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Know Your Rights Using Primary Sources: Listing your own grievances

Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan Template

Title: Know Your Rights Using Primary Sources
Descriptive Subtitle:  Listing your own grievances
Grade level: Middle school Grade 8

Tags: Primary Sources, Declaration of Independence, Jefferson Writings, Causes of the Revolution, Colonial Grievances, Human Rights, U. S. Bill of Rights, Civics, U.S. History

Author Information:

Name: Bassima Mustafa
Email: Bmustafa1@optonline.net
School: C. J. R. School #9      
City: Paterson
State: New Jersey

Duration: 90-120 min

Overview:  

Students will be working in pairs examining three primary sources -listing the grievances in the Declaration of Independence, the individual rights listed in the U.S. Bill of Rights (creating one cause & effect chart) and then comparing the rights in the U. S. Bill of Rights to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They will note similarities and differences in order to complete either a Compare and Contrast chart or a Venn diagram.

  1. Using their comparison chart or Venn diagram as their guide, students will then write their own Declaration…listing grievances that they would like resolved within their own personal lives i.e. With a parent, sibling, classmate, teacher etc.
  2. Using their grievances as a guide, create their own Bill of Rights that they would implement to guarantee their rights.

This would be a lesson towards the end of the unit on the Early Government of the United States, having already taught the causes of the Revolution, the grievances in the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights

Prior knowledge:

  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  • British Parliament Imposed Acts
  • Writs of Assistance
  • Sugar Act
  • Townshend Act
  • Quartering Act
  • Stamp Act
  • Boston Massacre
  • Intolerable Acts
  • Bill of Rights

Standards:

New Jersey Student Learning Standards – Social Studies

6.1 U.S. History: America in the World: All students will acquire the knowledge and skills to think analytically about how past and present interactions of people, cultures, and the environment shape the American heritage. Such knowledge and skills enable students to make informed decisions that reflect fundamental rights and core democratic values as productive citizens in local, national, and global communities.

6.1.8.A.2.a, 6.1.8.A.2.b, 6.1.8.A.2.c, 6.1.8.A.3.a, 6.1.8.A.3.b, 6.1.8.A.2.c & 6.1.8.A.2.g

Objectives:

Students will understand that the causes of the Revolution have a direct relation to the rights listed in the Bill of Rights. And that those causes were the catalyst to the rights Americans are guaranteed today.   Students will also understand the differences between the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the US Bill of Rights.

Students will be able to make connections from the grievances in the Declaration of Independence to the Bill of Rights…being able to explain how the causes for the Revolution were the guide in writing the Bill of Rights.

Students will know how to identify and list their own grievances and rectify each by writing their own Bill of Rights.

Steps:

  1. Students are broken into pairs to examine the grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence and the rights in the Bill of Rights. Completing a Cause and Effect diagram.     20 minutes.  Students can then switch partners for 1 minute to compare with other pairs (do this until every student has shared with all the others 5-10 minutes
  2. As pairs, students will compare and contrast the individual rights in the Bill of Rights to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights completing a Venn diagram. 10 minutes
  3. Students will then write 1-3 of their own grievances and a right they would like to have-in order to rectify their grievance. 15 minutes
  4. Students will then write/create their own Bill of Rights addressing those grievances in order to guarantee their rights will be upheld. 15-60 minutes

Materials:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Declaration of Independence

The U.S. Bill of Rights

Cause & Effect

Grievance                         Right in U. S. Bill of Rights

 

Assessment(s):

  1. 25 points-creating cause and effect diagram of grievances explaining the connection to the Bill of Rights
  2. 25 points-completing the Venn diagram comparing the U. S. Bill of Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  3. 25 points-identifying personal grievances and rights to rectify those grievances
  4. 25 points-presentation to class

Assessment Criteria (rubric, checklist, etc.):

Assessment Checklist:

  • Completing a Cause and Effect diagram listing grievances in the Declaration of Independence and the rights in the Bill of Rights. .
  • Change partners to exchange any ideas that may have been missed
  • Completed Venn diagram comparing the individual rights in the Bill of Rights to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
  • Identified personal grievances and rights to rectify those grievances
  • Own personal Bill of Rights addressing those grievances written
  • Final product…i.e. written document/declaration & Bill of Rights, PowerPoint presentation, poster, skit or song completed and presented to the class.

Accommodations:

ESL & SPED students can address their grievances with their parent, sibling, classmate or teacher. Advanced students can address their grievances with governmental policies/human rights violations by the following methods:

  1. Write out their grievances and bill of rights
  2. Create a PowerPoint presentations
  3. Draw it out on a poster
  4. Create a skit or song/rap explaining their grievances and bill of rights