This We Declare: November 16, 2016

Today in class, I had you think about where you might have stood if you were alive and living in the Exeter area in the 1770's - would you be a Patriot, a Loyalist, or neutral?  You had a range of responses based on everything from personal beliefs to your parents' occupations to concerns about governance.  So in that way, we are not very different from our colonial forefathers (and mothers)!

We are going to spend some time this week making a close study of the Declaration.  It is a challenging document, but it's critically important to understanding our society and our culture.  I don't expect you to understand everything you read, but I do expect you to make a good-faith effort to do as much as you can, as best you can.

In class, we watched a short documentary about the Declaration.  You were assigned the task of numbering the lines of the Declaration so it will be easier for you to find information as you complete the tasks coming up!

HOMEWORK:  You were assigned a ten-line section of the Declaration.  Choose three terms from your section that you don't understand, or that you think are difficult or necessary to know.  Define the terms using a dictionary or a device.  You can write the definitions right on the document.  If you were not here and did not get assigned a section, you can do the first ten lines.  Watch the video and read along first!  If the video does not appear below, go to YouTube and search for

A Reading of The Declaration of Independence.

Delcaration Close Reading Version