A Declaration that Empowers

One of my favorite assignments to grade is the "Declaration of the Rights of Students" composed by my United States history students.  This task is the culmination of a short unit on the Declaration of Independence and the document's impact on ideas associated with rebellion, resistance, and equity.  These declarations let me peer into my students' minds to see what they value in education, what obstacles they experience, and structures that hold them back from being successful.  Their responses accurately narrate site-specific issues and systemic institutional problems experienced by students across the country.

Below I have included a few of the responses constructed by my students.  Each section was written by a different student; however, the sentiment and tone are consistent in each.  Their desire to have space in which their voices, opinions, and emotions are valued flow through the text.  This assignment assumes that there is a flaw in the educational system and allows youth to narrate their own experiences, concerns, and reforms.

After using this lesson the last couple of years, here is what works and what I have adapted:

• Students need a solid foundation in the causes of the American Revolution and need to differentiate between the ideological "revolution" and the military "war for independence."
• The "Too Late to Apologize" music video grounds the discussion through pop culture references and makes complex ideas more approachable.
• Students need practice with historical thinking/reading skills (audience, purpose, point of view, contextualization) and the Declaration of Independence is excellent practice because each of the qualities is very clear in the document.
• The discussion model provides students with necessary practice in verbalizing their analysis.  Listening to the discussions allows me to hear mis-interpretations or concepts I need to review with the whole class.  The discussion is a great formative assessment.
• For students who struggle with the text complexity of the declarations, provide alternate versions or summaries.  Rewordify.com is one way students revise the text, but I always provide the original version so they are interacting with the language in its historical context.
• Student say that they felt a sense of freedom in writing the declaration.  What students don't realize is that they are engaging complex rhetoric and reasoning to validate their perspectives.

A note on the resources used in the lesson:

• Please see my presentation on the use of discussion models  used on Day 2 of the lesson plan.
  
• The Declaration of Independence close-read was developed by Miami-Dade country public schools and the file is attached below.
  
• The lesson plan about the comparison of multiple declarations was developed by teachers at the Putnam City Schools and the original file is attached below.

Sample Student Responses

Statement of Relationship
When, in the course of scholastic events, it becomes necessary for AP students to dissolve the academic block which have chained them to an eternity of disappointment; and when it is necessary for us to assume the power we hold as intellectuals of the advance placement program at Mountain View; a school that continues to remove its funding for its advance placement program and moving the money to the athletic department, even though it is still under the watchful eye of higher power for not meeting the state of California’s academic requirement.

List of Grievances

• They have given us too much homework on weekends without thought that we we need time to enjoy ourselves, relax, and relieve stress.
• ​They have appointed us loads of homework with unrealistic due dates.
• They have given us homework without giving us clear directions or instructions of how to complete it.
• They have assigned us homework based on lessons that have not yet been taught or were not taught well.
• They have given us  no late homework acceptances despite the facts that we were absent or in a sport.
• They have made assignments and tests almost worth half of our grade that they know we will fail, bringing our grades down and therefore affecting and decreasing our chances to getting into the university of our choice.
• They have encouraged us to drop a class when we are failing instead of encouraging us to do better.
• They have based their knowledge on tests instead of looking deeper into our individual qualities.
• They compare us to each other without thinking that we are all different individuals and not all have the same capacity to learn.

Final Declaration
     After all this mistreatment, we have yet found a solution to all these grievances. However, some possible solutions include the right to speak our own thoughts and feelings without any risk of punishment, allow a day’s break between given assignments to get a chance to recuperate our mental health, for the teachers to be sympathetic when they assign tasks and become more specific on what to do in those tasks, and be lenient throughout the course of the difficult and more rigorous tasks. Receiving education is a necessity and he who averts the student to be successful without any sign of support towards that student, should be excluded from the education system and never be allowed to teach.
    We, therefore, the representatives of the student body of __________ present these facts to whom it may concern. In the name and by the permission of all of our fellow students, we solemnly write and declare that the students at __________ to be free and independent. And, for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of the student body, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

Declaration of Independence Mini-Unit

Objectives:

• Students will evaluate the impact of the Declaration of Independence and Enlightenment philosophies on other declarations written throughout history
• ​​Students will utilize two close-reading strategies to analyze the Declaration of Independence and one additional declaration.
• Students will practice speaking and listening through the structured discussion model and jigsaw activity.

