Join a Reading Community Online!

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These days, it's more likely to be glued to your screen than
to the latest literary release (Twilight books aside!). But did
you know that reading is hotter than ever before? You
heard mebooks and their readers are going online, in a
big way.
Social networking sites that promote reading, reviewing
books, and sharing books with others are springing up all
over, and they present the perfect opportunity to make
reading funand social! We've got the scoop on the best
sites to get into the world wide web of book lovers:
What You Need:
An internet connection
A collection of books you'd like to share
What You Do:
Shelfari.com With Shelfari, you can create a shelf
displaying what you're reading, what you want to read,
and what you've recently finished, and show it off for
all to see (you can even design your personal shelf to be
wood, glass or stone). But that's not allthe social
networking features of the site allow you to create a
profile, befriend other users, and review and
recommend books to the reading community.
Bookcrossing.com Let your favorite books out into the
wild with this unique site, which allows members to
track books after leaving them for strangers in cafes, train stations, and parks. Simply register your book on the
site by assigning it an I.D. number, affix a Bookcrossing label in the book with the number and an explanation of
the concept, and release the book! As your book is caught, you will receive updates and comments from the
readers who've found the book, and you'll be able to track the book as it travels around the world. If you want to
catch a book, simply consult the recently released list for a newly liberated book near you, and be sure to add
an entry to the book's log once you've found it.
Bookmooch.com Have you ever wanted to snatch an under-appreciated book from a friend's shelf, and give it the
love and attention it deserves? With Bookmooch, you can do just that! Where Bookcrossing leaves things to
chance, Bookmooch allows readers to send and receive books at no cost aside from shipping. The site operates
on a point system: you get one-tenth of a point for posting a book of your own to be mooched,and one point
when you send a book to someone who requested it. When you want a book, it costs you one point to get it. And
there you have it! Simply search and request books you want, or send books that you no longer want to someone
who will read and appreciate them.
The Internet is no longer just a place to surf, chat, and research that boring school paper. Each of these unique sites
shows how worldwide communities are flourishing online, and how books are bringing people together like never
before. So clean off your bookshelf, mooch out some tired books to new readers and release some into the wild to be
caught one person's tired old paperback can be another's treasure!
By Rose Garrett
Updated on Dec 27, 2011
SAT Espionage: Cracking the Test-Makers' Code
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The SAT likes to test students nerves by replacing numbers
with letters. This can be frustrating, since most high school
math problems involve at least onenumber. The best way to
approach these problems is as a code-breaker; they have
given you enough clues, if only you can find them. Heres a
game that will help your student discover that cracking the
code is a lot easier than it looks.
What You Need:
A pencil
A few pieces of paper
2 or more players (you can be one.)
Candy or another small prize
What You Do:
1. Print or copy the following examples of codes: Rhe
girst oetter nf yhe qord bs trong.Ths sntnc hs n
vwls. The has words scrambled been the of order
Edoc doog a eb nac sdrawkcab gnitirw. ancay
ouyay alktay otay igspay inpay atlinay??
2. Give each player five minutes to crack the codes just
by using common sense.
3. Have the players tell you their answers and compare
them to the right ones: The first letter of each word
is wrong. This sentence has not vowels. The order of the words has been scrambled. Writing backwards
can be a good code. Can you talk to pigs in Latin?
4. Offer a prize to the person who got the most right, or to everyone who broke more than 3 codes.
5. "Extend the lesson to math. Show them this SAT problem: If AB + BA = CDC, what does C equal? (A,B,C,
and D represent separate digits within a larger number.) This looks impossible! ..." If we know neither A, B,
or D, how can we know C? This is where we need to use a little bit of common sense to crack the code. We
could spend a lot of time plugging in numbers for A and B, and trying to come up with an answer that fits the
form of CDC. Or, we could use some critical thinking. Whats the LARGEST number you can create by
adding two 2-digit numbers? If we add 99 and 99, well get 198. We can never get a number bigger than that;
well never even get to 200. No matter what A and B are, the number must be in the hundreds. Therefore, the
only possible value for C is 1.
6. One more problem: 9 xJ KL If K = 4, then L = ? There are two ways to do this: First, we can try to think of a
number in the forties that is a multiple of nine. The only possibility is 45, so L must be 5. Or, we might
remember that the digits of any multiple of 9 add up to 9. Therefore, we know that K + L = 9, so L = 5.
