Lesson Plan - Secrets of the Declaration of Independence

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Learning Objective

Students will uncover details about the Declaration of Independence, one of our nation’s founding documents.

Text Structure

Question and Answer

Content-Area Connections

U.S. History

Standards Correlations

CCSS: RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.3, RI.3.4, RI.3.5, RI.3.6, RI.3.7, RI.3.8, RI.3.10, L.3.4, SL.3.1

NCSS: Time, Continuity, and Change

TEKS: Social Studies 3.1

1. Preparing to Read

Watch a Video: The Declaration of Independence
Discuss: Based on the video, why did the Colonies want freedom from England?

Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

  • declared 
  • traitors


Set a Purpose for Reading
Have students think about why many Americans consider the Declaration of Independence a treasure.

2. Close-Reading Questions

1. What are two important ideas described in the Declaration of Independence?
Two important ideas in the Declaration of Independence are that everyone is created equal and that everyone has basic rights.
(RI.3.2 MAIN IDEA)

2. What is one thing that is still a mystery about the Declaration, based on the article?
One thing that is still a mystery about the Declaration is how a handprint got on the lower left side of the document.
(RI.3.1 TEXT EVIDENCE)

3. What is the purpose of the numbers in the yellow circles?
The author uses the numbers in yellow circles to organize the questions and answers. The numbers tell readers in what order to read the information.
(RI.3.5 TEXT FEATURES)

3. Skill Building

FEATURED SKILL: Reading a Chart
Page 8 features an overview of the Declaration and the U.S. Constitution. Use the skill builder “Comparing Documents” to have students do a more detailed comparison. 
(RI.3.8 COMPARISON)

Differentiate & Extend

Multilingual Learners
Have students underline the first wordof each question. Explain that who, what, and why are often used to begin questions in English. Help students brainstorm other question starters (when, where, how, etc.).


Striving Readers
Guide students to understand that when the text mentions “enemies” of the Declaration, it doesn’t mean people opposed to the document but natural forces that can damage it.


Enrichment Idea
Have each student come up with an original question about the Declaration and research the answer.

Text-to-Speech