Copy these questions onto your Bellwork: Name 2 of the men on the

committee that wrote the Declaration of Independence.

What was the name of that committee?

What day did they sign the Declaration?

What 3 rights do we have according to the song?

Objective

Analyze the Declaration of Independence for philosophical influences.

Essential Question

To what extent do 18th century philosophies impact you today?

The Declaration of Independence

Place a slash mark at the end of each sentence. What do you notice?

Highlight the word “that” throughout the article. What is the purpose of this? What is the effect?

Underline words that are capitalized that are not proper nouns or are at the beginning of each sentence.

Highlight words that we do not commonly use. Underline words that hint at that words meaning.

Repetition of “that”

Three dashes have been placed in the document. Locate them. Why did the author strategically place them here?

Highlight the verbs in each sentence. What characterizes these verbs?

This portion of the document has been said to have three main sections of purpose. Place brackets around each section. What are the sections?Circle words that have a strong tone or connotation. What do these words have in common?

In pairs…

Continue to closely read the Declaration of Independence:Highlight uncommon words/underline

words that might help you understand what those words mean

Circle words that have strong connotation

At the end of the Declaration, pretend you are Thomas Jefferson and compose a Tweet or Facebook status that condenses the Declaration. Don’t forget to convey the emotion, the complaints, and ultimately what you are going to do.

Bellwork From last night’s homework…1. Name 2 words that you

highlighted as not using often. What do you think those words mean? (“I don’t know” is not acceptable.)

2. Name 2 words that you circled as having strong connotation.

3. Pretend you are Thomas Jefferson and compose a Tweet or Facebook status that condenses the Declaration. Don’t forget to convey the emotion, the complaints, and ultimately what you are going to do.

With a partner… Count the total number of

sentences from the second paragraph. What do you notice about the sentences?

How times did you highlight “that”? What do you think the purpose of the word is in this paragraph?

Find 3 words from the second paragraph that you highlighted that we don’t use often. What do those words mean?

What is the overall tone of this paragraph? Justify your response with at least 3 pieces of evidence.

Find evidence of the philosophers Find at least 3 pieces of evidence of John Locke in the Declaration.

Find at least 1 piece for the Greeks, Romans, Montesquieu, and Rousseau.

Team Write