By Cindy Donaldson
Cindy Donaldson, BS Mathematics, taught Math, Business, and Computer Science at Menlo-Atherton High School
for seven years. She has also worked as a tutor for SAT and SAT II test preparation. She is the mother of two young
daughters.
Updated on May 24, 2013
Understanding Shakespeare
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Directors are constantly tweaking Shakespeare's plays in
order to make them appeal to modern audiences. Though
they often update the sets and the costumes, they rarely
change the language, which can be a major roadblock in
getting kids to understand and appreciate the Bard. Put
your teenager in the director's chair by having her put a
modern-day spin on Romeo and Juliet.
What You Need:
Copy of Romeo and Juliet (an annotated copy is
ideal)
Copies of film versions of the play and/or movies
based on it
Pen and paper
What You Do:
Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
Romeo, Romeo, why are you Romeo?*
Deny thy father and refuse thy name
Say no to your dad and change your name
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love
And I'll no longer be a Capulet
I f not, I will change my name, as long as you say you
love me.
*In Shakespeare's time, 'wherefore' literally would have
meant 'why'. Most printed versions of Shakespeare come with notes that explain the outdated language. Click
here for a great annotated version of the balcony scene.
Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
Romeo, Romeo, why do you, of all people, have to be a Montague?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name
Blow off your dad and take a new name
Or, of thou wilt not, be but sworn my love
And I'll no longer be a Capulet.
I f you don't do it, I will because I am just that crazy about you.
1. Start by familiarizing your teen with the story. Rent one of the film versions, such as 1968's Romeo and Juliet,
and a film with a plot that's adapted from it, such as West Side Story. Have her make notes of the way each
movie brings (or doesn't bring) the story up to date, and the ways each film appeals to its audience. For
instance, West Side Story is set in modern-day New York, and uses racial tensions between rival street gangs
as the source of the ancient grudge.
2. Instead of rewriting the entire play, have her begin by breaking down Juliet's balcony speech. She can start by
translating it directly into modern English. For instance:
3. Then, take the literal translation and discuss with your teen what Juliet might be saying without words. For
example, Juliet isn't just asking why Romeo is a Montague she knows he's a Montague because his parents
are Montagues. She's asking why she had to fall in love with someone from the one family hers opposes.
4. Update the literal translation by rewriting it in more slangy, casual words.
5. There are several more famous speeches from Shakespeare that can receive your teenager's treatment try
Hamlet's solioquy (To be or not to be...), Henry V's address (We few, we happy few, we band of
brothers...), or Mark Antony's speech (Friends, Romans, countrymen...)
Fun Fact: Aside from writing the most enduring stories of the Western world, many phrases spoken in Shakespeare's
plays are now common sayings in the English language. one fell swoop, dead as a doornail, and in a pickle
are all taken directly from Shakespeare.
By Jody Amable
Jody Amable is an Assistant Editor at Education.com. She has previously worked as a camp counselor, and spent
her college years hosting birthday parties for kids at the Bay Area Discovery Museum. She has a degree in
Journalism from San Francisco State University and writes for local blogs, magazines and weeklies in her spare
time.
Updated on Oct 11, 2013


















Write Pen Pal Postcards
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In first grade, children need to read, read, read. And
one of the ways they move forward is to write, write,
write at the same time! Here is a way to cover both,
build those skills in a fun, practical way, and keep in
touch with a faraway friend or relative while you're
at it.
What You Need:
Several pieces of first grade paperthe kind
with two lines top and bottom, and a dotted
median line
Paper in a pastel color, cut into strips the same
width as the first grade paper
Markers and pencils
Glue stick
Set of envelopes with stick-on labels, or a
computer with a scanner
Friend or relative who doesn't live near you
What You Do:
1. Find a pen pal. This activity works with any
child or adult that your kid really loves. This
could be a cousin far away, a dear summer
friend, or even an aunt or grandparent. All it
requires is someone willing to be a correspondent. Your child's pen pal services can even make for a
marvelous, low-budget holiday gift as well!
2. Take the strips of colored paper and divide them into two stacks of roughly ten strips each. On each one, write
a different sentence starter. All you need is a few words, such as I like/I went/My favorite book is Give
one set to your pen pal, and keep one at home.
3. Start the chain: Lay out the strips on a table, and have your child read them and select one. Have her glue it to
the top of the page, complete the sentence, and then follow up with one more sentence all of her own.
4. Your child may want to add a picture to the page, tookindergarteners do this all the time when they write in
school, while first graders do it some of the time. Either way, encourage her to use her best kid writing and
best kid drawing. This doesn't mean perfect spelling or penmanship; but it does mean that your child works
with effort and care.
