The Case for Revolution

Students reconstruct the colonial argument for dissolving ties to Great Britain. Main steps of the learning process include:

• Close reading of the first two paragraphs of the Declaration, with primary attention to the claim about when revolution is justified.
• Task engagement using the Declaration's list of grievances.
• Research on British actions and why they disturbed the colonists.
• A transition step where students take the roles of probing reporters, outraged colonists, and justifying loyalists on selected issues.
• A re-reading of the opening text in light of work to date.
• A writing process that includes student review of each other's work.

This module reads the Declaration primarily to understand its political theory and its application in important historical context, doing work distinctive to history/social studies. (The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts call for another study of the Declaration that gives primary attention to its literary significance and rhetorical features, an approach suited to ELA coursework but not a substitute for the historic study proposed here.)