Resources:

• Close reading graphic organizer for excerpted Declaration of Independence
• HAPPY Discussion role cards
• HAPPY document analysis chart
• Declaration comparison chart
• Copies of 4 sample Declarations

​DAY 1:
Introduction:

• Show Soomo music video “Too Late To Apologize” (accessible on YouTube)​
• In table groups, students will answer the following questions:
  • Why is it “too late” for reconciliation between Great Britain and the American colonies?
  • What evidence can be used to justify your response?
  • How does this video support our distinction between the “American Revolution” and the “War for Independence”?

Close Reading Review:

• Students will complete a quick write about the following question: “How is the Declaration of Independence” like a break-up letter?
• Review “Road to Revolution” and action of the Continental Congress (series of acts/taxes, responses by colonists, Olive Branch Petition, etc.)
  • Show clips from John Adams HBO mini-series that depict the meetings of the Continental Congress and King George III’s response to the Olive Branch Petition
• Students will label the three parts of the Declaration of Independence (DOI) (1) state of relationship, 2) list of grievances, 3) declaration of separation)
• Individually, students will complete the HAPPY chart based on their reading of the DOI

HAPPY Discussion

• Students will participate in a structured discussion model using the HAPPY protocol
• Students will complete the “WHY” portion and summary statement as a group

Closure

• Select a member from each group to read their summary statement aloud so students can compare responses

Homework

• Students will complete the first column of the “Comparing Declarations” matrix.  Students will define the four key concepts provided based on their reading of the DOI and notes about the Enlightenment

DAY 2:
Before class, create a spreadsheet that places students in “EXPERT” and “HOME” groups.  I organize students groups by reading level and academic performance to ensure that the groups are heterogenous.

Introduction (15 minutes):

• Students will take a short multiple choice quiz.

Homework Review (10 minutes):

• Students will spend time comparing their responses to the homework.  Students should focus on finding evidence in the DOI that supports their definitions of the four key concepts on the comparison matrix.

Jigsaw Activity:
Expert Groups (25 minutes)

• Students will move into predetermined “EXPERT” groups.
• Each group will receive copies of another historical declaration:
  • Declaration of the Rights of Man (France, 1789)
  • The Unanimous Declaration of the People of Texas (1836)
  • The Declaration of Sentiments (Seneca Falls Convention, 1848)
  • United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007)
• Students will have access to Chromebooks or other devices in order to conduct brief research about the historical context of each document, if necessary.
• Students will use their “Marking the Text” toolbox to identify main claims, key vocabulary, and historical evidence.
• After the close reading, groups will complete the appropriate column in the comparison matrix to define the terms based on this new declaration.

Home Groups (20 minutes)

• Students will move into predetermined “HOME” groups.
• Each student will be given 2 minutes to summarize the purpose of the declaration they read.  Students should focus on providing details about the four key concepts on the organizer.
• As each student presents, the other groups member should take notes in the appropriate box on the comparison matrix.
• After sharing about each declaration, students will discuss which declaration is most like or most different than the DOI.  Students will identify textual evidence to support their findings.

Closure

• Students will go back to the declaration they read and identify the three sections labelled on the DOI.
• Students will review the directions for the “Declaration of the Rights of Students” assignment that students will complete as a culminating task.

Declaration of the Rights of Students Task
​Write a "Declaration of the Rights of Students" where you evaluate your own learning environment and explain what right students deserve in our world today.  What changes would you make?  How would you define learning, testing, grading, punishments, rewards, etc?  What does/should authority look like?  What is the purpose of schooling and what happens when that purpose is not met?  What role can youth play in reforming education?
Parameters:

• Follow the format/vocabulary of the declarations we read in class
• 500 words minimum (submit on Google Drive)
• If you choose another medium (video, recording, performance, song, or art) please let me know.

Audience: School administration, teachers, and/or School Board

declarations_comparison__1_.pdf
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doi_close_read__1_.pdf
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declarationofindependencemini-unit.pdf
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