Page 256 - Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students 4th Edition

228 Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students
not always answered, if the evidence is inconclusive) using data. Questions that are ethical in nature (that usually start with “should”) are not appropriate questions for inquiry and instead should be reserved for discussion or debate.
(2) Pose a hypothesis to the question. Students should attempt to answer the question posed using their prior knowledge or logical reasoning. Students may pose different hypotheses, which you could label Hypothesis A, Hypothesis B, and so forth. Encourage them to draw upon what they know about the topic, to make an analogy, if relevant, and to use logic. Remind students that all hypotheses are valued, and that it is impor- tant to be open-minded to the fact that any of the proposed hypotheses are plausible.
(3) Gather and analyze data related to the question. Generally, we suggest gathering the data for students because you will have better and easier access to high-quality, rele- vant resources, and you can screen them for readability by students. For students in the upper grades, however, you do not have to provide as much structure if they are able to do Internet searches or investigations (e.g., surveys, interviews) on their own. However, we suggest you continue to be involved in the data-collection process to ensure students are moving in a direction that will allow them to draw sound con- clusions. Help students analyze the data. We suggest providing graphic organizers to help students with the data analysis.
(4) Determine whether to accept or reject the hypotheses. Have students return to the hypotheses posed and determine whether the evidence collected supports or refutes the hypotheses. As part of this step, students could make their tentative findings public by creating a poster or presentation describing the inquiry process and the new knowledge gleaned.
Inquiry connotes “minds-on” learning—asking questions and exploring possibilities. It requires pulling ideas apart and putting them back together. It can be used at all grade levels; however, more guidance is needed in the early grades. While many experts characterize inquiry teaching as student-centered, we believe that it requires balance for it to be effective, with the teacher playing an active role throughout the process. We present some examples of questions for inquiry from a cross-section of disciplines. We remind you that “answering” the question for inquiry is not the goal; instead the focus should be on the process of inquiry.
Historical Inquiry: The Jamestown Colony. You can help students explore possible explanations for the failure of Jamestown using both primary and secondary source materials. Students can corroborate an account with other accounts and evaluate the credibility of sources in their inquiry of what caused the colony’s failure. See the H.S.I. (Historical Scene Investigations) website for resources for this and other historical inqui- ries: web.wm.edu/hsi/cases.html.
Political Science Inquiry: Presidential Elections. There is a saying, “as goes Maine, so goes the nation” with regard to U.S. presidential elections. Using electoral and popular elec- tion political maps (available on the Internet), have students chart states’ voting patterns over time compared to the results of national elections. Students could pursue the question, “Since 1952, which state is the best predictor of the outcomes of presidential elections?” Students could also answer questions related to the electoral college and the popular vote.
Economic Inquiry: Specialization. Students can pursue the following question: “How does specialization and division of labor increase productivity?” through examination of a variety of kinds of data. They could interview factory owners or employees to learn first- hand how division of labor leads to higher production. To generate their own data for analysis, students could participate in a simulation where half the class makes a product (such as a birthday card) and each student performs all the steps involved (as in craft industry) and half the class makes a product through an assembly line (where each student
Copyright 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.