of Our Nation – The Writing of the Declaration of Independence
GRADE LEVEL: Upper Elementary
LESSON UNIT DESIGNERS Shirley Hunt and Rebecca Coykendall
CONTACT INFORMATION (intermediate school district, local school district, building, address,
phone number, e-mail) Wexford-Missaukee I.S.D.; Cadillac Area Public Schools; McKinley
Elementary School, 601 E. North Street, Cadillac, MI 49601; 231-876-5500;
shirleyhunt49@yahoo.com, bcoykendall2001@yahoo.com
FOCUS QUESTIONS (Problem Statements/Essential Questions) [Click here to customize]:
Who was involved in the writing of the Declaration of Independence? When and why was the
Declaration of Independence written? What factors led to the writing of the Declaration of
Independence? What are the parts of the Declaration of Independence?
BENCHMARK:
Strand
Standard
III Civic Perspective
Content Standard #2: Ideals of American Democracy: All students
will explain the meaning and origin of the ideas, including the core
democratic values expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the
Constitution, and other foundational documents of the United States.
Benchmark
1. Interpret the development and summarize the main points of the
Declaration of Independence.
Other Information ELA Speaking and Listening 5.11 and 5.12; ELA Analyzing
Expository Text Structure 5.2
THEMATIC STATEMENT:
The Declaration of Independence is the cornerstone of the birth of our nation.
INSTRUCTIONAL BLOCKS:
ACTIVITY (reminder: Label which teaching and learning standards and Core Democratic
Value are being addressed during the activity.)
 Identify problems in the colonies (taxation without representation, resentment of soldiers,
Boston Massacre, Committees of Correspondence, actions of Parliament, Stamp Tax, Boston
Tea Party, and the Intolerable Acts) that led to the writing of the Declaration of
Independence.
 Discuss reasons for the formation of the First Continental Congress.
 Study the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
 Investigate the meeting of the Second Continental Congress.
 Study Jefferson and the writing of the Declaration of Independence.
 Read the Declaration of Independence.
 Read a summary and analyze a mind map of the parts of the Declaration of Independence
(Preamble, Statement of Rights, List of King George III’s Wrongs, Statement of
Independence).
 Write an essay entitled “What the Declaration of Independence Means to Me.”
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Teaching and Learning Standards
Higher Order Thinking Skills – HOT
Deep Knowledge – DK
Substantive Conversation – SC
Connections to the World Beyond the Classroom – CW
Activity_1:
Read about the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, taxation without representation, the Intolerable
Acts, and the growing unrest within the colonies (Social Studies text: Building Our Nation, pp. 234275). DK, CW
Activity 2:
Teacher reads resources about our founding fathers and famous patriots (Paul Revere, Samuel Adams,
Benjamin Franklin, etc). DK
Activity 3:
Class views videos: Our Founding Fathers (American Institute for Education, Inc., P.O. Box 97497, Las
Vegas, NV 89193, ISBN I-891003-18-2) and Thomas Jefferson, (Educational Clearinghouse, Inc.,
www.educationalclearinghouse.com). DK
Activity 4:
 Teacher reads copy of Declaration of Independence to class as they follow along in Social Studies
book (Building Our Nation, pp. 654-656). HOT
 Students are given mind map summarizing the parts of the Declaration of Independence and relate it
to the actual document. DK, HOT
 Class reviews and discusses summary of the Declaration of Independence (The United States and Its
Neighbors, Silver Burdett, Co., Morristown, NJ, 1986). SC, HOT, DK
Activity 5:
 Students will read materials about famous people from pre-Revolutionary War and Revolutionary
War times. CW, DK
 Each student will then prepare a 5x8 inch index card listing seven well-known and three little-known
facts about his/her person. HOT
 Teacher will conduct a Quizmo game using the cards the students prepared.
Activity 6 (optional):
Students will be taught the verses to“Yankee Doodle.” DK, SC, CW
Activity 7:
 Students will look for artwork from this era depicting people and events in books and on-line. CW,
HOT
 Students will make a pictorial “timeline” mural of important events in the birth of the U.S. (The
United States and Its Neighbors, p. 108). HOT
Activity 8:
 Each student will write an essay summarizing the parts of the Declaration of Independence
(Preamble, Statement of Rights, List of King George III’s Wrongs, and Statement of Independence)
and will tell what it means to him/her. HOT, DK
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

Students will prepare final copies of essays in the format of the actual document (on large paper, in
cursive, and aged).
The following criteria will be used to evaluate the essays:
1. Content: The student includes a summary of each of the four parts of the Declaration of
Independence. The essay includes a title, the date it was actually signed, and a list of the signers
of the Declaration of Independence.
2. Organization/Mechanics: The student will write in paragraph form (in complete sentences)
using correct capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
3. Clarity: The summaries exhibit the writer’s clear understanding of the parts of the Declaration
of Independence.
4. Appearance: The final document will be in cursive, on large paper, and aged. Neatness will be
taken into account.
Activity 9:
Students will present essays to class. They will be evaluated using the following criteria:
 Voice Projection: Students and teacher can hear and understand what the speaker is saying.
 Appearance: The speaker is neat in appearance.
 Presentation: The speaker makes eye contact with his/her audience and has good posture.
Technology:
Students will use the World Book Encyclopedia on the computer to find out more about the founding
fathers or people of the revolutionary war era. They can use the Internet to do further research on the
writing of the Declaration of Independence.
Extensions:
Students can dress up like Thomas Jefferson or a founding father to read their essays. The class can
divide into two teams, Loyalists and Patriots, to debate whether they should rebel against King George
III and Great Britain.
Accomodations :
The teacher or an aide can assist resource room students in paraphrasing the Declaration of
Independence for their essays. Resource room students can also read biographies in pairs.
Culminating tasks:
Students will prepare their essays entitled “What the Declaration of Independence Means to Me” and
present them to the class (see Activities 8 and 9).
Assessment:
Essays and presentations will be assessed using the criteria outlined in activities 8 and 9.
Timeline:
The unit will take approximately one month to complete.
RESOURCES:
Videos:
 Our Founding Fathers (American Institute for Education, Inc., P.O. Box 97497, Las Vegas, NV
89193, ISBN I-891003-18-2)
 Thomas Jefferson (Educational Clearinghouse, Inc., www.educationalclearinghouse.com)
Texts:
 Building Our Nation, 1997, Houghton Mifflin, Co.
 The United States and Its Neighbors, 1986, Silver Burdett, Co., Morristown, N.J.
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Books/Reference Books:
 The Declaration of Independence, Dennis B. Fradin,1988, Children’s Press, ISBN: 0-516-011537
 Compton’s Encyclopedia
 Assorted books on founding fathers
Computer:
 World Book 98
 Internet
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