5. Now send the letter! Civic activities, like fire, police, and postal services, are an important part of
kindergarten and first grade social studies curriculum, and they are fascinating for kids. Since addresses may
be tough to write, we recommend that you write them on a set of pre-addressed labels, and let your child
practice sticking them onto an envelope correctly.
6. Correspond! Can your child and her pen pal go through a whole pile of sentence starter letters? Give it a
tryyou'll be cementing a friendship while building literacy skills day by day.
By Julie Williams
Julie Williams, MA Education, taught high school English and History for seventeen years. For the last six years,
she has worked in elementary classrooms while working on a master's in school administration.
Updated on Oct 9, 2012




















Write Oulipo N+7
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Not all poetry rhymes, in fact some of it is made with math! Yes, math. N Plus 7 is an inventive exercise where you
replace a noun with the seventh noun that follows it in a given dictionary.
Oulipo, (pronounced oo-lee-po), uses math and patterns in writing. These constraints can create silly, even
provocative creative works! Meant to be fun and inspiring "Oulipo" is an abbreviation for a French term meaning
"Workshop of Potential Literature," founded by writers, scientists and mathematicians. This is a great way to tap
into creativity, focus on parts of the sentence and enrich vocab. It can also help untangle the meanings of difficult
book passages by challenging your child to look at individual words.
For example, this famous Shakespearean quote fromRomeo & Juliet:
But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon
Who is already sick and pale with grief
That thou her maid art far more fair than she.
can become after N+7:
But soft! What light-year through yonder winger breaks?
It is the Ebb, and Juliet is the sundry!
Arise, fair sundry, and kill the envious mop
Who is already sick and pale with grindstone
That thou her mainframe art far more fair than she.
The results can be silly but the process is seriously good for critical thinking!
What You Need:
Dictionary
Magazine, quote, story or poem
Pen or pencil
Paper
Photocopy of the page of writing
What You Do:
1. To start out choose a short passage or brief poem to work with - one that you like, find interesting, or even
confusing.
2. Take the piece you chose and identify the nouns in each sentence or line. Sometimes it's good to have a
photocopy of the page to highlight the words you'll change. If you're not sure, highlight the word any way;
when you use the dictionary you'll find out.
3. Start re-copying the paragraph from the beginning and when you come to a highlighted word look it up in the
dictionary.
4. Once you find the entry count seven nouns down from there. If the word isn't a noun, skip it! Not all the
entries will be nouns, so you might actually move 10 or more words away from the original one until you find
the seventh noun. Lots of words in English are used in multiple ways, like "dear", which can be an adjective
or a noun. Just be flexible and have fun!
5. Continue replacing nouns this way until you're done.
6. Read it out loud to get the effect of the changes you've made! Is there something there that sounds great on its
own?
If you keep adding layers of changes to the same text you'll potentially make something uniquely yours. What other
constraints or patterns can you think of? Try this same exercise, but instead of changing nouns change the verbs.
It's even a great group game; think of it as literary Telephone where the original "message" never sounds the same in
the end!
By Candice Abellon
Updated on Jun 20, 2013












Write a Diamante Poem
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Going on a road trip? If you and your family are
traveling to a vacation destination or to visit long-
distance relatives, your child may have some extra time
on her hands. Keep her busy with an activity that
reviews basic grammar and parts of speech, encourages
creative thinking, and best of all, records the most
memorable parts of the trip! Have her write a diamante
poem. A diamante is a special poem that makes use of a simple structure, resulting in a diamond-shaped poem.
Diamantes are fun and easy to write, so your kid may want to write a whole collection of them to preserve those
memorable moments of your travels. More is better here: shell be getting better at adhering to grammar rules and
parts of speech. To celebrate her literary art, we'll also provide directions for an attractive diamond-frame card. Mail
those trip memories to Grandma and Grandpa, and you can be sure you'll make their day.
What You Need:
Notebook
Pencil
Colored construction paper, 9" x 12"
Decorative art scissors
Ruler
What You Do:

Encourage your child to record the memories of your trip in a notebook. Explain that a fun way to do this is by
writing short, fun poems called diamantes. Show her how to write a diamante by writing one of your own as a
model. Heres the basic structure:
1. The first line is one word, and is the topic. It is a singular or plural noun. The 7th line is also one word, and a
noun. The 1st and 7th lines should be in contrast to one another.
