Major themes or topics: Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, natural rights, liberty, equality, Bill of Rights, perspective, contradictions, rights, power, Founding Fathers, and freedom

Key content: Students investigate how founding ideals inspired the creation of a new nation while also recognizing whose voices and experiences were excluded. Through guided observation and investigation at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and George Mason Memorial, students will analyze how concepts like liberty, equality, and rights were defined, debated, and limited during the founding era.

Focus questions: What ideas about freedom and rights shaped the founding of the United States? Why were these ideas powerful and influential during the American Revolution? How did these founding ideals fall short for many people living at the time (and today)?

DCPS alignment: Grade 4 ELA, Unit 3 - Revolution and Independence | Grade 4 SS, Unit 3 and 4: The Creation of a New Nation