Revolutionary War Lesson 2 Essential Questions: How did the colonists ideas about government differ from those

e of the British Parliament? Why is the Declaration of Independence an important document? How can works of art from popular culture reflect the past and influence the present? How can art be interpreted with multiple meanings? What does it look like to contribute to group discussions across content areas? What does it look like to use evidence when supporting opinions? NCSS Theme: VI - Power, Authority, and Governance I. SOLs and Objectives Fine Arts 4.16 The student will identify ways that works of art from popular culture reflect the past and influence the present. 4.19 The student will interpret works of art for multiple meanings. Virginia Studies VS.5 a) identifying the reasons why the colonies went to war with Great Britain, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence. Language Arts 4.1 The student will use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings b) Contribute to group discussions across content areas. d) Use evidence to support opinions. Objectives The student will be able to explain why the colonies went to war with Great Britain. The student will be able to communicate in a large group setting. The student will be able to use evidence to back up their ideas.

II. Materials for Learning Activities The students will need a pencil, social studies notebook, sticky notes, and a copy of the Declaration of Independence (website provided below). The teacher will need a document camera, a copy of the Declaration of Independence, and a large piece of chart paper.

III. Procedures for Learning Activities

Introduction (5 minutes): The teacher will remind the students that they looked briefly at some of the reasons that the colonists wanted to break free from Britain. The teacher will ask how many students have heard of the Declaration of Independence, a primary source document, and then explain that it was written by Thomas Jefferson and gave a list of grievances to the King of England from the colonists. The teacher will tell the students that today they will be looking even deeper into the meaning of the Declaration of Independence. Instructional strategies (30 minutes): The teacher will go over a couple parts of the Declaration of Independence, analyzing the document and getting to the deeper meaning behind the words. The teacher will model how to do that for a couple sentences of the document. After the students feel comfortable, they will be in a small group (of mixed abilities) and try to get to the underlying meaning of the document and analyze what Thomas Jefferson (and the colonists) was addressing in it. The students will record their translations and notes into their social studies notebook. They may also mark their thinking on their copy of the Declaration of Independence. As the students find the reasons for war, they will write each one on a sticky note. Summary (10 minutes): After the students have had 30 minutes to work with their group, everyone will come back as a whole class, place their sticky notes on a piece of chart paper, and discuss their findings (reasons the colonists and Great Britain went to war). When they offer an explanation, they must back it up with the original sentence the statement came from and how they dug through the complicated language to discover the true meaning of what he said. This will take part as an informal discussion, having students raise their hand to contribute as they feel comfortable. If students are not contributing, then the teacher will pick a random sticky note to spark a discussion and see if the students can relate that finding to something they read in the Declaration of Independence. They will also discuss what things were easy/hard about completing this task.

IV. Assessment The teacher will document student responses on a piece of chart paper to see if they are able to identify reasons that Great Britain and the colonists went to war. The teacher will also make anecdotal notes and write which students were able to give full explanations and back up their reasoning.

V. Differentiation and Accommodations Differentiation The groups will be mixed ability groups to help each other sort through the heavy language of the text. The teacher will also be available to help a small group with reading levels that are below grade level. The visual and printed words of the Declaration of Independence can help visual learners concretely see what they are working on. The teacher could read aloud some parts of the document for learners who are more auditory.

Accommodations Scaffolding and teacher support will be provided to groups as needed.

VI. Technology Integration Students will use the following website to analyze the meaning of the Declaration of Independence: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html 2

Each student will have their own paper copy, but the teacher will also project a copy onto the SMARTBoard to model how to work through the language and get to the deeper meaning of the document.