2. The second line is made up of two adjectives that describe the noun from the first line.
3. The third line is three -ing verbs that tell actions associated with the noun from the first line.
4. The fourth line is the longest of the entire poem, and is its turning point. This line has four more nouns. The
first two nouns are words that are associated with the noun of the first line, and the second pair of nouns are
words that are associated with the noun of the seventh line.
5. The fifth line is three -ing verbs that are associated with the noun from the seventh line.
6. The sixth line has two adjectives that describe the noun in the seventh line.
7. The last line of the poem is a singular or plural noun that contrasts with the one from the first line.
Heres an example of a diamante that one might write about a road trip which including lots of time at the pool and
the beach:
pool
wet, wild
slipping, sliding, splashing
water slides, wading pools, beach towels, sunbaths
drying, resting, snoozing,
quiet, restful
sand
Have your child keep all of her diamantes in the notebook, and encourage her to write these poems to represent all
the parts of your road trip, from lengthy car rides to exciting outdoor adventures. When shes finished, she can
decorate the cover of the notebook to create a flashy title page, and even add some photos to the notebook. Along
the way, she will have reviewed basic parts of speech, and created a memento that will last a lifetime!
No matter how many of these poems your child writes, you'll want to select at least one for a card to send. Relatives,
in particular, tend to adore these handmade messages; and it won't hurt that this one is so literary, too!
To make a "diamante" card, fold a piece of construction paper horizontally to make a card 6" x 9" in size. Open the
card, and on the left hand flap, use a ruler to trace a diamond that's 6" tall x 4" wide, on the center of the panel. Cut
out the diamond using decorative scissors (the kind with cool, scalloped edgescraft stores are sure to have a
myriad of beautiful choices).
Now have your child use her best writing to write the poem through the diamond "window" you have made. (Hint: if
your child struggles with writing straight, help her out by making pencil lines, or you can even write the poem on
white, lined paper and glue it on. Don't let handwriting frustrations get in the way!)
By Liana Mahoney
Liana Mahoney is a National Board Certified elementary teacher, currently teaching a first and second grade loop.
She is also a certified Reading Specialist, with teaching experience as a former high school English teacher, and
early grades Remedial Reading.
Updated on Mar 27, 2014







Number Beanbag Toss
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Encourage your preschooler to learn numbers and
practice counting while she improves her hand-eye
coordination with this super-fun beanbag toss. Whether
you play inside or outside, your child will have a
blast tossing her way to number knowledge. It's even
more fun to play with a large crowd of friends or family
so gather up your loved ones and start playing.
What You Need:
Beanbags
Markers
Paper tape
Number stencils (1-10)
Construction paper
What You Do:
1. Help your child create one number on each sheet of construction paper, using stencils. There should be 10
numbers, representing the numbers 1-10.
2. Have her color in the numbers using the markers so they are easy to see from a distance.
3. Place the numbered sheets of paper on the ground in a hopscotch, or ladder-like shape in ascending order,
with larger numbers at the top of the ladder.
4. Tape the sheets of paper down so they don't move.
5. Place the beanbags on the floor at the base of the number ladder. Time to play!
6. Have the participants stand in front of the number ladder. Ask them to name the numbers that they see inside
each of the squares.
7. Hand the first child a beanbag and ask her to throw it to the highest number that they can. Have her call out
the number her beanbag lands on.
8. Have her hop on each number counting up to the number her beanbag landed on, pick up her beanbag and hop
back, calling out the numbers along the way.
9. Continue until all of the kids have a turn.
10. For a more challenging game, add more numbers and keep track of who accumulates the most points from
landing beanbags on the higher numbers.
Helpful Tip: If you're traveling, skip the paper and markers and just use chalk!
By Ellen Dean
Updated on Aug 14, 2013


Explore Circumference with Your Bicycle Wheel
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Math Games for Big Kids
By late elementary school, students have already learned about the basic properties of geometric shapes, but they are
still exploring the many ways that geometry translates to real-world situations. Sure, finding the distance around, or
the "perimeter", of a polygon like a square or triangle is pretty easy. But how about finding the distance around a
circle, the "circumference"?
This hands-on-activity gives your child practice in finding the circumference of an object, while teaching her to use
a step-by-step approach to gain the information necessary to solve a mathematical problem. Plus, it's a great way to
get outside and have some family fun in the sun!
