Prequel to Independence

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.