Exploring Civil Rights Using Primary Sources

After researching The Library of Congress, I discovered an article/tutorial, "Supporting Inquiry with Primary Sources."  It discussed how primary sources such as authentic images, documents, and diaries allow the learner to connect to the real world as opposed to using textbooks where interpretations of world issues are already given.  The article further stated, "Using primary sources empowers students to construct their own understanding, draw conclusions, create new knowledge, and share the knowledge with others."  I began to think about how project-based learning lends itself to the students having access to primary sources on the Internet.  Even though the students are responsible for finding an answer to a guiding question through research, they are also exposed to teacher-selected videos and documents that are relevant to furthering their inquiry and research. The students were asked to formulate questions based on what they were left wondering after analyzing documents, photos and videos of children, people of ethnicity, women, and the disabled being discriminated against, all of which involves a civil rights movement.

Inquiring Minds: KWL

During the beginning stages of Project Based Learning (PBL), I had my students to brainstorm ideas of what it meant to have civil rights. It was interesting that they could only reference the Bill of Rights knowing that they had the right to bear arms and had the right of freedom of speech. After having the students to view Voices and Choices that defined and explained what civil rights were and how they could be infringed, I introduced the guiding question, “What can I learn about the past Civil Rights struggles to help resolve current issues that still exist today?” This question would drive the project, giving it purpose; it is what begins the inquiry process.

I then chose videos from the past civil rights movements on United Streaming and YouTube that involved women fighting for the right to vote, children being forced to work, racial segregation, and the disabled being denied equal access to public places.

Students formed questions that they were left with after viewing the videos, and they were instructed to record them in their reflection journals so that I could get an idea of how developed their questions were. At first, a lot of the questions were written in such a way that would only provide a "yes" or "no" answer or would not lead to further inquiry through research.  I wondered what would happen if I showed examples of good open-ended questions that would be excellent for research and would lead to further questions?  After giving feedback by sharing good examples of open-ended questions, the students learned how to revise their own questions. Daniel Callison, the Associate Professor and Director of School Library Media Education at Indiana University in Bloomington, stated, "Renovated and revised questions will give one important indication of the student's progress through the information selection, analysis, and synthesis process." It is further stated about the importance of "Looking for evidence that the questions evolve in detail and complexity that show they are driving their thoughts." This article in School Library Media Activities Monthly shed light on the importance of recording information to show evidence of the progress of one's thinking and questioning.

After learning how to analyze questions for detail and revise them accordingly, the students decided what aspect of civil rights that they wanted explore based on interest.  After making a decision, they completed a KWL: What did they know about the topic, what did they want to learn about the topic, and what research would lead to information that would help answer their guiding question? The students divided their ideas according to what they knew and what they wanted to learn. Again, they focused their efforts on writing strong, detailed, and open-ended questions that would guide them in research and further their inquiry. Improvements were made and they spent two days exploring their new topic of interest, moving from the past to the present-day civil rights issues that they wanted to solve.

Before discussing what a good, open-ended question entailed, Some of the 5th grade questions were as follows:

Did men fight for their wives' right to vote?

When did children go to school when they were working such long hours?

How old were kids when they started working?

After the Civil War when slavery was abolished, why would African Americans not have equal rights?

How many special schools were available for the disabled?

Are there any cures for the disabled?

Are all races guilty of discrimination?

Some of the above questions are not open-ended and would not lead to further inquiry. After discussing how to formulate a good question using specificity, I had the students to go back and revise their original questions. The students asked deeper, more thought-provoking questions that in some way involved overcoming the civil rights struggles. The following are some samples:

How do you amend or pass a law?

How can a house be made disability friendly?

In what ways could we use existing laws to fight sweatshops?

Why are women paid less than men when they are equally qualified? Why is this a global issue?

Why is child labor more of a problem in certain parts of the country than others?

How do we begin a non-profit organization to stop child labor?

Why are child labor laws not enforced when it concerns agriculture?

Why is racial profiling a concern among law enforcements?

Why is segregation a bigger issue than it was during the civil rights movement?

The students also deepened their thoughts and asked more critical thinking questions that couldn't necessarily be researched, but had them looking at the world through a different lens.

If Rosa Parks hadn't refused to give up her seat, how would that have affected the outcome of the Civil Rights Movement?

What would the world look like today if the African Americans had given up fighting for freedom?

How would disabled people live their lives if George H.W. Bush didn't approve the ADA?

Why are small children of the early 1900's doing work that grown men struggle with?

If women still couldn't vote today, what would our country look like today?

Step One of Action Research

I had the privilege of attending Project Zero at Harvard this summer and the question was posed about understanding: What is understanding and how does it develop? The answer came in many forms such as having the students to engage, embrace problems, and persevere at challenging tasks. In addition to this, they question and explain what they learn and embrace the opportunity to learn from mistakes. This all involves being curious and questioning for deep thinking that leads to complex knowledge. That is when I decided that I needed to further explore how to develop a disposition of inquiry among my students so that they can deepen their level of critical thinking.

I have always wondered why a lot of my 5th grade students aren't curious and questioning about the content they are learning in my English classroom. Most just take information at face value or as the truth without ever wanting to know the "how" and the "why." After all, grammar and writing is usually not the favored subject when it is taught in a traditional way. When questions are asked, they are usually not detailed or do not range below surface-level questions that are more in-depth.

