The Declaration of Independence: From Rough Draft to Proclamation

Students will analyze an unidentified historical document and draw conclusions about what this document was for, who created it, and why. After the document is identified as Thomas Jefferson’s “original Rough draught” of the Declaration of Independence, students will compare its text to that of the final document adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776 and discuss the significance of differences in wording.

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/lessons/declaration/
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Resource provided by Library of Congress

Standards

New Hampshire, Delaware, South Carolina, Maine, Common Core, New Jersey, Florida, South Dakota, Maryland, New Mexico, Georgia, Tennessee, Massachusetts, New York, Hawaii, Texas, Michigan, Alabama, North Carolina, Idaho, Utah, Minnesota, Alaska, North Dakota, Illinois, Vermont, Mississippi, Arizona, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Washington, Montana, California, Oregon, Kansas, West Virginia, Nebraska, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Nevada, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Louisiana, Wyoming, National Standards for Civics and Government, NCSS

Grades

8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 6, 7

Subjects

Federal Government

Resource Types

Lesson Plans, Primary Sources

Teaching Strategies

Writing, Debate, Whole Class, Whole Class Discussion, Whole Class Deliberation, Small Group, Small Group Discussion, Small Group Deliberation, Individual Work

Civic Days

Fourth of July

Duration

93 minutes

Tags

Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson