Class I Declares Independence

History faculty Libby Parsley and her Class I students haven't let the switch to distance learning quell their passion for learning, and in particular, the study of the Declaration of Independence. 

As a wrap-up to their unit of study, Ms. Parsley shared:

"I'm having each of my sections write their own declaration of independence from Winsor!  Their documents will have four sections, just like the real Declaration–a preamble, statement of human rights, statement of charges against the king (or in this case, "Queen Pelmas"), and a statement of independence.

I do this exercise with students every year, but to make it happen virtually, I divided the kids in each section into three groups, and each group will write one portion of the declaration, modeled on the actual Declaration. Then, during our sync time, each group will meet via zoom breakout groups and draft its portion of the declaration. 

The homework prior to the sync times has been to brainstorm what each portion might say, and for each student to send me one 'charge against the Queen,' which is something they would like to change about Winsor!