The Declaration of Independence is an important document in our nation's history. But, it's also a document that's filled with complex language and concepts that can be difficult to understand at first. One smart thing that historians do when they encounter difficult information is to try to find easier resources that help them understand the tricky document. Today, we'll explore the Declaration of Independence, using many resources that are available to anyone with access to a computer and the internet. As you explore each resource, consider what you are learning about the Declaration of Independence that you didn't know before.
1. Talk with your partner: What do you already know about the Declaration of Independence? Consider everything you learned at Independence Hall and at Constitution Center.
2. Read this article from Scholastic News about the Declaration of Independence. Stop along the way to talk with your partner about what you are learning. If you find something confusing and your partner can't help you, jot it down in your notebook.
3. Watch this BrainPop video about the Declaration of Independence. Log in using the password Katie puts on the board.
4. Read this version of the Declaration of Independence that is written in more friendly language. If you come to a tricky word, work through it with your partner, reading the sentences around it to try to make sense of the word.
Talk with your partner: What ideas do you have about the Declaration of Independence now? How did studying all these different texts help you learn more about the Declaration of Independence?
5. Type a long comment in the blog: What ideas do you have about the Declaration of Independence now? What did it say (in your own words)?
6. If you have time, look at a response that the colonists had to the Declaration of Independence. This image is titled "The Destruction of the Statue of King George III in Bowling Green" in New York City. With your partner, become one of the characters in the scene. Say first what the characters are thinking internally and a bit of their dialogue. Type a conversation with your partner that the characters in the painting are having. Include what you know about the Declaration of Independence in the conversation. Post your conversation in the comment section of the blog!
The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important artifacts to America. It describes how America should be free of the rule of King George the III. It also describes the freedom that any man should have and take freely the gift of freedom. Thomas Jefferson was the man who was hired to make the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. He finished on the fourth of July which yes, caused the holiday. The patriots then hid the Declaration under Fort Knox in a well guarded vault. Know the declaration is in Washington D.C. where thousands of people see it every year. Maybe you will to!
ReplyDelete- Zack and Andrew
We think that the declaration of independence was important for America to become its own country.
ReplyDeleteIf we hadn't written it we might have lost the war because the british would not have recognized us as an "independent country", and not as part of Great Britain.
This document might have altered our lives if it had not been written. In fact you might not have been here today and because you might not have even existed ever in all of eternity.
It is important (as you have already seen) that the declaration of independence was written. It was the most important event of the year in 1776.
We must commemorate the all important Declaration of Independence!!!!!!!!!!!!!
--Elliot and Jonathan :-)
One idea we have is that Thomas Jefferson decided to write the Declaration Of Independence in three parts so that the colonists,
ReplyDeletewho read The Declaration would clearly understand what Jefferson was trying to say. The first part was human rights. The second part was rights of people against bad governments and complaints about King George III. The third part of The Declaration was a formal statement of independence.
Our second idea is that the colonists never put boundaries on them selves, for example they demanded the british parliament to never tax them but they never told the American Government not to tax them, which is not equal. The other way of saying it is that they didn't care what the colonists did, they only cared about what decisions and choices the british made.
-Ellis and Alec
We think that the declaration of independence is and was a important document in our nations history. We liked the way it said everyone had rights, and everybody's rights were freedom. If it hadn't been written, people might still be slaves, women might not have rights, people wouldn't be friendly to their neighbors, and instead, treat them like property. Everyone would want to be higher in status, and the only way they would achieve that would be from fighting. It would be chaotic, sad and un-toleratable. But, more than anything, we would still be a part of England!
ReplyDelete-Leela and Adina
we really think that the declaration of independence was a necessity so that we could win the war. Without it, we probably wouldn't be here.
ReplyDeleteEric's thoughts
ReplyDeleteI noticed that there were a lot of stuff that the british did that the Colonists hated that the british did that they put in the easier version of the declaration of Independence.
I also saw that the colonists described the british as deaf, because of their response to the colonists about the rights the colonists had.
I now know that Ben Franklin and Jon Adams edited Tomas Jefferson's first draft of the Declaration of Independence.
Jason's thoughts
The Declaration was made over 200 years ago.
Tomas Jefferson was the real maker of the Declaration. The Declaration was made before the Constitution. 56 people in the Continental Congress as Delegates signed the Declaration. the British soldiers were the best trained army in the world. The British soldiers were called the Regulars, the Redcoats, the Lobster-backs, and some other names.
We think that even though it was good that the Declaration of Independence was signed, it always said men or he or him and never even mentioned women in the Declaration of Independence.
ReplyDeleteThey never said she or her or women which is unfair to women because it's like saying they don't even deserve rights and they don't even matter.
This is really ridiculous because it is saying that everyone is created equal . . . except women
~ Ava & Ida
We knew that blacks were often slaves, but we didn't know that they were not part of the " All men are created equal". ( A quote from the Declaration of Independence). In an article that we read, it said that only rich Christian white men signed the Declaration of Independence.
ReplyDeleteWe think that the Declaration of Independence showed how passionately the Patriots (soon to be Americans), cared about being their own country and not being part of England anymore. We think that they had the right to hate England because of all of the horrible things that King George lll did to them.
- Mayu and Emma
The Declaration of Independence was and is a very important factor to the birth and freedom of our country.
