Most students are familiar with the Declaration of Independence. But have they ever critically examined the text or questioned the motives of its authors? In this lesson plan, students weigh contrasting interpretations by prominent historians to answer the question: Why did the Founders write the Declaration of Independence?

The second part of the lesson encourages students to think through what the Declaration of Independence means and what the grievances meant.

This is a facsimile of the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.

This lesson plan looks at the major ideas in the Declaration of Independence, their origins, the Americans' key grievances against the King and Parliament, their assertion of sovereignty, and the Declaration's process of revision.

The Declaration of Independence states the principles on which our government, and our identity as Americans, are based. This source provides a transcript of the document, pictures of the original, and links to additional sources to help understand The Declaration as a whole.

This feature outlines the context of The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 which produced the "Declaration of Sentiments," a CCSS exemplar for grades 11 CCR. This document made a bold argument, modeled on the language and logic of the Declaration of Independence that American women should be given civil and political rights equal to those of American men, including the right to vote.

In this social studies lesson, students examine the revolutionary aspects of The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and what it reveals about human rights.

This lesson uses clips from "The Matrix" and other dystopian movies to introduce students to the characteristics found in dystopian works, such as "Brave New World", "Fahrenheit 451", and "1984".

This lesson uses the "1984" Macintosh Commercial to introduce students to dystopian characteristics. Students analyze techniques used in the commercial and identify the comments that it makes about contemporary society.

Without the work of decomposers, living organisms would eventually use up all the raw materials in the environment, and dead organisms and wastes would pile up. This video segment from Interactive NOVA: "Earth" describes the role of decomposers as the earth's great recyclers.

In this activity, students investigate the fascinating and complex process of decomposition and lay the foundation for deeper understanding of concepts related to matter and energy transfer in ecosystems. Through exploration and discussion, students go beyond simple definitions. Instead, students discover key characteristics of decomposition as they struggle with creating a sequence for decomposing wood and leaves. They learn the difference between physical decomposition and chemical decomposition and that many things contribute to decomposition, but certain organisms are classified as decomposers. They also search for and discuss evidence of decomposers, make model diagrams to further develop their ideas about the process of decomposition, and discuss decomposition and its role in the cycling of matter. Finally, students are challenged to recognize the evidence and impact of decomposition in the ecosystems they explore.

In this unit, Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin talks about how her career as an artist took shape. Aside from downright hard work, she shares her candid insight on what it takes, and what it means.

This three-act math task utilizes videos and questioning to help students explore operations with integers.

In this lesson, students will learn about the actions of John Marshall concerning the Cherokee nation. They will explore how his actions helped to advance justice and, through his example, learn how they can advance justice in their own lives.

Explore the role media plays in our understanding of race and racism. Hear from experts who share advice on how educators can use media to confront injustice, and create anti-racist classroom environments.

Developed for second grade. Students will: use their sense of touch and sight to discover differences between several types of seeds; discuss why seeds come in different shapes and sizes; make connections between art and science; discuss the growth process of a seed; discuss how different seeds are used in different products.Biology In Elementary Schools is a Saint Michael's College student project. The teaching ideas on this page have been found, refined, and developed by students in a college-level course on the teaching of biology at the elementary level. Unless otherwise noted, the lesson plans have been tried at least once by students from our partner schools. This wiki has been established to share ideas about teaching biology in elementary schools. The motivation behind the creation of this page is twofold: 1. to provide an outlet for the teaching ideas of a group of college educators participating in a workshop-style course; 2. to provide a space where anyone else interested in this topic can place their ideas.

This lesson is based on the Annenberg Classroom video that explores the evolution of the free press doctrine, Freedom of the Press: New York Times v. United States

Americans elect a president through the state-by-state mechanism of the Electoral College rather than direct nationwide popular vote. Today, all but two states award all of their electoral votes to the statewide winner.

In elementary school, someone may have taught you to “hook a reader” by starting an essay with a definition. This has become pretty cliched and not engaging. But readers do need to have things defined for them. And while definitions may not help us start a piece of writing, they can help us structure a writing by bridging the introduction and the body. In this video, You’ll learn a move writers in all genre use -- the definition hinge structure -- to provide crucial context for readers while moving them from the introduction into the main ideas of your writing.