Celebrate Freedom Week with Technology! Last updated This website includes a compilation of resources for instruction relating to the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, the Abolitionist Movement, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Women's Suffrage Movement. This website accompanies the TechEdge article: "Celebrate Freedom Week with Technology!" Resources are organized into four categories: Information about the "Celebrate Freedom Week" law in Texas, effective September 1, 2001 Links organized by topic area for Freedom Week Links for five lesson ideas presented in the "Celebrate Freedom Week with Technology!" article Other Resources 1. Information about the "Celebrate Freedom Week" law in Texas (Effective September 1, 2001) Text of the enrolled Bill in the Texas Legislature: "AN ACT relating to the establishment of Celebrate Freedom Week in public schools." "Instruction should include study of: the intent, meaning, and importance of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, in their historical context. The study of the Declaration of Independence should include the relationship of the ideas expressed in that document to subsequent American history, including but not limited to: the relationship of its ideas to the rich diversity of our people as a nation of immigrants, the American Revolution, the formulation of the United States Constitution, and the abolitionist movement, which led to the Emancipation Proclamation and the women's suffrage movement. During Celebrate Freedom Week, a school district may require students in grade levels 3 through 12 to study the text quoted below: WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness--That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed . . . ." 2. Links organized by topic area for Freedom Week The American Revolution Yahooligans' Links for The American Revolution Liberty! The American Revolution by PBS Virtual Marching Tour of the American Revolution Loyalty or Liberty? An online role playing activity The Declaration of Independence Yahooligans' Links for US Colonial Life (1585-1783) CSUSM: The Declaration of Independence - text version of the Declaration including the list of colonial representatives who signed it. A good list of events leading up to the Declaration from About.com Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents - see a chronology of events in the creation of this famous document from the Library of Congress. "Truth" about the Signers of the Declaration of Independence? - Have you received an email or read online about all the horrible things that allegedly happened to the signers of the Declaration? This letter to Ann Landers by a history buff is worth reading. The US Constitution K-12 Curriculum from the National Center for Constitutional Studies The US Constitution online - includes hyperlinked definitions for many words THE BIG PICTURE from Yahooligans: The US Constitution Creation of the U.S. Constitution - contains a very complete account of the Constitutional Convention. (from the US National Archives) The Abolitionist Movement The Underground Railroad @ nationalgeographic.com - this site lets you follow the footsteps of Harriet Tubman, who led hundreds of runaway slaves to freedom. The site includes a short interactive journey, maps, a timeline, and more. Abolition Documents - Library of Congress collection of slavery and important antislavery publications from the period. Includes actual images of broadsides, sermons, handbills, newspapers, and more. Slavery and Politics: 1517 - 1863 from The Encyclopedia Britannica Guide to Black History Harriet Tubman: American Abolitionist - biography of this great woman who singlehandedly led over 300 slaves to safety in the years 1850 to 1860. Sojourner Truth - American Abolitionist - biography of this former slave who fought against slavery. Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist - biography from the Gale Salutes Black History Month site. The Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation - Learn about this document that transformed the character of the Civil War and became one of the great documents of human freedom. See the original too, from the National Archives and Records Administration. Emancipation Proclamation from Encyclopedia Britannica - learn about this edict issued by President Abraham Lincoln on Jan. 1, 1863, that freed the slaves of the Confederate states in rebellion against the Union. See an image of the original document too. African American Odyssey: The Civil War - historic archives explore black history during this turbulent era, including slaves as "contraband" and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. African-American Mosaic (Library of Congress): Conflict of Abolition and Slavery The Women's Suffrage Movement Yahooligans' Links for The Women's Suffrage Movement The Women's Suffrage Movement from the US National Archives Leaders in the Women's Suffrage Movement from Worldbook.com