• develop strategies for critically examining the origin and characteristics of myth.
  
  
• develop an awareness of the diversities, similarities, and values in various cultural and story traditions related to the American Revolution.
  
  
• develop strategies for examining messages for bias and missing information.
  
  

• Internet access to the Web sites or printouts of the pages from those sites. (In lieu of the Internet copy of the Declaration of Independence, you can use a printed version. The piece is available in most American literature anthologies and history books as well as in the encyclopedia.)
• Copies of the lyrics and/or the video for the Schoolhouse Rocks' cartoon "Fireworks!" Several options are available:
  
  Book—Yohe, Tom. 1996. Schoolhouse Rock!: The Official Guide. Hyperion.
  
  VHS—"Fireworks!" 1997. Schoolhouse Rock! - America Rock. Disney Studios.
  
  Web—Schoolhouse Rocks: Fireworks!
  [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/7316/Fire.html]
  
  
• Fourth of July Entry on the ReadWriteThink calendar
• Common Myths about the Fourth of July handout
• Myths and Truths Presentation rubric
• General classroom supplies (paper, pens or pencils, chart paper or board, and so forth).
• (Optional) Texts that explore the stories surrounding the Declaration of Independence. Possibilities include reference books, encyclopedias, and specific texts, examples of which appear in the Independence Day Book List.
• ReadWriteThink Printing Press (optional)

1. Gather books and Internet printouts, if necessary. Because students will work in small groups, create a copy of the printouts for each group if computer access is not available. Provide a copy of books for each group if resources allow. Groups may have slightly different reference resources (for instance, encyclopedias from different publishers), but all groups should have relatively the same collection of materials on hand. Naturally, you can encourage sharing among groups in the case of scarcer resources.
2. Make copies of the Common Myths about the Fourth of July handout and the Myths and Truths Presentation rubric for all students or prepare overheads or chart paper with the information.
3. If students will use the tools to prepare their presentations, test the ReadWriteThink Printing Press and technical support page.

Session One

1. Students can complete these prereading questions as homework, as an in-class freewrite before the reading, or in oral class discussion.
   
   
   1. What difference does it make who writes a story as long as they tell the "truth"?
   2. How can you tell when a story is true? What would indicate a story was fictional?
   3. Have you ever read something that was presented as nonfiction but that you knew was fiction?
      
      
2. Spend ten to fifteen minutes going over students' responses to the prereading prompt. Write their answers on chart paper or an overhead. (You'll return to these answers later in this lesson, so save their responses.)
3. Read the lyrics to the Schoolhouse Rocks' cartoon "Fireworks!" As students read, ask them to pay particular attention to the historical details that the lyrics include.
4. After reading, ask students to write two questions of their own for the class to consider: one question that is answered in the text and an "I wonder why" question. Use a writer's notebook or response journal for this writing.
5. In small groups, have students share their questions and discuss answers. Monitor student discussion by circulating among the groups.
   
6. As a postreading activity, ask students to think about the description of the writing and signing of the Declaration. Give them these guiding questions: What do you notice about the lyrics that fits with your ideas about July 4, 1776, and what seems unusual or seems to have been left out?

Session Two

1. In full-class discussion, have students share their thoughts on the events of July 4, 1776, in light of the "Fireworks!" lyrics. Write their ideas on the board or on chart paper. The idea is simply to brainstorm a list for now.
2. Pass out the Common Myths about the Fourth of July Handout, or show the list on an overhead projector. As you read through the list, encourage students to connect items from their brainstorming list with the myths on the sheet.
3. Demonstrate the "myth-breaking" process (outlined on the Common Myths handout and below) by answering the three myth/truth questions about the first myth on the handout: "The Fourth of July has been a legal holiday since the American Revolution." See this article from American University for background information.
4. Divide students into four to five groups, assigning each group a myth from the sheet. Give groups a variety of resources in which they might uncover truths about Independence Day and the Declaration of Independence. Pass out the Presentation Rubric for the activity, or show the list on an overhead projector.
5. Each group completes the following assignment, preparing to share their findings with the entire class:
   
   
   1. Explain your myth answering these two questions:
      
      
      • What is a truth in this myth?
      • What are other truths behind this myth that might contradict it?
        
