Social Science Lesson Plan Part II
Lesson Title:
American Revolution: Understanding the Declaration of Independence—Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension Lesson Plan
Unit Central Historical Question(s):
How did the Declaration of Independence justify the American Revolution?
Subject / Course:
American History
Grade:
8th
Lesson Duration:
55 min
Content Learning Objective (content and product):
Students will be able to determine the meaning and uses of terms and phrases by examining them in context and relating them to the cultural ideas of the time.
After completing the anticipatory set, a brief review, investigating Document A and B as a class, completing the guided instruction, and engaging in a class discussion, students will be able to identify key terms and phrases and explain their meaning.
Historical Thinking Learning Objective (thinking skill and product):
Students will be able to weigh the justifications for the American Revolution by considering them in the light of the philosophies of the day and in the light of today’s philosophies to determine if they were or are valid.
Following direct instruction and guided practice, students will be able to summarize the philosophical basis for the American Revolution used by the Revolutionaries.
Historical Thinking Skill, California Content, and Common Core Standards Addressed:
Historical Thinking Skills
1. Evidence & Interpretation
Content Standards
Social Science 8th Grade: American History—The American Revolution
Students analyze the terms, phrases and context of the Declaration of Independence.
1. Describe the way in which the American Revolutionaries justified their need for independence from the English Crown by using the terms and phrases of the Declaration.
Common Core Standards (Reading Comprehension)
Reading Comprehension
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
Narrative Summary of Tasks / Actions:
1. Anticipatory Set (5 min)
2. Central Historical Question for Lesson (0 min)
3. Teacher Input-delivery of historical content (20 min)
a. Historical Background (5 min)
b. Direct Instruction (15 min)
4. Guided Practice (15 min)
a. Document investigation alone and in groups
5. Lesson Assessment – with differentiation (10 min)
a. Recap of the document investigation answers
b. Summary of the findings
6. Closure (5 min)
7. Student Reflection-metacognition...
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Declaration of Independence The Theory of Government presented in the Declaration The author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson was greatly influenced by the political thoughts of the 17th century English philosopher John Locke and other thinkers of the European Age of Enlightenment. The theory of government presented in the Declaration is largely based on the political philosophy of Natural Rights that maintains that each individual enters a society with certain
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In fact, many of the ideas are taken directly from John Locke's theories, specifically the statement of the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Specifically, the declaration that "it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume...the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature...entitle them..." is a statement of both republicanism and Natural
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