HOME | DD

Description
Tuesday: Asking for Help

It was only a few days before his Declaration of Independence test, fith grader James decided to ask his eighth grade sister, Sarah, to help him study. He didn't want to, thinking asking her would make him seem stupid, but he didn't want to be the only one to not get an A, because if everyone in his class got an A on the test, the class would have a pizza party. So, while Sarah was watching James and their baby brother, Henry, who was sleeping in his crib, James went up to Sarah, while she was watching TV.
"Hey, uh, Sarah?" He asked.
"What?" Sarah said, not really paying attention. She thought it would be something stupid.
"You're learning about The Declaration of Independence, right?" the blonde asked, careful not annoy her to much. Sarah's attention to the TV stopped. Her head shot up at the mention of her favorite subject. She had just took the test, of course much harder than James's would be, and she was the only one to pass the test, which she did with flying colors,
"Yeah, what about it?" she replied.
"Well, my class is learning about what it means, and how it relates to us now, and our teacher said that if every passed with an A, we could have a pizza-party, and I kinda, don't really get it. At all," he said, his speed of voice progressing with each word.
"Ahh, a pizza party. Oh how I miss thee," she said, smiling, "so, do you have your book or what?"
"Uh?"
"Do you have your textbook. Or a copy of the declaration?"
"Oh, yeah, its upstairs in my room."
"Well, go get it. And don't wake up Henry. You wake him up, and you can say goodbye to any hope of me helping you," Sarah said, sternly. James nodded, hurring up the stairs, being as quiet as, he, could.

When James came back downstairs, he plopped down on the couch, book sprawled open with paper footballs and notes stuck inside the pages.
"OK, I'm ready Sarah. Sarah? Saaaaarah?"
Sarah had become engrossed with texting her friends, and others, that she forgot what she was waiting for. She jerked around
"Oh. Hey, right, history. Sorry James."
"Hmph," James muttered.
"Shush. do you want me to help you?"
"Yes...", he mumbled.
"OK, then turn that frown upside down, and smile," Sarah said, looking over at her younger brother's book, "So, you've been playing paper football?"
"No. Maybe, yes," he said, "can we get on with it?"
"Yeah, Sure." She replied.
Sarah pondered on how to teach him. When she came up with a plan, she began.
"First of all, who wrote the Declaration, and why was he chosen to write it?" she asked.
"Umm… I know this… Umm was it George Washington because he was the first president?"
"No, it was Thomas Jefferson. He was chosen to write it because he was a good writer, and he was from Virginia." she informed him.
"Why was him being from Virgina important," James asked. Sarah could tell he had been paying attention to her.
"Because he was from Virgina and Virgina was one of the oldest colonies. Plus he was an awesome writer," she said, joyufully. Thomas Jefferson was one of her favorite political writers.
"Oh. Okay. Continue please."
"Okay. The Declaration was written to declare the colonies as free and independent states. The colonies would now be able to do things that other free places were allowed to do."
"Oh. It is starting to make a little bit of sense now. I wasn't really listening to my teacher in class, I was talking to Jake about my cell phone."
"From now on, pay attention in school, okay?"
"Okay. I promise."
Sarah begins to tell James more about the declaration. She explains that The United States Declaration of Independence is a very important thing in the history of the United States of America. It is a paper, which said that the United States is a country not ruled by Great Britain.
"So the American people wrote the Declaration in the year 1776, right?" asked James smugly. He had paid attention a little bit in class.
Sarah continued, "All people are equal. God wants every person to have rights (life, freedom, and happiness). Sometimes bad people try to take away the rights (life, freedom, and happiness) of other people. People make a government so that their rights (life, freedom, and happiness) will be safe. The job of the government is to protect the rights of the people. A government is good when it does this. Also, the government must do what the people say, because the people made the government. When the government does what the people say, it is called a democracy."
Sarah stopped explaining for a minute and realized that Jacob was trying to follow word for word from his book.
"This is confusing me, Sarah. It's not explaining why they wrote it in here. This is why I don't get it." James explained.
"I'll make it much easier. They wrote it because the rich white men wanted to explain to the King of England why they were fighting to be their own country. They believed that all men were created equal, that all men have some rights given to them by god, those rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Does that help?" Sarah informed James.
"Yeah, it makes much more sense now. But I have one more question. Who was allowed to sign the Declaration?"
"Everyone but women, black people, Jewish people, or Native Americans."
"Oh. Okay, That doesn't sound fair at all!" exclaimed James.
"You're right, it wasn't," said Sarah and she explained to James that things in the declaration could be changed with amendments and that the rights of all U.S. citizens are now protected in the declaration.
"Yeah! I now know who wrote it and why, what it declared, why they wrote it, and who was allowed to sign it. Thanks Sarah!"
"You're welcome! Let's get to bed, you have a big test coming up."

