Discovering Questions

The following post first appeared here at History Is Elementary on January 28, 2006. It involves a lesson where I used a series of questions to help students discover new material…..linking old knowledge to new ideas. Read on…..YOU might learn something interesting about history and what goes on in your child’s classroom.

Remember….this is the season of the mulligan here at History Is Elementary (see my explanation post HERE). I’m re-posting some past efforts for your enjoyment while I’m off working on other projects.

Questioning students of any age is a great way to assess and gauge your success, but I like to use questions to guide students to discover information on their own---information that I want and plan for them to discover.

Discovery is an important tool in the classroom. I can provide text pages, notes, and lecture to them all day. They might be able to regurgitate information back at me, but has transfer of knowledge really occurred? Discovery, on the other hand, gives a student ownership of the material and builds motivation because I don’t place the content in the student’s mind. The student logically analyzes information and arrives at a new idea with a group of peers. They own this new idea and discuss it in their own terms. This is true transference. Students take some background knowledge and build on it using logic.

Usually when I question students my goal is to review important bits of information, get them to think differently about a topic, and to lay groundwork for a future unit. Here’s an example of how questioning worked in my classroom this week. EHT refers to me while student refers to various students who joined in on the conversation.

EHT: Where were the Puritans from?
Student: England.
EHT: OK. Somebody else tell me one thing about England’s government.
Student: They have a king.
Student: They have something else too. A P…. A Par…..
EHT: Do you mean Parliament?
Student: Yes.
EHT: Let’s discuss the king for moment. How does the king become the king?

I survey a sea of thoughtful faces. Finally a hand goes up.

Student: The people vote?
EHT: Not quite, but thank you for participating. Do you remember me talking about Queen Elizabeth?

Heads begin to nod. Students begin to speak out without permission. They had enjoyed our discussion a few weeks ago about Elizabeth and how she became queen. I had told them about how she was “married” to England and would not marry Phillip of Spain. This was a good sidebar to the information in their text about the defeat of the Spanish Armada. They enjoyed the fact that Queen Elizabeth had toyed with Phillip and finally told him she would never marry him.

EHT: OK. How did Elizabeth become queen?
Student: She took over after her father died.
EHT: Right. Kings and queens inherit the throne. Does a citizen of England have a say regarding who is king or queen?
Student: No.
EHT: Good. Let’s see where we are so far. We’ve got Pilgrims and Puritans in North America. We have some people in Jamestown. They are English citizens, right?

I get a chorus of “RIGHT”

EHT: Who is our leader today in the United States?
Student: the President.
EHT: How does the President get his power?
Student: From we the people.
Student: People vote.
EHT: Did the Pilgrims, Puritans, or the people at Jamestown elect the king?
Students: NO.
EHT: Do you mean to tell me the English citizens didn’t get to vote for their leader?
Students: No.
EHT: OK. We have English citizens living in North America who have never voted for their leader. They have never experienced the freedom of voting.

I point to the board where I have written Fundamental Orders along with a definition.

Fundamental Orders was the first written plan for government in North America by the English. It detailed the plan of government for the colony of Connecticut. Reverend Thomas Hooker is generally given credit as the founder of Connecticut. He was a disgruntled pastor who found fault with the Puritan theocracy in Massachusetts. Hooker was also a proponent of allowing all white men to vote----not just the wealthy or well-connected.

The Fundamental Orders allowed voting.

As I point to the board I say, “Englishmen haven’t experienced the vote."

I continue, "So what? What’s the big deal?"

I perch on my stool and wait. We have a few false starts and then:

Student: Hooker wanted more freedom----he didn’t think it was fair that only certain people made decisions.

This student simply restated what I had on the board.

Student: People in Connecticut could vote like we do today.

EHT: Hmmmmm……..I wonder how the United States got the idea about voting?

Student: George Washington.
Student: Abraham Lincoln?
Student: There was a whole group of people.
EHT: I believe you are thinking about the “Founding Fathers.” We are going to be learning about them soon.
Student: Did George Washington and those people know about the Fundamental Orders?
EHT: Yes.
Student: They got the idea from Hooker. That’s why we vote.
EHT: Yes. The Founding Fathers did read the Fundamental Orders along with a great many other important documents in history. They studied the past to see what came before, they decided what had worked before and what didn’t, and then they used those bits and pieces to form our government.

