By Devon Atchison, Jul 16, 2009 in Pedagogy and Teaching
As I mentioned in a toast during the Summer Institute, we live in a world where students (and probably most Americans) know more about pop culture than history. Perhaps this is less a case of "the dumbest generation" or a culture that is disinterested in their nation's history, however, and more a case of a lack of exposure. My hope is that exposing students directly to the text will help inspire a new understanding for the past.
The Summer Institute got me thinking about the founding documents and I realized that, at least for my students, very few of them have ever REALLY read the Declaration or the Constitution. This is a sad commentary, but it doesn't do me any good to blame society for this-- all I can do is try to start somewhere... and that's when I started to conceive of a group project about the Declaration of Independence (see below for the draft text of the group project). My guess is that this exercise will cause them, for the first time ever, to really dig into one of our founding documents. I also think it might help students become more comfortable with truly reading and understanding primary source documents, which make up a hefty portion of their workload in my classes. I'm a bit worried, however, that this exercise might seem too juvenile/elementary. Am I pandering to them by asking them to "translate" into their own terms and words? Ah well... my Early American History class in the Fall might be my guinea-pig.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE GROUP PROJECT
The Declaration of Independence is one of our nation's most revered and important documents. Nevertheless, many Americans have never read through the document ever and even more Americans can't comprehend what the document is saying because of the type of language that was used to write it. Our job today is to "translate" the Declaration of Independence into today's language and to make it succinct enough that the point of the document is understandable.
You will break into four groups and each group will be assigned a particular section of the Declaration of Independence. Your group's job is to summarize the point of each sentence in your section. You will have fifteen minutes to do this.
At the end of the fifteen minutes, the class will come back together and each group will present their "translation" of the Declaration of Independence.
As a class, then, we will come up with the major argument (thesis) that the Declaration is trying to make and discuss the following questions:
- Were the patriots justified in declaring their independence?
- What types of justification do they provide?
- How do they view the British monarchy?
Please turn the page for the Declaration of Independence… [Declaration would be attached, split into 4 parts, at the end of this page]
4 Responses to ""Translating" the Text: Thoughts on Bringing Students into Primary Sources"
Lee Trepanier on Jul 16, 2009
I think it's an excellent introductory exercise to get students engaged in the study of American history and politics. I wonder whether a follow-up written exercise would help students better grasp our founding documents, and what such an assignment would look like.
David Kidd on Jul 16, 2009
Asking students to translate what they read into their own language is an excellent assignment. Not only does it help them think about the meaning of the text, but it also helps them develop a skill that seems to be in short supply if the undergraduate papers I've read are typical. I especially like the requirement that students defend their translation before the rest of the class: this seems like a good recipe for fruitful discussion.
Anonymous on Jul 17, 2009
This is a great idea. I am teaching a course in Early America this fall as well. I decided to create worksheets (I know; sounds like 8th grade)on the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution as ratified in 1789, and the Bill of Rights. Each worksheet has between 10 and 20 questions. The students have to read the document and turn in the worksheet at the beginning of class on the days that we discuss each document.
I have been working to find ways to increase the quality of the discussions in my courses. For the past few semesters, I have used short assignments -- usually writing a paragraph or filling out a sheet with a few reading questions -- to make sure that the students actually read the documents that I assign.
I would love to hear how your experiment goes.
Phil Hamilton on Jul 18, 2009
Like the others, I think this is a very good exercise. Learning to analyze primary sources is really an essential skill, one that can be developed even in a lower-level introductory class.
And, like David, I especially like the requirement that students translate 18th century ideas into modern terms. Given its profound impact on our history, I’m particularly interested in how your students will translate Jefferson’s two-paragraph preamble.
Another question you might want to ask is “what fundamental assumptions about individual rights and the role of government did the patriots possess when they began writing the Declaration?” Such a question will ensure at least some discussion about the Founders’ beliefs in natural rights and self-government.
Good luck with the exercise.