One Woman, One Vote - A PBS documentary Woman Suffrage in Political Cartoons 3. Links for Five Lesson Ideas for Freedom Week Lesson Idea #1: Brainstorm with Inspiration Inspiration software: Perfect for whole-class brainstorming (http://www.inspiration.com) RODENT rules for Brainstorming Lesson Idea #2 Curriculum Supplement / Hotlist "Charters of Freedom" exhibit by The National Archives and Records Administration, including the Declaration of Independence, The US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Includes high resolution images of each page of these documents, as well as extensive background information and further links of interest. - http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/charters.html "Africans in America: America's Journey Through Slavery" is presented in four parts on this PBS website. A historical Narrative, a Resource Bank of images, documents, stories, biographies, and commentaries, and a Teacher's Guide for using the content of the website and television series in U.S. history courses is included for each era. - http://web-cr05.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/home.html "The Susan B. Anthony Center for Women's Leadership: History of Women's Suffrage" includes information about Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, biographies of other influential suffragists, the Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, NY, and suffrage time lines. - http://www.rochester.edu/SBA/history.html "The American Colonist's Library" lists links to an extensive collection of primary source documents, including many from the American Revolutionary period. Includes works by Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and many others. - http://personal.pitnet.net/primarysources/ "THE FOUNDING FATHERS: Delegates to the Constitutional Convention" includes short biographies of each of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. - http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/constitution/confath.html Lesson Idea #3: Student Center Activities US History - Colonial Challenge! Try to reach $1,000,000! Answer a range of easy to difficult questions and test your knowledge of early US history! - http://www.quia.com/rr/4049.html Quia.com activity about the Declaration of Independence, using the "Jumbled Words" activity structure. - http://www.quia.com/jw/20823.html Trackstar activity: Women's Rights in the 1800's - http://trackstar.hprtec.org:80/main/display.php3?track_id=48737 Trackstar activity: The Bill of Rights is for Us Today - http://trackstar.hprtec.org:80/main/display.php3?track_id=24051 Loyalty or Liberty? An online role playing activity - http://www.history.org/History/teaching/revolution/a1.html Lesson Idea #4: Scavenger Hunt Lee County Schools Scavenger Hunts - http://scavengerhunt.lee.k12.nc.us/ Searching Through Our Historical Documents - http://scavengerhunt.lee.k12.nc.us/histdocuments/index.html Citizenship in the United States - http://scavengerhunt.lee.k12.nc.us/citizenship/index.html Our United States - http://scavengerhunt.lee.k12.nc.us/ushistory/index.html Get to Know the US Government - http://scavengerhunt.lee.k12.nc.us/thegov/index.html Women of Accomplishments - http://scavengerhunt.lee.k12.nc.us/womenofaccomplishments/index.html Branches of Government - http://scavengerhunt.lee.k12.nc.us/govbranches/index.html "Hunt for our African American Legacy: an Internet Treasure Hunt on The Legacy of Slavery" - http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/huntlegacyomr.html. Albemarle High School's Government Scavenger Hunt - http://k12.albemarle.org/ss/ahsgov/scavenger.htm. Lesson Idea #5: Brochure or Multimedia Presentation Multimedia Design Considerations - http://www.algonquincollege.com/edtech/mmdesign.html "Internet Citation Guides" from the University of Wisconsin-Madison http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/Memorial/citing.htm "Copyright and Fair Use" from Stanford University - http://fairuse.stanford.edu/ 4. Other Resources: Pixel Pete American History Project (8th grade) Free online courseware / resources about Freedom Week from Schoolvison Inc. Biographies from the Age of Revolution U.S. Founding Documents - Full text versions and scanned copies of the originals The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy from Yale University US Government resources from Connectingstudents.com Bill of Rights Rap George Washington at War (Smithsonian artifacts) The Star Spangled Banner website (Smithsonian) A Test of National Character: September 11, 2001   Sources for images on this page: "The Fourth of July." http://www.geocities.com/grace24u/4thofjul.html. Accessed 7-3-2001. "Rush Elementary School." http://www.lubbock.k12.tx.us/rush/. Accessed 7-3-2001. - or - Tools for the TEKS home | Article Archive | Technology Workshops Mailing List | Feedback | Tools and Techniques | Technology Idea Exchange Contact me using this webform. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.