Lesson Title: 
Documents of Natural Rights: The Declaration of Independence and The Plan of Delano

Grade Level:
Grade Eight Lesson 1

Unit of Study: 
Connecting with Past Learnings: A New Nation

History-Social Science Standard:  
8.1.2   Analyze the philosophy of government expressed in the Declaration of Independence, with an emphasis on government as a means of securing individual rights (e.g., key phrases such as “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights”).

Correlation to K-8 California Adopted Textbooks:
We the People book produced by the Center for Civic Education.
Glencoe McGraw-Hill: The American Journey.  Unit 3: Creating A Nation.
Houghton Mifflin.  A More Perfect Union.  Unit 2: The Constitution of the U.S.  Chapters 3 and 4.

Setting the Context:
The Plan of Delano is a declaration of natural rights.  Thus, within the Plan of Delano one can find many of the principles of good government espoused by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence.  The Plan of Delano can serve as a review of Jefferson’s ideals.  It can also show how the Declaration’s ideals are universal and can and have been applied in contemporary history.  

The Plan of Delano was put together to show the world the ideals for which the United Farm Workers and their supporters were striking.  The pilgrimage (or march) was organized to create national attention to the issues of migrant workers.  It is a called a pilgrimage as well as a march because it was a spiritual procession for the marchers as well as a political statement (see César E. Chávez biography for more information).  Between the pilgrimage, the Plan of Delano, and the strikers pledge to the principal of nonviolence, the union obtained a national stage and Chávez became a national figure.  The message of the Plan of Delano is universal, for it appeals to natural rights.

Focus Question:  
How has the philosophy of government mentioned in the Declaration of Independence inspired other revolutions in American history?

Expected Learning Outcomes:  
Students will produce a comparison chart connecting the ideals of the Declaration of Independence with The Plan of Delano. 
Students will synthesize the information in paragraph form with the aid of an expository frame.

Assessment:
In small groups, the students will write down at least five ideals that the documents have in common.  The students will then individually express their findings in a well-written paragraph measured by a rubric established by the classroom teacher.

Key Concepts:
independence
natural rights

Essential Vocabulary:
For both documents: ideals

For Declaration of Independence: unalienable rights, consent of the governed

For Plan of Delano: (This vocabulary can be listed on a board to help with the fluidity of reading; it does not need to be memorized).  

pilgrimage
labor
reform
proposition
penance
revolution
social movement
Benito Juarez “El Respeto Al Derecho Ajeno Es La Paz:” can be translated as “Respecting another’s rights means peace.
contractors
La Virgen De La Guadalupe, Holy Cross, Star of David, Sectarians Pope Leo XII, Stoop Labor (Negroes and Arabians)  Note: These terms need to be explained within the context of the times.  Students may find them offensive.
collective bargaining
paternalism
liberation

Primary Sources:
The Declaration of Independence 
The Plan of Delano (English, Spanish)

Visuals:
These, among many others, can be found in the California Department of Education César E. Chávez Web site Document Center:
Cartoon:  Statue of Liberty with Huelga (Statue of Huelga)
Photograph: César at the podium during Delano Strike
Photograph: Chávez at Delano March with Itliong and Reuther

Procedure

Motivation:
Overhead of “Statue of Huelga.”  This is a UFW political cartoon with The Statue of Liberty holding a UFW banner.  Discussion:  “Why did the cartoonist choose to use The Statue of Liberty to hold this union banner?”  “What is the cartoonist trying to say?”  The teacher may want to point out that the cartoonist was trying to use an American image of liberty and freedom and meshing it with the beliefs of the UFW.  A connection can be made to the Declaration of Independence as another American image of liberty and freedom and the connection that will be made to the Plan of Delano.  

Making Connections:
Students should have a working knowledge of the connection between John Locke’s Natural Rights Philosophy and The Declaration of Independence.  

Students should also have a background of the issues that led to the Delano Grape Strike.

A basic knowledge of the aims of the Mexican Revolution and Benito Juarez would be helpful, as would a basic understanding of the symbolism behind the Virgen de Guadalupe, the Christian Cross, and the Star of David.  

Vocabulary Activities:
The importance of “ideals” needs to be understood by the student.  Therefore, the word could be posted on an overhead or board prior to the reading and examples and nonexamples can be listed of different types of ideals.  This should lead into a discussion as to whether it is possible to reach ideals.  This discussion will reinforce the vocabulary word.  

The discussion should then focus on whether the preservation of natural rights is an ideal.  During the discussion, the students may be required to list some natural rights to help with their understanding of the concept.  If students have a good working knowledge of the concept, the discussion should be sufficient to clarify the vocabulary.  If it is not, individual attention should be given to students that do not understand the concept because the concept of natural rights is crucial to seeing the connection between the two documents.  

The vocabulary for the Plan of Delano is essential to help understand the document, but the vocabulary does not need to be enduring at this point since the assessment does not require it.  Handing out or posting the vocabulary so that students can refer to it during the reading is sufficient.