Research question:  How can I create a disposition of inquiry among my students?

I tried project-based learning,(PBL), in my classroom for the first time last year, and through my research I learned about inquiry-based learning. I am left wondering if PBL enhances inquiry verses using the traditional style of teaching. What would happen if I showed examples of good open-ended questions that would be excellent for exploring the answer through research and would lead to further questions? How can I ask the right questions and to lead my students to revise their questions that are not open-ended? What are the ways to teach the inquiry process and make it routine in my classroom? I want to be intentional about answering students' questions with a question that will make them think, problem-solve, be decision-makers, or find a way to answer their own questions.

I have begun a new project this year that will be a combination of project-based, problem-based, and inquiry-based learning, where I can apply my research to find ways of showing evidence of developing inquiring minds among my students.

Problem Finding & Formulating Questions for Research for Problem Solving

Finding Problems:

Problem Finding to Problem Solve from kim trefz on Vimeo.

Problem Finding to Problem Solve from kim trefz on Vimeo.

Inquiry to Guide Research:

Inquiry for Guiding Research from kim trefz on Vimeo.

Voices and Choices for Civil Rights

Voices and Choices for Civil Rights!!!

We are currently underway to answer our PBL guiding question: What can I learn from the past civil rights struggles to help resolve current issues that still exist today? This is a great site that defines civil rights, helps one to understand injustice, and provides information on how to learn methods of actions to overcome the struggles: start a movement, begin a campaign, start a petition, amend a bill, pass a law, advertise, capture photos, etc.

What can you do to make a difference today?

PBL: The Fairness Project

We have begun a new journey with project based learning using the social studies curriculum on civil rights. Before beginning, I realized that I would develop one guiding question that the students would all be responsible for answering regarding the topic of their choice: What can I learn from the past civil rights struggles to help resolve current issues that still exist today?

I had the students to first explore the areas of the civil rights movements that involved gender, age, race, and disability by viewing videos on YouTube and United Streaming from the past and present to gain enough knowledge to make a decision about what their interests would be. They were required to focus on inquiry, formulating questions to help them discover where their real interests lay, as well as give them a sense of ownership by allowing them to make a decision based on this.

Project-Based Learning Presentation

Project Based Learning on Prezi

Playing the Whole Game

During the reading of David Perkin’s book Making Learning Whole, I was able to make connections to the way that I manage my classroom and I discovered so many other ways that I can teach for understanding. Practicing skills on a regular basis without the real world application of how it works doesn’t allow students to make the connection and see the importance of what they are learning. Perkins used the analogy of baseball practice: the practice of pitching, catching, hitting, and throwing. He discussed how working on the small parts prepares one for the big game. It’s not until you put it all together to play the whole game of baseball that you see the importance of practicing the small parts.

When setting my goals for the year, I knew that I wanted to try “playing the whole game” in the classroom. I knew it would be a challenge and somewhat of a risk, but I wanted to further investigate project-based learning and give it a try. The students would be given the chance to develop autonomy, decision-making and problem solving skills, and apply the English content in the process. Learning grammar in isolation does not give the students the opportunity to see how it is supposed to work through real world situations. Throughout the project, the students were provided formative assessments that gave them the feedback that they needed to help them grow as writers. They were able to work on the hard parts and improve according to individual needs.

The best part about project-based learning is that the students were able to “play out of town.” They were able to take the grammar and writing, the higher-level reading skills, and the science and math that they were learning and apply them to the project as they made generalizations about their guiding questions of their space topic. They found a problem that they needed to solve and they come up with a hypothesis about a possible outcome. They used a KWL thinking routine to help them with inquiry that would guide their research. After investigating and exploring their chosen topic, they ultimately came up with a solution where they had to weigh their options and decide if their solution was worth the risk.

Through the process of PBL, the “hidden game” revealed itself. Reciprocal teaching occurred where the students were guided but were allowed the role of the teacher. They self-managed by using a rubric of expectations, a time-line, and a problem-solving guide that allowed them to organize their thoughts, record their findings, and reflect on what they discovered along the way. This opportunity allowed the students the freedom to be inquisitive and explore their curiosity through research. They definitely benefited from “learning from the team” as they collaboratively worked together on a daily basis to problem-solve. The end product involved a reflection paper, a model representation of their project, and the use of technology (prezi, iMovie, powerpoints, and glogster) to present their discoveries to class.

There are many things that I would do differently the next go-round of PBL, but that is part of playing the whole game. Now I will work on the hard parts as I will expect my students to do, and through my continued reflections, I hope to fine-tune the experience for my next year’s students.

PBL Final Product Presentations

5B PBL Final Product from Dawn Trefz on Vimeo.

How can NASA fortify current rockets to extend space travel? on Prezi

5A PBL Final Product: Da Pod Presentation from kim trefz on Vimeo.

Space Research Presentation

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PBL Final Product from Dawn Trefz on Vimeo.

PBL: Designing and Creating a Model

PBL: Designing and Creating a Model from kim trefz on Vimeo.

PBL: Designing and Creating a Model from kim trefz on Vimeo.