"We Hold These Truths..."

By: Kelsea

"We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal." That's about the only part of the Declaration Of Independence most Americans know. Not SHMS 8th grade history students! With the help of Ms. Trenkle, most if not all of the 8th graders learned part of the Declaration of Independence. We had to recite it to Ms.Trenkle on Thursday, November 20th, 2008. You will find below the section students had to learn and recite.

"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 form the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it,and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."

I personally enjoyed this assignment, and I think others did too.

-Kelsea is an 8th grade student at SHMS. She enjoys acting, reading, shopping and spending time with friends.One of her favorite sports is soccer. History is one of her favorite subjects. She enjoys working on the blog team.


by DaJuan

I now know part of the Declaration of Independence! Everyone was required to memorize and recite the Declaration of Independence. I had a hard time remembering it. I thought I was going to give up. I started practicing everyday, and would know bits and pieces of it. Then, I told myself that I was going to know it, and so I had to be disciplined. I finally learned, memorized, and recited it!


by Ashane

During the recitation I was very scared because I really did not want to say it. But when I got up to say it I was like, I can do it but starting it was scary. I was afraid I couldn’t remember it, but I got through it and I was so glad that I finished and I got an A+, thank you Jesus! My favorite was reciting it because after you go, you’re done.



by Kephren

Our recitation was assigned to use two weeks before the actual recitation. It was only one paragraph long and very difficult to memorize. It was the first part of the Declaration of Independence. Our class only had four students who could not memorize it. Even though our class did not have 100% completion, it helped me with my memorization skills.

The hardest part to remember was toward the end, “laying down its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form.” It was very complicated. Closer to the time of the recitation I felt very nervous but I stuck it out and said it through.



by Jeffrey

I think learning part of the Declaration of Independence was really enjoyable. I have a good memory. It was a little hard to remember all of it, but when I did it, it was really fun. I was the first one in my class to do the recitation. I was a little scared to do my recitation, but after I ddi it, I felt a lot better. I think it is good for students to remember things like that, but it makes them a lot smarter.



by Omar

I loved the DOI because to me it was easy. I studied/memorized all of it in one night. I also got an A+ so my mother and I were very, very happy. And next I need to, or I want to, memorize another story like the Declaration of Independence again. I would love to get another A+ on everything.



by Carleshia

Every class was assigned the famous document “The Declaration of Independence” on November 7, 2008. We had until November 19 to memorize it. The speech was at least on one paragraph long. To me I thought that it would be easy because I can memorize speeches and songs easily, but to some people it seemed like it would take them years. I really liked that assignment because it shows our skills on how we remember things and if we take a long time to remember it or not.


by Terrisha

On November 7 we were given an excerpt of the Declaration of Independence. We were to memorize and recite it in front of the class on the 19th. We were give almost two weeks to do this. It was fairly easy for me. We were given the opportunity to recite it before the 19th. To my surprise Jeffrey was the first to memorize it. Overall, it was a fun, easy A.

Terrisha is an 8th grader at Stuart. Her favorite class is U.S. History.


by Shanice

On November 7, 2008, the 8th grade classes were given an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence. We were to memorize it by the 20th. It seemed as if we had a long time to study, but it was just days away. I felt that this assignment was fun, not just because I got an A+, but because I learned something new. I fell that this was one of the most interesting assignments thus far in history class. I look forward to doing more things like this.

Shanice is an 8th grader of Stuart-Hobson MS in U.S. History.