Guided Instruction:
1)	Review the concept of natural rights as found within the Declaration of Independence.  Explain to students that the concept of natural rights has been used throughout history when people want a revolution.  

2)	Exhibit the “Statue of Huelga.”  It can be found on the CDE Web site.  Discuss author’s intent as outlined in motivation section of lesson plan.

3)	Discuss the concept of idealism.  Use vocabulary strategy explained in vocabulary section.  Ask students to list on the board or overhead some of the ideals that can be found in the Declaration of Independence.  List for all students to see.

4)	Introduce the background to the UFW and César E. Chávez.  This would be a good place to use photographs of Chávez at Delano that can be found at the CDE Web site. Within the presentation, ensure that students understand the importance of the Pilgrimage.

5)	Introduce vocabulary for Plan of Delano and ensure that all students understand the list of words.

6)	Have students form cooperative groups and explain that as they read the Plan of Delano they are to make a list of the “ideals” found within the Plan.  Group work is recommended, as the Plan of Delano will be difficult for most students to read fluidly because of the amount of new vocabulary.  In small groups they can help each other with the reading.  

7)	After students have listed the ideals of the Plan of Delano, have the students share with the class their list so they may add additional ideals to their list that were discovered by other groups.

8)	Some examples found in the Plan of Delano that can also be found in the Declaration of Independence are:  

Liberty (liberation)

Social Justice

Agreement through consensus (as shown by underwritten or signing of document)

The Freedom and Sovereignty of Men

Fair representation

God Given Rights/Natural Rights (also listed as unalienable rights in Declaration)

Unity among different people 

Election by the people (listed as consent of the governed in the Declaration)

Equality

Pursuit of Happiness (listed as better future for children in Plan of Delano)

9)	The students should now be informed that they will be using the ideals that they generated in a writing assignment.  Therefore, this would be a good time to clarify any ideals that they don’t understand through a short question/discussion period.  

10)	Rubric for grading should be explained to students.

11)	Students should now individually write a paragraph explaining how the Plan of Delano shares many of the same ideals as The Declaration of Independence.  If students can do this without an expository frame, they may do so.  Students that need additional scaffolding can use the following expository frame (the expository frame should be spaced as needed):

The Declaration of Independence and The Plan of Delano share many of the same ideals.  Among them are _______________________, ___________________________, and ________________________ ________________________________.  The first ideal of ______________________ can be defined as ________________________________________.  It is important because ______________________________________________________________________.  The second ideal is ___________________________________________________________________.  It can be expressed as __________________________________________________________________.  It is also important because __________________________________________________________________.  Finally, a third idea is _____________________________________________________.  Another way to understand this ideal is ________________________________________________________________.  Its importance is _______________________________________________________________________________.  

12)	Student paragraphs can then be shared. 

13)	For additional discussion, the students can be asked to respond to the question, “What ideals can only be found in the Plan of Delano or The Declaration of Independence?” (either one or both). Responses will differ, but the importance of nonviolence to the Plan of Delano should be brought up.  The students may also want to discuss other similarities and differences.  

Integrating Language:
1)	Students will use speaking and listening skills during vocabulary building activities and through classroom discussion.  They will also be used as students work cooperatively to complete the assignment.

2)	Pre-reading skills will activate prior knowledge through classroom discussion.  Active reading skills will be used in the creation of a comparison chart.  Post-reading skills will be used during the expository frame.

3)	Writing skills will be worked on during the synthesizing of information within the expository frame.  

4)	Speaking and listening skills may also be used if teacher chooses to have students share their paragraphs with the class.

Enrichment:
1)	The We the People program sponsored by the Center for Civic Education is an excellent way to get students to truly own material dealing with civics and current application.  Unit 1 of the We the People material deals with the issue of natural rights.

2)	Students can read the middle level biography of César E. Chávez (click) written for the CDE Web site.

3)	The UFW Web site and César E. Chávez Web site (sponsored by San Francisco State University) offer additional information on the Pilgrimage to Delano.

Assessment:
*The expository frame does not have to be used with strong writers.  If students in the class can write well without the scaffolding of an expository frame, it may constrict them.

Understanding of the relationship between The Declaration of Independence and The Plan of Delano can be demonstrated by the detail that students use in the expository frame.  Further understanding can be measured by the way the students use the terms within the writing and the connections that are made from one document to the other.

A rubric should be used to help the students understand what is expected during their writing.  It is expected that the students be given credit for defining and using the terms correctly in their writing and for the quality of their connections.  

Service Learning: 
The Declaration of Independence and The Plan of Delano both hold an individual’s natural rights in the highest regard.  Attention to issues of natural rights should be a primary concern for any service learning project.  Students may want to begin by researching local media to discover whether natural rights are being violated in their communities.  If this is not possible, expanding the search towards State and national issues is recommended.  Service learning can take the form of letters to media officials to bring attention to the problem.  More direct action can then be discussed between student, parent, and teachers.