This Understanding the Declaration of Independence Article & Review breaks down each section of the United States Declaration of Independence in a clear, easy to understand way. Questions throughout the article reinforce the key ideas, and a 2-page review has students summarize each section, define key vocabulary, and connect passages of the Declaration to the United States Constitution. Fitting for Civics, Government, and American History classrooms, this is a great review of the Declaration of Independence for middle or high schoolers.
✯ Aligned to the Florida State Standard for Middle School Civics, SS.7.CG.1.6. The Declaration of Independence, the reading passage introduces students to the Declaration and breaks it down into the following sections:
- The Preamble, or introduction
- The Declaration of Human Rights
- The List of Grievances
- The Redress
- The Declaration of Independence
✯ The article includes questions for each section that summarize the key ideas. Questions include:
- Who is the group of people who want to “dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another”?
- Why do you think Jefferson wanted the world at large to understand America’s plight for independence?
- What is the Enlightenment theory Jefferson is referencing, that government is created by an agreement between the ruler and the people who are being ruled
✯ The review has students:
- Summarize each section of the Declaration in their own words
- Define the key vocabulary terms: grievance, independence, unalienable rights, redress, and consent of the governed
- Match excerpts from the United States Constitution with quotes from the Declaration of Independence found in the article. For example, students would match “No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in a manner to be prescribed by law” from the Third Amendment with the Grievance listed in the article: “For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us.”The idea is to get the students thinking about how complaints the colonists had against King George directly influenced the decisions they made when writing the Constitution.
This resource comes as a non-editable, printable PDF and includes an Answer Key. There is also a digital version available through TPT Easel, which can be assigned directly to Google Classroom or shared with your students via a link! Or, you can access a Google Slides digital version through a link in the PDF!
What other teachers are saying about this resource:
“I would without a doubt recommend it.”
This resource was super helpful. I struggled to bring the Declaration of Independence “down” for my freshman civics class and this was awesome. I love that it shows the original text and the simplified version right next to each other. I also love that there are multiple types of questions to assess the students’ comprehension of what they have learned. Additionally, I used this as a re-teach activity in my government class (11th and 12th graders) who did not show proficiency after our original higher-leveled activity. It was easy to use and understand and I would without a doubt recommend it.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
— Alexis M.
“Loved using this with my students”
I loved using this with my students. I have a sophomore class that has 14 IEPs, 5 EL students, and 30 students in all. They struggle a lot understanding text from primary sources and I loved that this gave the actual wording of the declaration of independence and then a simplified version right beside it. In MD, students are state tested in their government class and so this helped them so much!
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
— Kylie R.
“Provides opportunities for critical thinking”
I love the various formats of this primary source analysis because I have been able to use it at multiple schools I have taught at based on the available technology. It provides opportunities for critical thinking and helps students better understand the text’s purpose.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
— Rachel S.
More Happy Teacher Products You Might Enjoy:
✩ Standards-Based Bell Ringers for Civics & American Government | Quarter One
✩ Declaration of Independence Matching Activity for Civics & American History
✩ Bill of Rights One-Pager – Creative Project for Civics & American History!
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