Description
Tuesday: Asking for Help

It was only a few days before his Declaration of Independence test, fith grader James decided to ask his eighth grade sister, Sarah, to help him study. He didn't want to, thinking asking her would make him seem stupid, but he didn't want to be the only one to not get an A, because if everyone in his class got an A on the test, the class would have a pizza party. So, while Sarah was watching James and their baby brother, Henry, who was sleeping in his crib, James went up to Sarah, while she was watching TV.
"Hey, uh, Sarah?" He asked.
"What?" Sarah said, not really paying attention. She thought it would be something stupid.
"You're learning about The Declaration of Independence, right?" the blonde asked, careful not annoy her to much. Sarah's attention to the TV stopped. Her head shot up at the mention of her favorite subject. She had just took the test, of course much harder than James's would be, and she was the only one to pass the test, which she did with flying colors,
"Yeah, what about it?" she replied.
"Well, my class is learning about what it means, and how it relates to us now, and our teacher said that if every passed with an A, we could have a pizza-party, and I kinda, don't really get it. At all," he said, his speed of voice progressing with each word.
"Ahh, a pizza party. Oh how I miss thee," she said, smiling, "so, do you have your book or what?"
"Uh?"
"Do you have your textbook. Or a copy of the declaration?"
"Oh, yeah, its upstairs in my room."
"Well, go get it. And don't wake up Henry. You wake him up, and you can say goodbye to any hope of me helping you," Sarah said, sternly. James nodded, hurring up the stairs, being as quiet as, he, could.

When James came back downstairs, he plopped down on the couch, book sprawled open with paper footballs and notes stuck inside the pages.
"OK, I'm ready Sarah. Sarah? Saaaaarah?"
Sarah had become engrossed with texting her friends, and others, that she forgot what she was waiting for. She jerked around
"Oh. Hey, right, history. Sorry James."
"Hmph," James muttered.
"Shush. do you want me to help you?"
"Yes...", he mumbled.
"OK, then turn that frown upside down, and smile," Sarah said, looking over at her younger brother's book, "So, you've been playing paper football?"
"No. Maybe, yes," he said, "can we get on with it?"
"Yeah, Sure." She replied.
Sarah pondered on how to teach him. When she came up with a plan, she began.
"First of all, who wrote the Declaration, and why was he chosen to write it?" she asked.
"Umm… I know this… Umm was it George Washington because he was the first president?"
"No, it was Thomas Jefferson. He was chosen to write it because he was a good writer, and he was from Virginia." she informed him.
"Why was him being from Virgina important," James asked. Sarah could tell he had been paying attention to her.
"Because he was from Virgina and Virgina was one of the oldest colonies. Plus he was an awesome writer," she said, joyufully. Thomas Jefferson was one of her favorite political writers.
"Oh. Okay. Continue please."
"Okay. The Declaration was written to declare the colonies as free and independent states. The colonies would now be able to do things that other free places were allowed to do."
"Oh. It is starting to make a little bit of sense now. I wasn't really listening to my teacher in class, I was talking to Jake about my cell phone."
"From now on, pay attention in school, okay?"
"Okay. I promise."
Sarah begins to tell James more about the declaration. She explains that The United States Declaration of Independence is a very important thing in the history of the United States of America. It is a paper, which said that the United States is a country not ruled by Great Britain.
"So the American people wrote the Declaration in the year 1776, right?" asked James smugly. He had paid attention a little bit in class.
Sarah continued, "All people are equal. God wants every person to have rights (life, freedom, and happiness). Sometimes bad people try to take away the rights (life, freedom, and happiness) of other people. People make a government so that their rights (life, freedom, and happiness) will be safe. The job of the government is to protect the rights of the people. A government is good when it does this. Also, the government must do what the people say, because the people made the government. When the government does what the people say, it is called a democracy."
Sarah stopped explaining for a minute and realized that Jacob was trying to follow word for word from his book.
"This is confusing me, Sarah. It's not explaining why they wrote it in here. This is why I don't get it." James explained.
"I'll make it much easier. They wrote it because the rich white men wanted to explain to the King of England why they were fighting to be their own country. They believed that all men were created equal, that all men have some rights given to them by god, those rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Does that help?" Sarah informed James.
"Yeah, it makes much more sense now. But I have one more question. Who was allowed to sign the Declaration?"
"Everyone but women, black people, Jewish people, or Native Americans."
"Oh. Okay, That doesn't sound fair at all!" exclaimed James.
"You're right, it wasn't," said Sarah and she explained to James that things in the declaration could be changed with amendments and that the rights of all U.S. citizens are now protected in the declaration.
"Yeah! I now know who wrote it and why, what it declared, why they wrote it, and who was allowed to sign it. Thanks Sarah!"
"You're welcome! Let's get to bed, you have a big test coming up."