The $4 Declaration of Independence |
This fun story-writing prompt tells the story of a Philadelphia man who found an original copy of the Declaration of Independence behind an old painting that he bought for $4.00. The prompt challenges students to tell a similar tale of how they find a valuable historical artifact in an improbable place. |
Use this Activity: |
| Discuss - Explain to students that this assignment is about finishing a story about finding a treasure. Read the story of the actual $4 Declaration of Independence to students and ask for responses or reflections. Read the beginning of the story students will be adding to and ask for volunteers to give ideas for where it can go from here. Then, allow students to work independently at crafting the story. |
| Morning Work - This story may take students an hour or more to complete, making it an excellent candidate for morning work over several days. |
| Homework - This activity is a great way to assign homework in social studies or language arts. |
| Interactive Notebooks - This activity is a great entry for interactive social studies notebooks. |
| Part of a Lesson - Teaching about Thomas Jefferson or the Declaration of Independence? Distribute this activity to students and allow them to work on it when they have free time or have finished classwork. |
| Share - Allow students to share their stories when complete. |