I walk about over the board and tap where Fundamental Orders is written and say, “That boys and girls is the so what behind this vocabulary term. That is why it is important enough for you to spend your time learning about it.

Students have now taken the dry and stale vocabulary term, Fundamental Orders, connected it to information they already knew, and have arrived at a new and improved idea that I can draw on as we continue our studies.

In a few weeks when I begin to speak of the Constitutional Convention I will draw students attention back to this moment in order to question them even more.

HERE is the link to the original post…..you can see the comments that were posted at that time. Feel free to leave new comments below.

Tell me…..did YOU learn anything? :)

History of a Long, Dirt Road

I love dirt roads, and Georgia is simply full of them. Unfortunately you have to travel further and further from the environs of Atlanta to find them anymore. When I was 18 and a newbie on the college campus of my parent’s choosing I was a member of the Dirt Road Club.

The requirements were simple…..you had to have enough money to invest in either gas or an appropriate beverage or two for you and your fellow club members, you had to be willing to devote an occaisional Saturday or Sunday to what could be an all day, all night road trip, and if you were the official driver for that trip you had turn off the main highway everytime you came upon a dirt road and follow it until you couldn’t follow it any longer.

Needless to say I’m quite the expert when it comes to private drives and logging roads all over North Georgia.

Just like the explorers of the 1500s and just like those folks who brave the elements to climb Mt. Everest members of The Dirt Road Club ventured forth because they were compelled to.

Our club motto was “Because it’s there!”

Yes, there were some dirt roads that were a bit scary, some that had a Deliverance feel to them, and some were just plain dangerous. Others were pure gems. Once when riding along through a forest the trees suddenly cleared and we found ourselves on a ridge where you could see mountain rise after mountain rise in the distance. Another time we found a mountain stream complete with waterfall and on the hills rising up all around us were hundreds of mountain laurel in full bloom. Those were the moments that kept us going down all those dirt roads.

This week’s wordless image was a dirt road. The image received many comments regarding perspective and the fact that the road in the photo looked like a very long road. It does my heart good when so many take the time to bring out other details like the palmetto, live oaks, and the shell road like Shannon and Carmi.

The road seen in my image has the distinction of being the longest and oldest dirt road still in use in America. It is located on Ossabaw Island, a barrier island along Georgia’s coast. Jeremy was the first commenter to place the image in the proper U.S. region so congratulations and enjoy your link. :)

To find out more about Ossabaw’s long, dirt road take a detour to my post over at Georgia on My Mind.

All Hail the Sacred Cod of Massachusetts

I was somewhat amazed that I didn’t have someone guess the identity of the sacred fish I served up as my wordless entry last week. The identity of the fish is something I have shared with students over the years once we begin our discussion regarding the 13 colonies. In the past students have identified three colonial regions being the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies. We examine each region and discuss how the natural environment played a part in their early economies, and this is where the fish comes in.

This week’s wordless image is known as The Sacred Cod of Massachusetts and hangs in their State House. There is much pomp and circumstance regarding the sacred fish. It hangs above the entrance to the room with legislators meet, and it can be seen clearly from the visitors’ gallery. The Speaker of the House faces the cod as he address the body of legislators during their law-making sessions. The fish is always headed in the direction of whichever side of the aisle has the most members and is therefore in power.

The current fish was placed in the State House in response to a suggestion by John Rowe on March 17, 1784. When the lawmaking body moved to a new State House bulding in 1798 the fish made the move as well. Even though the cod has had a place of importance in the State House I find it interesting that the lawmaking body didn’t vote until 1974 to name the cod as Massachusetts’ state fish.

Why a cod? The fish symbolizes how important cod fishing was to the early settlers and later citizens of Massachusetts. It is considered to be an ancient symbol of prosperity for the people of the state.

The five foot long cod that currently hangs in the State House is carved from pine and is the third one known to exist. The first sacred cod was destroyed in a fire in 1747, the second during the Revolutionary War.

In a story that comes straight out of the movie Animal House the Sacred Cod was actually stolen by some staff members of the Harvard Lampoon in 1933. The missing cod sparked a statewide search for the sacred fish that is hilariously recounted here.