ReplyDeleteIt all started when the British began to unfairly tax the colonists. That began to tip the balance between the Americans and the British, and the rights of the Americans slowly got smaller. We think of this as a tipping scale. So they wrote the Declaration of Independence to demand their freedom. But even there the Declaration of Independence wasn't completely fair. Women, African Americans, and people of other religions or races were excluded from signing. Only white christian men were allowed to sign. All of the other people were excluded from becoming a part of the freedom that the country had worked so hard to achieve. But today, as our country lives in peace and fairness for all, everyone is included in the Declaration of Independence. But in Jefferson's time, it wasn't so.
-Jane and Allie
we really think that the declaration of independence was a necessety so that we could win the war. without it we wouldn't be here.
ReplyDelete-max and niklas
We think think King George always got his way even when the Revolutionary war was going on he still taxed the colonist England could of been on fire and he still got his way.King George was very unfair,selfish,greedy. an example is he took away rights from inocent colonist .The Declaration of independence it was kind of unfair because it gave all rights to men and it did not give any rights to women children slaves. They gave rights to whites and they left out quite a lot of people and thats unfair because women children and slaves and that means they do not have the same amount of rights .Thats what we think .
ReplyDelete-Dylan
-Jack
The Declaration was read to Gorge Washington and his troops on July 9th, 1776, for the first time. In return, the colonists took town the statue of King Gorge at Bowling Green. Then they made the statue into 42,088 bullets for the war to come with the British and Hessians.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration was torn and yellow because it was old!
-Eric and Jason
Me and my partner think that these links are saying why the Declaration of Independence was written. We think that according to the links, the colonists were tired of being ruled by King George. In the Declaration of Independence, the colonists say that there are many reasons that they want to be independent. The colonists say that some the reasons are:
ReplyDelete-Taxation without representation
-No ships aloud to enter or leave the harbor
-Only a judge, no jury
-Stamp act, sugar act, tea act, quartering act, etc.
This is why we think that the Declaration of Independence was written.
-Bria and Charlotte
We have learned there was 56 people who signed the Declaration of Independence.We also learned that the Declaration of Independence was a letter to King George lll to say we declare freedom to our people for the the new country of the United States of America not under british rule.("You don't rule us any more!")This shows the now called "american's "put a lot of meaning into the letter to Britain .This letter changed history.This shows that the american army was better than the british(strongest army in the world at the time.
ReplyDeleteSam & Michael
Me and my partner think that the declaration of independence was a really important part of american history because it stated that all men are equal and that gave people hope that they would some day be free from parliament and king George III.
ReplyDelete-Chloe and sydney
Key:
ReplyDeleteLoyalist- Mayu
Patriot-Emma
P-"Down with the King!!"
L- "How disloyal can you Patriots get?!"
P-"Don't you Loyalists understand? This means everything to us! KIng George has been torturing us!"
L- " WHAT! You have just destroyed your protection! You TYRANTS!!!!"
P-"If anyone is a tyrant, it's King George."
-Mayu and Emma :)
that'll show king george! I hate that tyrant!-max
ReplyDeletecome on guys take it down take it down-niklas
Patriot: Yes destroy the statue! A shipload of bullets will be made today!
ReplyDeleteLoyalist: Fellow blacksmith do not oppose the king!
Patriot: You shall be just another casualty of war!
Loyalist: The lord does approve step down before you are destroyed!
Patriot: Our army will win! The statue is down!
Loyalist says quietly: You don't know what you've got yourself into.
-Zack and Andrew
The Destruction Of The Statue Of King George III
ReplyDeleteScene dialoge.
M=Man with hat=Loyalist
=Man waving his hand.=Patriot
M: Stop it! Stop pulling down OUR statue!
: What did you just say?!
M: It's OUR statue of King George, you can't just take it down without permission or being a bit loyal to him.
: Then why didn't he give us permission for tax and the acts. And do you want to be hurt?!
M: He didn't ask your permission about tax and acts because, HE HAS MORE POWER THEN YOU PATRIOTS!
: How dare you insult me, you dirty piece of scum. Who in the world would want to be loyal to someone as greedy as King George!
The patriots rip down the statue.
M: NOOOOOOOOOO!
-Alec and Ellis
There were a lot of reasons that the Colonists should've had freedom.
ReplyDelete- Taxes without representation
-18,000 Hessians against them
And a lot more!
Eric+Jason
"All people were created equal."
ReplyDeleteJefferson wrote this in the Declaration of Independence, but when it was put into affect, this didn't seem true, because women, black people and people of other religions couldn't sign.
-Jane and Allie
Patriot 1-We should take this statue down, because the king is unfair!
ReplyDeletePatriot 2-Yeah!
Conversation with the king and lord north-
"enter, North."
"King, they took down a satue of you!'
"I'm devestated! Get parliment on a statue law!"
"King, the declaration!"
"Yes, never min..."
We think that the taking down of the statue of King George the III at Bowling Green was necessary for getting bullets to win the war and it was important.
ReplyDelete--Jonathan:-)
the people who sighned the declaration of independence like Tomas Jefferson, Benjmin franklin were all men they didn't mention anything about the women I think that was unfair because the women were very important they cooked and cleaned and the men wouldn't have time to fight for the freedom the declaration of independence gave us.
ReplyDelete-Sabina and Katya