What You Need:
bicycle
a sidewalk, or some other place to ride
a length of string
yardstick
paper
pencil
chalk (optional)
What You Do:
1. Have your child ride her bicycle down the sidewalk a short, specific distance. Draw a chalk line, or use a
marker such as a tree or a sign to show her where to stop. Ask her to estimate how many times her bicycle
wheel went around.
2. Use the string to help your child find the circumference of her bicycle wheel. Ask your child to lay her bicycle
down. Hold the end of the string tightly on the tire and have your child to take the other end of the string and
place it around the tire until it meets the end you are holding. Cut the string so that is reflects the measurement
of the circumference of the tire. Help your child measure the string to the nearest inch. Next, have her
measure the distance her bicycle wheel traveled to the nearest inch.
3. Now that you have the measurement of the tires circumference and the measurement of the distance traveled,
it's time to find the number of times your childs bicycle wheel went around. Ask her how she would set up
the problem. Working together, divide the distance traveled by the circumference of the tire to find the
answer!
By Sally Ann Stanley
Sally is an experienced educator, with over 14 years of teaching experience. Over the last ten years she has created
educational materials, including ancillary, textbook, and test items, for Grades K-8 for major educational
publishers.
Updated on May 16, 2013







Collaborative Poetry
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A productive and enriching experience for both you and your
teen is spending a day at an art museum, exploring the
collections and exhibits on display, and sharing thoughts about particular works. But if traveling to a museum is
impractical, here's a fun activity to expose your child to works of visual art and written verse, and in doing so,
provide an opportunity for both of you to write creatively!
Observing and interpreting a painting's detail; paying careful attention to the position, function, and sound of a
single word in a line of poetry; practicing the several stages of the writing process; collaborating with one whose
perspective may be different from her ownthese are all activities that will allow your child to develop as a reader,
writer, and student.
What You Need:
Internet access
Dictionary
2 journals or notebooks
2 writing implements
What You Do:
1. The first step is to get on the Internet (or take a look in your own library or in your local library) and locate
these two works of art:
John William Waterhouse's painting The Lady of Shallot (If you live in or are traveling to London, visit the
Tate Gallery where you can see the real thing!)
Pieter Bruegal's painting The Fall of Icarus (If you are in Belgium, you can see Bruegal's work on display at the
Royal Museum of Fine Arts.)
2. Without doing any research on the background of the painters or their subjects, look carefully at the paintings
and share your observations, responses and questions. Be attentive to the detail of the work. Each of you will
need to have a journal on hand to record your observations.
3. Once you both feel you've explored each work sufficiently, return to the Internet or artbook to investigate the
background of each painting. Do some research on Waterhouse and Bruegal, their subjects, and the historical
context in which each work was created. As you share your research, ask yourself if and how your initial
response to the paintings has changed. Record those thoughts in your journal.
4. Now, imagine a story behind one of these two paintings. Integrate a part of the research you have while
allowing yourself to breathe life into a character. Begin recording in your journal bits of your imagined
narrative. You will ultimately craft a free verse poem from these notes. You may both select to write about the
same painting or you may not, but you will be writing collaboratively as you write your own piece.
5. Consider the point of view from which you will be writing this narrative poem. Will you take on the voice of
the Lady? Are you writing from the point of view of Daedalus?
6. Consider your audience. Are you directing the poem to anyone in particular? And what dominant impression
would you like to create? Making these decisions is the first step in crafting this short poem. Have fun with
these initial scribblings, which may be in the form of a list of details, a series of questions, a first-thought-
best-thought response or a list of verbs and nouns.
7. Before you begin to develop your narrative poem, you'll need to do one more bit of research. Locate these two
poems:
Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem, "The Lady of Shallot"
William Carlos Williams' poem, "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus."
8. Read each poem aloud, switching back and forth between readers. Share each other's reactions to the poems.
What are you hearing? Which words in particular stand out, and why? As you discuss, jot down some of these
observations.
9. Together, sit down and, in your journals, begin to write your poems. Be willing to share a line or two as you
move through the process of drafting. Have a dictionary on hand and don't hesitate to ask for help from one
another. No knowledge of poetic form or meter is necessary for this writing: the point is to create a poem that
emerges from the collaboration of parent and child in the activity of observing, discussing, reading and
writing.
10. Read your poems aloud to one another, or to the whole family!
By Gary Hendrickson
Updated on Oct 8, 2012












Shadow Someone for a
Day
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Is your high schooler starting to think about college and
her future? She has plenty of time to decide on a
profession, but there's no harm in getting a jumpstart on
the brainstorming. A great way to give her some
guidance is to help her find someone to shadow for a day to find out more about an interesting career. The benefits
of this activity are immeasurable as it gives her insight into different workplaces and a better idea of what appeals to
her.