It's Good to Be the King...er...Queen

Sometimes all you need is something very simple to move content along and to motivate students to think critically as any historian would do.

Prior to our Thanksgiving vacation my students were examining the Pilgrim colony at Plymouth and the later Puritan colony at Boston. Before that we managed to get Jamestown settled and coerced gold hungry men to work so they could eat real food ala John Smith.

It was at the point after we had taken a good hard look at initial French colonization that we turned to the Dutch. We discussed the purchase of Manhattan Island, the diversity of New Amsterdam, and the intolerance of people like Peter Stuyvesant.

It was at this point that I drew a blank outline of present-day United States on the board and turned to the class, “We’ve been talking about early colonization in North America. What are some of the colonies we’ve mentioned?”

Hands go up all over the class. I call on one young man. He answers, “Plymouth?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?” I counter.

He smiles and quickly states, “I’m telling you.”

“Great, then come on up and make a dot where Plymouth would be.”

The next dot to go up is for Jamestown.

Hands have continued to flap and wave during this exchange so while our first dot is going up on the map I call on another student.

A young lady wearing furry, mukluk type boots responds, “Roanoke!” in a loud, clear voice.

Another student agrees with her by saying, “Yeah, the Lost Colony.”

One of my arm flappers interjects more forcibly than he needs to, “But, it wasn’t a successful colony. It shouldn’t go up on the map.”

Other children argue it should be on the map. One student even says it should be on the map because it really is a place today. At any rate mukluk girl finally gets the marker and she makes her dot.

I refocus our energies by asking, “What about the Dutch colonies?”

We quickly get a dot up for New Amsterdam. I continue questioning students by asking, “Why would European monarchies allow colonization? What was in it for them?”

Various students summarize that colonies formed because the monarches granted permission through charters, and money was invested in companies like the Virginia Company in return for stock. Students advise that monarchs wanted colonies because it would give them power and prestige. My nine year olds don’t use the word prestige. I believe their wording was, “It would make them look good, it would make them look important, and others would like them.”

Finally I ask students to look at the map we had fashioned together on the board. I ask them to look at the map through the eyes of a king…..the king of England. “Look at your map. Look closely. Analyze it. What do you notice?”

We begin the answer dance where I’m peppered with various responses that are a mix of wild guesses and thoughtful attempts. I take refuge for a minute by sitting on my back table and swing my legs back and forth. I keep telling students to think, think, and think some more. I remind them to think like a king.

Finally, a revelation. One young lady observes, “The English colonies are divided.”

Someone agrees, “Yeah, the Dutch colony seperates the English colonies.”

“So. So what?” I respond, “Why is that a big deal?” We embark on a short discussion why it’s not a good idea to have territory split by a potential enemy.

I call on one particular young man who doesn’t appear to be involved with the rest of the class. Basically his head is below his desk and is actually inside his bookbag.

I approach his desk and rap on it. He sits up rather quickly. “Ummm, Uninvolved Student, what would you do if you were the King of England?”

Uninvolved sits up straight and for a moment looks like a deer caught in headlights. He looks around the room for a minutes and then he states, “Well…….if I was the king I would get rid of what’s in my way. I’d get rid of the Dutch.” He springs back to his original position....head in bookbag.

I stand there dumbfounded.

I guess some students can listen even when their heads are in a bookbag.

UPDATE: Make sure you check out the comments. One reader, Linda, asked a very good question concerning St. Augustine and Santa Fe----both established settlements during the same time period. I've posted my response in the comments section.

Dragging Things Out

I guess we are the only family in the United States actually smoking a turkey today. You’d think we’re tired of turkey after Thanksgiving, but Hubby Dear received a dandy bird from a client and well…..we have to eat, you know. We usually drag holidays out as long as we can.

Sometimes dragging something out is great and other times well….sometimes things can go on too long. Cinderella over at World of Royalty linked to two newspaper stories regarding the American Mohegan tribe and a request to meet with monarch of Britan dating back to the 1730s. Read the whole story story here and here.

This is most interesting. Everytime I visit Cinderella I find something wonderful.

Content Delivery: The Thirteen Colonies

Questioning students of any age is a great way to assess and gauge your success, but I like to use questions to guide students to discover information on their own---information that I want and plan for them to discover.

