U.S. History Documents and Speeches Worksheets and Task Cards

They are the documents and speeches that this great nation is built upon, the words of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Martin Luther King, Jr., and President Abraham Lincoln. In social studies and ELA, your learners have been introduced to the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the “I Have a Dream” speech, and the Gettysburg Address. Now, with these learning activities, they get to put their knowledge to the test and showcase their understanding of each of these famous documents and/or speeches. Within the pages of this product, your learners will be provided with a brief background of each document and speech, links with important information about each and/or the documents/speeches themselves, one worksheet about each, and finally a set of task cards that includes excerpts from each document/speech. After completing these activities, your learners will have a better understanding and appreciation for nation’s journey to freedom. Not only that, but they will also walk away having strengthened their skills in vocabulary, writing cursive, research, and geography. All worksheets and task cards are available in a color and black & white format. As an added bonus, a corresponding set of Power Point slides is available for the task cards activity. This allows you to use the paper version of the cards in multiple learning environments (learning centers, outdoor activity, small group activity), or as a whole group activity where the digital version is displayed to your group of learners at one time. To save you time and ease of burden, an answer key is also included. See below for the details of each worksheet and task card.

PAGE 1: Learners will learn the “who, what, when, why, and where” of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the “I Have a Dream” speech, and the Gettysburg Address.

PAGE 2: Learners will use the links learn additional information about the four documents/speeches

PAGE 3: Learners will read situational prompts determine if it is a privilege or a right. Then, they will color the corresponding graphic that shows which prompt is part of the Bill of Rights.

PAGE 4: Learners will use vocabulary terms in the “word bank” to fill-in the blanks about the Declaration of Independence.

PAGE 5: In cursive, learners will write a portion of one sentence from the Gettysburg Address. Then, they will use research skills to answer questions about the famous speech.

PAGE 6: On the provided map, learners will locate and color the U.S. states which are mentioned in the “I Have a Dream” speech. They’ll use the link to listen to the song mentioned in the speech and identify which terms in the speech were also used in other famous documents/speeches. Finally, learners will briefly write about a dream they have for future generations.

PAGE 7: Task Cards #1-4: (each document/speech is included)

PAGE 8: Task Cards #5-8: (each document/speech is included)

PAGE 9: Task Cards #9-12: (each document/speech is included)

PAGE 10: Task Cards #13-16: (each document/speech is included)

PAGE 11: Task Cards #17-20: (each document/speech is included)

PAGE 12: Answer Recording Page for the task cards

ANSWER KEY