DECLARATION OF

INDEPENDENCE

Teacher Guidelines ▶ pages 1 – 2

4-6
Instructional Pages ▶ pages 3 – 4
Activity Page ▶ pages 5 – 6
Practice Page ▶ page 7
GRADE

Homework Page
Answer Key
▶
▶
page 8
page 9
 Classroom Procedure:
1. Say to students: When you turn 18, you will probably not
want to follow the rules of your home any longer. Write 3
to 5 sentences telling why you would be ready to live on
your own at that time. Give students about 5 – 10 minutes
to respond.
2. Ask for volunteers to read their statements. Lead a class
discussion about their statements.
3. Ask what the word independence means to them.
4. Allow for responses and discussion.
5. Tell students what they had written may be a future
Declaration of Independence from their home.
6. Distribute the Declaration of Independence content page.
7. Read along with students, aloud and with discussion and
interpretation where needed.
8. Distribute the Activity pages and the supplies. Pair the
students.
9. Review the instructions. Assign one or two statements to
each pair.
10. Give students time to complete the activity.
11. Arrange the students in a circle around the perimeter
around the room.
12. Each pair of students will read their assigned statement(s)
and their written meaning(s) or interpretation(s).
13. Once all students shared, in order, have the students recite
the preamble of the Declaration of Independence aloud.
14. Display the construction paper with each glued preamble in
the correct order, with the interpretations added. (You may
have students add color or other designs on the paper.)
15. Students return to their sheets and begin the Practice page.
16. Once students are completed, allow them to share and
discuss responses. Check for understanding.
17. Distribute Homework page puzzle and check the next day.
18. In closing, ask students: How many of you would now
change “your Declaration of Independence” and what
would it now state?
19. Allow for responses and discussion.
Approximate Grade Level:   4 – 6
Objectives: The students will be able to
identify the Declaration of Independence and
its meaning, as well as interpret different parts
of the document, including the preamble.
State Educational Standards*
LB.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3
LB.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.5
LB.ELA-Literacy.W.4.3
LB.ELA-Literacy.W.4.7
LB.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.3
LB.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2
LB.ELA-Literacy.W.5.3
LB.ELA-Literacy.W.5.7
LB.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.2
LB.ELA-Literacy.RH.6.4
LB.ELA-Literacy.RH.6.10
Class Sessions (45 minutes):
At least 2 class sessions
Teaching Materials/Worksheets:
The Declaration of Independence content
page, Activity pages (2), Practice page,
Homework page
Student Supplies: scissors, glue, construction
paper, highlighter, full copy of Declaration of
Independence or access to for the students,
(colored pencils), handouts
Prepare Ahead of Time: Gather scissors, glue,
construction paper, copies of Declaration of
Independence, highlighters. Copy handouts.
Options for Lesson: Students may work
alone or in groups of three for the activity
depending on number of students in the
classroom. Homework/Practice pages are
interchangeable assignments. Assign each
student one of the signers to research. Give
time to students to memorize the preamble
prior to the day of the lesson. Tell students
to dress in red, white, and blue on the day
you will start the lesson, have a birthday for
America with snacks, etc.
*Lessons are aligned to meet the education objectives and goals of
most states. For more information on your state objectives, contact
your local Board of Education or Department of Education in your state.
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 Teacher Notes
The lesson will introduce students to the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the country. The
famous lines of the preamble are also stressed, and a copy of the document should be available for students
to access, or receive their personal copy (see first resource).

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The Declaration of Independence
When you turn eighteen and have become an adult,
you may declare your independence. The reasons,
though, may be a little different than why the British
colonists wanted independence. Independence
was so important to the British colonies, Thomas
Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence
in 1776, which was signed by representatives of the
13 colonies. It was a document intended to free the
colonists from the British ruler, King George III, whose
leadership was abusive. The short document listed
the reasons or seeking independence, as well as the
charges against the king. The colonists wanted to
overthrow the current government.
Independence to the British people in America meant
they wanted to govern themselves without interference
from the King of Britain. One of the most famous lines
ever written in history summed up what the people of
the colonies wanted. It is included in the preamble
(information about why a document is written) of the
Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.
The citizens wanted nothing less than what people
want today. The colonists stressed that all people
are equal, and the way King George was governing
them was not fair, and it was not right. The single line
above states that every person is created the same
way and have rights that are evident, or obvious, even
at birth. The rights are summed up as life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness. The government’s job is to
make sure those rights are available to all people.
King George was stepping on those rights.

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The Declaration of Independence also summarized
the abuses:
• Interference with colonists who wanted to have their
own government.
• Charging taxes on colonists without cause or reason.
• Taking away their right to have a trial by a jury.
• They were not permitted to trade freely.
• Destruction of American life and property occurred
because the King was not protecting the people or
the borders of the colonies.
• American ships were seized at seas, and people,
called mercenaries, were hired by King George to
fight against the colonists.

The colonial governments tried to make peaceful agreements with Great Britain, but they were ignored.
The Declaration of Independence is considered to be the founding document of American history, and is
included as one of the most important documents ever, along with the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.
The colonists wanted a new nation called the United States of America, and did not want to be connected
to Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence succeeded and on July 4, 1776, the United States of
America became a country eventually creating its own government. Now you know why there are fireworks
on the 4th of July every year.

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 Activity Name __________________________ Date _________

Instructions
1. Your teacher will assign you and your partner one or two parts of the preamble to interpret.
2. Interpret the meaning of the words and what they meant to the British colonists.
3. Neatly, write the brief interpretation in the space provided.
4. Once you complete the writing, cut apart the parts of the Preamble and glue them correctly on a separate
sheet of paper provided by the teacher. If you have two lines, create two displays.
5. Highlight the line(s) you interpreted and attach the meaning of them to the page(s).

that they are endowed by their Creator

that to secure these rights,
laying its foundation on such
with certain unalienable Rights,
and the pursuit of Happiness.
and to institute new Government,
and organizing its powers in such form,
that all men are created equal,
–That whenever any Form of Government

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 Activity Name __________________________ Date _________

We hold these truths to be self-evident,

it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,
becomes destructive of these ends,
that among these are Life,
Governments are instituted among Men,
as to them shall seem most likely to effect their
Safety and Happiness.
deriving their just powers
Liberty
from the consent of the governed,
EXPLANATION OF THE HIGHLIGHTED WORDS:

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 Practice Name __________________________ Date _________

In your own words, tell what each of the statements from the Declaration of Independence, about
King George, means in the space provided (Use a dictionary for help):
1. He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
2. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the
depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
3. For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us
______________________________________________________________________________
4. For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world
______________________________________________________________________________
5. For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
6. For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
7. For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
8. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our
people. ________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
9. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death,
desolation and tyranny _____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
10. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us ____________________________

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 Homework Name __________________________ Date _________

Find the missing words from the lines of the preamble to the Declaration of Independence Find the

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 Homework Answer Key
Name __________________________ Date _________

missing words from the lines of the preamble to the Declaration of Independence.