History Lesson: The Declaration of Independence

Where we hold these truths to be self-evident.

In any given school year, a teacher can pull out the lesson she thought was the most impactful, the one she agonizes over, the one that makes her heart sing when it goes right, and can ruin the whole year if it goes wrong.

From these lessons, we teachers experience the ecstasy of victory or the agony of defeat.

Teaching the Declaration of Independence to 7th graders in a classical school is my Saratoga.

Generally, my students enjoy it, even though I’m a pain in the butt about it. We get deep into the language. We read it over many times. We break it down, phrase by phrase, so the kids really grok what Jefferson wrote. I run numerous Socratic dialogues on it, and I directly teach them why its crucial to American greatness.

Now, I’ve taught American history before. I taught it in conventional public high schools to juniors. I did an okay job there. Those kids respected the effort I put in and asked of them in return, but they didn’t get it the way my 7th graders do.

And here’s why: I require my 7th graders to recite it from memory.

It’s the hardest recitation in our curriculum. It’s by far the longest. It’s not poetry, so the kids can’t count on meter or rhyme — though Jefferson did write it beautifully (with help, of course.)

Still, there’s magic in these words, and nothing will bring that fact home to you faster than listening to a nervous 7th grader roll through it, from beginning to end, their confidence growing as they make their way through the lines from memory, sometimes tripping over words like “usurpations” and sometimes moving so smoothly through it you can hardly believe your ears.

There was a boy in my class a few years back. He was brilliant, but deep on the spectrum. He’d sometimes get up in class and run around the perimeter of the room while I lectured. (The other students knew not to react, and he would return to his seat after a few laps or I’d ask him to head to the Resource Room if he needed more time.)

I ran into his mother one evening and she related this story:

“[Ben] was in the car with his dad, listening to NPR. There was a panel discussion and one of the panelists quoted the Declaration. [Ben] looked over at his dad and said, ‘That’s not right, Dad. It goes like this’ and proceeded to rattle the whole thing off from the front seat of our minivan.” She teared up as she told me this, then thanked me, and walked away quickly, a little overcome.

The Declaration is written on Ben’s heart.

It’s time you write it on yours.

Here’s help.

The Declaration Of Independence | Lesson Plan

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