Discovery is an important tool in the classroom. I can provide text pages, notes, and lecture to them all day. They might be able to regurgitate information back at me, but has transfer of knowledge really occurred? Discovery, on the other hand, gives a student ownership of the material and builds motivation because I don’t place the content in the student’s mind. The student logically analyzes information and arrives at a new idea with a group of peers. They own this new idea and discuss it in their own terms. This is true transference. Students take some background knowledge and build on it using logic.

Usually when I question students my goal is to review important bits of information, get them to think differently about a topic, and to lay groundwork for a future unit. Here’s an example of how questioning worked in my classroom this week. EHT refers to me while student refers to various students who joined in on the conversation.

EHT: Where were the Puritans from?
Student: England.
EHT: OK. Somebody else tell me one thing about England’s government.
Student: They have a king.
Student: They have something else too. A P…. A Par…..
EHT: Do you mean Parliament?
Student: Yes.
EHT: Let’s discuss the king for moment. How does the king become the king?

I survey a sea of thoughtful faces. Finally a hand goes up.

Student: The people vote?
EHT: Not quite, but thank you for participating. Do you remember me talking about Queen Elizabeth?

Heads begin to nod. Students begin to speak out without permission. They had enjoyed our discussion a few weeks ago about Elizabeth and how she became queen. I had told them about how she was “married” to England and would not marry Phillip of Spain. This was a good sidebar to the information in their text about the defeat of the Spanish Armada. They enjoyed the fact that Queen Elizabeth had toyed with Phillip and finally told him she would never marry him.

EHT: OK. How did Elizabeth become queen?
Student: She took over after her father died.
EHT: Right. Kings and queens inherit the throne. Does a citizen of England have a say regarding who is king or queen?
Student: No.
EHT: Good. Let’s see where we are so far. We’ve got Pilgrims and Puritans in North America. We have some people in Jamestown. They are English citizens, right?

I get a chorus of “RIGHT”

EHT: Who is our leader today in the United States?
Student: the President.
EHT: How does the President get his power?
Student: From we the people.
Student: People vote.
EHT: Did the Pilgrims, Puritans, or the people at Jamestown elect the king?
Students: NO.
EHT: Do you mean to tell me the English citizens didn’t get to vote for their leader?
Students: No.
EHT: OK. We have English citizens living in North America who have never voted for their leader. They have never experienced the freedom of voting.

I point to the board where I have written Fundamental Orders along with a definition. Fundamental Orders was the first written plan for government in North America by the English. It detailed the plan of government for the colony of Connecticut. Reverend Thomas Hooker is generally given credit as the founder of Connecticut. He was a disgruntled pastor who found fault with the Puritan theocracy in Massachusetts. Hooker was also a proponent of allowing all white men to vote----not just the wealthy or well-connected. The Fundamental Orders allowed voting.

As I point to the board I say, “Englishmen haven’t experienced the vote. So what? What’s the big deal?

I perch on my stool and wait. We have a few false starts and then

Student: Hooker wanted more freedom----he didn’t think it was fair that only certain people made decisions.

This student simply restated what I had on the board.

Student: People in Connecticut could vote like we do today.

EHT: Hmmmmm……..I wonder how the United States got the idea about voting?

Student: George Washington.
Student: Abraham Lincoln?
Student: There was a whole group of people.
EHT: I believe you are thinking about the “Founding Fathers.” We are going to be learning about them soon.
Student: Did George Washington and those people know about the Fundamental Orders?
EHT: Yes.
Student: They got the idea from Hooker. That’s why we vote.
EHT: Yes. The Founding Fathers did read the Fundamental Orders along with a great many other important documents in history. They studied the past to see what came before, they decided what had worked before and what didn’t, and then they used those bits and pieces to form our government.

I walk about over the board and tap where Fundamental Orders is written and say, “That boys and girls is the so what behind this vocabulary term. That is why it is important enough for you to spend your time learning about it.

Students have now taken the dry and stale vocabulary term, Fundamental Orders, connected it to information they already knew, and have arrived at a new and improved idea that I can draw on as we continue our studies. In a few weeks when I begin to speak of the Constitutional Convention I will draw students attention back to this moment in order to question them even more.