Holiday Videos

In honor of Mrs. Cook, I am posting some classic holiday videos. Enjoy!

Declaration of Indepence, Illustrated Children's Versions

As a part of our study of the American Revolution, we recently translated parts of the Declaration of Independence into words that a third grader could understand. We are now creating illustrated children's books that convey the main ideas of the Declaration.

The Declaration of Independence

Here is a video of the Declaration of Indpendence being read by a number of well known celebrities with an introduction by Morgan Freeman:




And here is Sesame Street's take on the writing of the Declaration:

Extra Credit: 1776

In the movie 1776, delegate Caesar Rodney of Delaware is portrayed as being very sick during the debate on Independence. So sick that he went home to Delaware so that he might die in his own bed, only to be brought back to Philadelphia so that he could cast a tie breaking vote, within his delegation, in order to make sure that Delaware voted for Independence.

While Rodney did suffer from skin cancer during much of his adulthood, that is not the reason he had to leave Philadelphia in June of 1776. He was in Delaware in order to stop Loyalist activity there, when he recieved word that the Delaware delegation was deadlocked on the issue of independence. To break that deadlock, Rodney rode eighty miles through a thunderstorm on the night of July 1, 1776, dramatically arriving in Philadelphia "in his boots and spurs" just as the voting was beginning.

Here is the extra credit opportunity:

I am looking for a picture of Caesar Rodney on his horseride back to Philadelphia. It is a very specific picture, one that you have probably had in your possesion before without even knowing it. In fact, you might have a copy of it in your house right now.

The first person to bring me this picture will recieve 25 points extra credit (there is another clue in this sentence).

Each person after that will recieve 10 points extra credit.

I will be accepting these up until Friday.

1776

We are currently watching the movie 1776, a musical about the Second Continental Congress and the debate on idependence. I was able to find video on the web of some of my favorite scenes. Below is one of the first scenes in the movie, it shows how many of the other delegates did not care much for John Adams. They disliked him for his ego, and the way that he always voiced his opinions so strongly. Because of this, Adams had a hard time getting Congress to even talk about the issue of independence from Great Britain , until it was proposed by a more well-liked delegate.



"The Egg" is probably my favorite song from the movie. As the rough draft of Declaration of Independence is being read in Congress, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin discuss what they think should be the symbol of the new nation being created. An interesting note: Benjamin Franklin did actually propose the idea of the Turkey as the national bird.

Founding Fathers League

We are about to begin our study of the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution. In honor of the famous men who were involved in these events, I am posting this video I found that introduces the "Founding Fathers" using the theme of the Justice League.