Funny Parody Declaration of Independence Weekends I Cant Feel My Face

"Nosotros simply gloss over the Declaration of Independence at our school. The words are just too hard for my fifth graders to understand."

I'one thousand sure you tin can imagine the expect on my confront. Information technology was a mixture of shock and sadness.

The Declaration of Independence is more a dusty quondam document. Information technology's a time sheathing full of information about how early Americans were treated badly and taken for granted by Rex George 3 and England.

Didactics the Announcement is one of the highlights of my school yr! It's a document that was written in the midst of a turbulent time and helped to develop a new nation.

Thomas Jefferson took on the monumental task of crafting a document that listed the colonists' justification for breaking away from the Mother Country.

The Second Continental Congress approved and signed this document afterwards they had tried every style of reconciliation with England but received nothing in return.

I always have fun instruction American history merely the Announcement of Independence is certainly ane of my very favorite topics. I sincerely hope that you gain some new ideas and teaching strategies that will assist y'all to bring this document to life in your classroom!

Suspension the Preamble into small, meaningful pieces!

The Preamble to the Annunciation of Independence explains why the document was written. Information technology is too the nigh recognizable function of the document.

If you present the entire preamble to students at once, they are undoubtedly going to feel overwhelmed.

To make my students experience successful with the Preamble, I create a chart with them and nosotros talk over the meaning of each phrase, one at a time. Nosotros use interactive notebooks, so we created a chart together in our notebooks. Still, this would also brand an amazing ballast chart.

I do point out to my 5th graders that the phrase, "All men are created equal," meant something different to our founding fathers than it means to united states of america.

I emphasize that TODAY, nosotros interpret this phrase as everyone, all men and women, are created equal, no matter their race, organized religion, etc.

Our founding fathers had a very narrow view of "All men." Their estimation of this phrase was "All free, white men who owned property."

African Americans, women, Native Americans, indentured servants, poor white men, no one else was included.

I do bespeak out the irony of this document. While complaining that they are not being treated fairly, many of the men who signed this document endemic slaves. It creates quite a class discussion.

Discuss the grievances independent in the Declaration of Independence

A "grievance" is a complaint and the colonists certainly had a plethora of complaints against Mother England.

In fact, the bulk of the Declaration of Independence contained complaints. Remember, this document was a justification to the world of why the colonists had every right to sever ties with England.

When discussing grievances with my fifth graders, I choose the ones that volition make the nearly connections to their lives and/or what we've learned about so far in the year.

There are some grievances with complicated meanings, then I simply choose a few to talk over with students.

In my opinion, 5th graders need a firm understanding of a few of the important grievances to help them grasp the meaning of the entire document.

Create this chart with your students to help them learn almost some of the grievances and see the connections betwixt what happened in colonial days and why each grievance was included.

One more thing… to brand the word "grievance" an everyday word, I commencement to utilise the word myself. If you've worked with fifth graders at all, you lot know that they have complaints about diverse things from time to time, or maybe all the time, depending on the mix of personalities in your classroom.

I just throw the word "grievance" in there when helping students to resolve their issues. "Rebecca, Jake has a grievance against you lot. He says yous took the lead from his mechanical pencil without asking. How will we resolve this grievance?"

Yeah, they'll await at y'all similar you have two heads, at beginning, only and so they'll commencement using the word themselves. The best way for students to learn new vocabulary is by integrating their word into their everyday linguistic communication.

Show a music video

Seriously, guys, this short music video is a treasure. I go goose bumps when I watch it. "Too Tardily to Repent" is a song parody that features Thomas Jefferson singing about the Declaration of Independence and the reasons he wrote it.

I testify this video the beginning time and end every trivial chip to explain things, like why they make Rex George 3 look so "yucky." I signal out the stamp from the Stamp Act. Nosotros effort to guess which founding begetter each guy is portraying.

For case, Sam Adams is the one with the beer mug considering his family owned a brewery.

Then, I show the video the second time all the way through without stopping.

Students volition beg me to scout this video every twenty-four hour period for the rest of the twelvemonth. Nosotros do watch information technology many more times considering I beloved information technology and it does a proficient job reinforcing the strong feelings of our founding fathers.

Click on the flick to go to this music video on YouTube!

The Declaration of Independence is a break-up letter!

I accept yet to meet a 5th grade class that doesn't love a bit of drama. I will admit information technology… I have more fun with this activeness than a teacher probably should! However, I tin can promise that you will accept all optics and ears when you lot share this pretend break-up letter of the alphabet with your class!

Later discussing the parts of the Proclamation, I start the next class with the break-upwards letter. I utilize the text on the letter of the alphabet below. However, I write out the letter on a sheet of notebook paper and crumple it to make it look like a educatee-written notation.

In an irritated manner, I inform the class that I establish a annotation on the floor and I don't appreciate students passing notes in my class…blah…blah. I tell them that since I'grand tired of them writing notes, I'thousand going to start reading them aloud, starting with the i I found.

When I read the annotation aloud, a hush falls over the room and students hang on every give-and-take. They are trying to figure out which of their classmates authored the note and to whom.

After reading the letter, I pretend I've had an epiphany… this note reminds me of the Declaration of Independence! I launch into a review of the parts of the Proclamation. I e'er have 100% of my students' attention.

Some years I volition admit that it's a fake note and other years, I never fess upwardly. Have fun!

This is the text of the "break-upward letter" that I apply with my students.

Signing the Declaration of Independence was a serious, somber event.

The signers of the Proclamation didn't wake up and say, "Yippee, I get to sign the Declaration of Independence today!"

Students demand to sympathize that the decision to sign the Proclamation was gut-wrenching and hard. These were the most wealthy, powerful men in the colonies. They had a lot to lose if the colonies were defeated in their attempt at Revolution.

Signing the Declaration was treason and the men who signed it would exist hunted and executed by England if the Revolution was lost.

While discussing this truth with students, I innovate them to Ben Franklin'south famous quote, "Nosotros must, indeed, all hang together or, almost assuredly, we shall all hang separately."

This makes a slap-up periodical entry in which students are asked to explicate what Ben Franklin meant by this quote and why it was important for the leaders of the colonies to stick together during the American Revolution.

Show some pictures!

The Announcement of Independence is stored and protected in the National Archives Museum in Washington D.C., specifically in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom. Bear witness students a film of where the Declaration is kept. Talk virtually the armed guards and the thick glass that protects one of our most precious documents.

This is a film of the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom. Click on the picture show above to go to the National Archives website!

I as well similar to show my students a picture of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. We talk nigh how hot it was during the summer when the Second Continental Congress met and the Declaration of Independence was signed. In that location is a plethora of information and pictures on the site linked beneath. Just click on the image of Independence Hall.

Click on the image of Independence Hall to acquire more than!

Use Books

After teaching students the basics of the Declaration of Independence, I suspension them into small groups and ask them to look through the following book together. This volume puts the Preamble and many of the grievances into mod linguistic communication. I normally use groups of 3-four per book. There are many amazing books that teach the Declaration of Independence, and so look around and notice a nifty resource for your students!

* Please note that Thrive in Form Five (Jenifer Bazzit)is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertisement fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. *

These resources from my Teachers Pay Teachers store are very helpful in pedagogy the Declaration of Independence. If y'all are interested, click on the images to view the resources in my shop!

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