What You Need:
Notepad
Pen
What You Do:
1. Find a trusted friend or business that's willing to let your child shadow. Have her brainstorm a career that she
would like to explore. For example, if she is interested in pet care and thinking about going to veterinary
school, ask a local veterinarian if she minds being shadowed for the day.
2. Make sure she asks the individual that she would like to shadow politely, and arranges the shadowing at that
persons convenience. If it turns out the person is unable to be shadowed (some offices won't allow it), don't
be discouraged. Simply help her think of someone else to ask.
3. If she successfully arranges a date to shadow someone for a day, be sure she arrives on time, dresses
appropriately, and brings along a notepad and pencil to take notes about the experience.
4. When she is done shadowing, make sure she thanks the individual for her time and sends a polite thank you
note. Here's an example.
5. Have your child reflect on her notes and write up a summary of her experience that she can look back on. A
few suggestions for reflection topics are as follows: Do you prefer working indoors or outdoors? What are the
best and worst parts of the job you observed? Do you prefer an active workplace or sitting at a desk? If you
observed any customer service at the workplace, what did you think of working with the public? Is there any
element of that job that you would desire in any job you worked (ex: a science element or creative thinking)?
What types of volunteer experiences would give you more insight into this or another job? If your job requires
you to work or be on-call during the holidays, how would you feel about that? How many hours a day does
the person you shadowed work? How does that compare to other jobs? What is the salary range for people in
this profession?
By Melissa Blough
Updated on Sep 4, 2012
Signing the Declaration
of Independence
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Every Fourth of July, Americans celebrate the courage
and vision of the men who gathered together in July
1776 to sign our nation's Declaration of Independence.
This document, drafted by Thomas Jefferson and edited
by other famous figures like John Adams, lists the many
reasons why colonial leaders came to the decision that
would change the course of history: the decision to
leave English rule and determine America's own fate as a country.
As it turned out, the great words of the Declaration of Independence did more than just start our Revolution. Since
1776, its principles have acted as a base for the Constitution and have inspired revolutionary, freedom movements
across the world.
In this activity, explore the Declaration of Independence by having your child pretend to be a member of the group
that signed it. This is a great activity to help kids start to identify the personal and collective values in our nation and
can be the start of an important, life-long discussion.
What You Need:
Our "Declaration of Independence Pledge Sheet" (download here)
Several curious middle school (or older) kids who are studying American History (and maybe an interested adult
moderator or two!)
What You Do:
1. Download enough copies of the "Declaration of Independence Pledge Sheet" for each participant.
2. Establish a context for all the participants so that everyone understands the history and purpose of the activity.
Though some people may confuse the two, the Declaration of Independence (signed in 1776) is not the same
as the Constitution (ratified in 1789). The Declaration was written to tell England the reasons why the
colonies were rebelling and why these reasons were justified. On the other hand, the Constitution was written
to outline the system of laws and processes that would unify America. The Declaration is not a law itself;
however, its words did inspire many aspects of the democratic system we enjoy today.
3. Encouraging the participants to keep these facts in mind, ask them: would you sign the Declaration if it were
put in front of you today?
4. Start the activity by reading the famous first paragraph of the Declaration aloud together. This paragraph is
included in the top of the "Pledge Sheet."
5. Next, identify the plain language versions of the four major ideas which the Founders put forward. Give
everyone an allotted amount of time to read each idea and make notes in silence. Remind participants not to
sign the document yet. This activity is based on a great American tradition of open debate, so signatures
should come afterward!
6. After the allotted time, discuss each statement, one at a time. Be aware that the ideas presented are rich and
nuanced topics, and in our free democracy, discussions can and should go on for years. For the purpose of this
activity, set a timer for each topic. Remember, even if it does not feel like enough time, its a tribute to the
complexity of the issues, not a failure of this activity!
7. After you've discussed all four statements, declare one last minute of silence for everyone to reflect on the
points brought up in discussion. Then, invite everyone to sign where they can agree, and tally up the group's
totals.
By Julie Williams
Julie Williams, M.A. Education, taught middle and high school history and English for seventeen years. Since then,
she has volunteered in elementary classrooms while raising her two sons and earning a master's in school
administration. She has also been a leader in her local PTA.
Updated on Apr 21, 2014