Summary
The Declaration of Independence's words are timeless, "We hold these truths to be self-evident." But in this time of stark divisions, is it self-evident what it means to be American? Ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, we reached out to Americans, some we met on the National Mall in Washington D.C., others who spoke from their homes, to talk about how we see ourselves. For a transcript of the story, click here . For the sake of time, you can watch just the first 3m:08s of the video.Five Facts
- Who was interviewed for the segment?
- When was this short video created?
- Where were the interviews conducted?
- What themes about America came up in the video multiple times?
- How did Lyric Primo have different views about America before the 4th of July than Chris Zimmer?
Focus Questions
The Declaration of Independence uses the words “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” But after watching all of these opinions about America, do you think it is self-evident what it means to be an American? What does it mean to you? Media literacy : Do you like the format that PBS chose to tell this story — a variety of short interviews with Americans picked off the street? Why or why not?For More
Extension activity: Have your students write their own response in 150-300 words to the question “What does it mean for you to be an American?" Send it to education@newshour.org for a chance to be published on NewsHour Classroom's Student Voice blog .Ella Cohen, a rising junior at Washington-Liberty High School in Arlington, Virginia, and intern at NewsHour Classroom, wrote today’s Daily News Lesson with editing by Vic Pasquantonio. Sign up for NewsHour Classroom’s ready-to-go Daily News Lessons delivered to your inbox each morning of the school year. Fill out this form to share your thoughts on today’s lesson.