        
   2. As a group, you may use any of the materials available to help you understand and explain the myth.
   3. Prepare a five-minute presentation to the class that explains your understanding of the myth, using creative drama, visual aids such as posters, music, illustrations, or an oral presentation. If desired, students can use the
   4. ReadWriteThink Printing Press to create posters and other displays for their presentations.
      
      
6. As students work in their groups, circulate and monitor student progress. Let them know a few minutes before the work period will conclude so that they have time to wrap up their thoughts.

Session Three

1. Give students five to ten minutes to make last-minute preparations and to practice their presentations.
2. Have groups present their myth to the entire class, sticking closely to the five-minutes-per-group guideline that you've established.
3. Once all of the groups have presented, return to the original prereading questions:
   
   
   1. What difference does it make who writes a story as long as they tell the "truth"?
   2. How can you tell when a story is true? What would indicate a story wasn't true?
      
      
4. Read through the student responses, and conclude the lesson with a discussion of their original perceptions of "truth." Which observations do they still agree with? Which would they change? What would they add?

Schoolhouse Rocks: Fireworks!
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/7316/Fire.html

Read the lyrics and hear an audio excerpt from the 1977 History Rocks cartoon, Fireworks! Choose the "S, T, & F" link at the bottom of the page for summary, trivia, and facts about the cartoon.

John Trumbull's Painting: Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776
http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3a00000/3a04000/3a04000/3a04054r.jpg

Part of the American Memory collection, this reproduction of Trumbull's famous painting is presented by the Library of Congress. The image provides a great opportunity to talk about the difference between what the signings probably looked like in reality and this posed version of the event.

Liberty! – Philadelphia, 1776
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/chronicle_philadelphia1776.html

PBS's companion site to the Liberty television series includes this page, focusing on the events of July 4, 1776. The page includes links to more information about the men and women involved and the historical context. Be sure to explore the site for lesser known facts. For instance, did you know that a woman was the first official printer of the document, as designated by Congress?

The Liberty Bell
http://www.ushistory.org/libertybell/

The Liberty Bell was chimed in Philadelphia to call people to the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 8, 1776. This U.S. History site includes facts about the bell itself and its historical place in the American Revolution.

Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/bdsds/bdsdhome.html

This Library of Congress collection includes broadsides, letters, and other documents. Be sure to look at the early printed version of the Declaration of Independence.

The Declaration of Independence: One of the Charters of Freedom
http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/declaration.html

This U.S. National Archives and Records Administration site offers high-resolution reproduction of the document, historical information on its writing and preservation, a timeline of its creation, and much more. Be sure to choose the "Join the Signers" link for additional information on the signers themselves and an interactive exhibit that allows visitors to add their own name to the Declaration.

The Declaration of Independence Home Page
http://www.duke.edu/eng169s2/group1/lex3/firstpge.htm

This site focuses on the authorship of the Declaration of Independence and the evolution of the drafts of the document. The site includes the text of the original drafts as well as of proposed sections that were not included. A hypertext version of the Declaration allows visitors to follow changes to particular sections through the various drafts.

• Monitor student interaction and progress during group work to assess social skills and assist any students having problems with the project.
  
  
• Use the Myths and Truths Presentation rubric to assess group presentations.
  
  
• Assign an independent analysis and critique writing task to students which allows them to apply their skills individually. The following general Independence Day Critique assignment would work well:
  

  Critique the pictures in a Fourth of July children's book, a poster, or an advertisement. Critically analyze the images and information in the book, noting the myths and underlying truths that are evident in the depiction.

  Be sure to focus students on a particular detail to ensure that they do not become overwhelmed by the idea of critiquing all the information in a book.
  
  
• As a class, develop a list of questions or strategies for examining future readings and texts for missing information or bias (thus summarizing and applying the information from the lesson).

NCTE/IRA Standards

1 - Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

2 - Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.

3 - Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

9 - Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.