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DocsTeachThe online tool for teaching with documents, from the National Archives National Archives Foundation National Archives

Prequel to Independence

Finding a Sequence

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Prequel to Independence

About this Activity

  • Created by:National Archives Education Team
  • Historical Era:Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
  • Thinking Skill:Chronological Thinking
  • Bloom's Taxonomy:Analyzing
  • Grade Level:Middle School
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Please use a tablet or desktop computer to use this activity.
In this activity, students sequence key events leading to the Declaration of Independence by placing documents in chronological order.
https://docsteach.org/activities/student/prequel-to-independence

Suggested Teaching Instructions

This activity can be used as a review or recapitulation at the end of a unit of study. It can also be used as an assessment tool. Students can work independently or in groups. The activity is appropriate for grades 5-8.

Students should be able to name key events leading up to the Declaration of Independence in sequence. In this activity, students place document in chronological order. Then, they write a descriptive paragraph (essay) using the documents as examples and evidence of key events that contributed to declaring independence.

For follow up projects, students might create illustrated timelines, short papers, newspapers, or dramatic presentations based on these documents. They might incorporate music of the era and additional resources from a variety of historic collections.

Documents in this activity

  • Adoption of the Lee Resolution
  • Boston Massacre
  • Deposition of Captain John Parker Concerning the Battle at Lexington
  • Drafting the Declaration of Independence. The Committee - Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Livingston and Sherman
  • The Declaration of Independence
  • Paul Revere's ride
  • Reading of the Declaration of Independence
  • British and American Troops in Boston
  • The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor
  • View of the Attack on Bunker's Hill, with the Burning of Charles Town

CC0
To the extent possible under law, National Archives Education Team has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to "Prequel to Independence".

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DocsTeach is a product of the National Archives education division. Our mission is to engage, educate, and inspire all learners to discover and explore the records of the American people preserved by the National Archives.

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