About the Author: Terry Robinson has been teaching fifth grade for 16 years and is currently teaching at Haugen Elementary School in Haugen, Wisconsin. She recently completed her Masters Degree in Education--Professional Development through the University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse. She can be reached at robinsont@ricelake.k12.wi.us.

What was the name of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America? Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? When did the Battle of Gettysburg occur? Far too often these trivia type questions drove my elementary social studies curriculum. Students listened to lectures and read their textbook to find the answers to these types of questions. Their understanding was then measured by the score on the end-of-unit multiple choice or fill-in the-blank test. As expected, the excitement level on the part of the instructor and the students was never very high with this method of instruction.

As the focus on standards continued to drive curriculum evaluation, I felt it was time to analyze my fifth grade social studies program in light of these standards. The social studies standards demand that students develop historical perspective, explain historical relationships and the significance of events, and analyze issues that affect the present and the future. They call for students to understand the impact of people, ideas, and events; standards also require that students decide how they feel about key events. I could not say that my students' search for factual answers to trivial questions was meeting these standards.

Because I was designing social studies lessons solely around textbook-based teacher-directed instruction, the result was that students often lacked a true understanding of the significance of the events they were studying. As Wiggins and McTighe (1998) recognize, "We may have gone far, geographically or figuratively--through lots of textbook pages--but that doesn't mean we have derived great meaning or insight from our travels" (p. 106). It was obvious to me that it was time for a change.

Am I Asking the Right Questions?

I began the change process by carefully evaluating the kinds of questions that I was asking my students. By using questions that demanded no more than single fact based answers, I was assuring that the students' learning would be as shallow as the questions. It was time to ask new questions that challenged students to a deeper understanding of American history. Clark (1997) proposes that we use "provocative questions that elicit the interests of the learner and motivate them to seek answers that satisfy their needs" (p. 76). Such questions should ignite their thinking and improve understanding.

Wiggins and McTighe (1998) emphasize the significance of using questions to focus teaching and to lead to enduring understanding of the content. They propose that we use multilayered questions that inherently reveal the depth of a topic and that such questions continue to be asked over and over again throughout a unit. They call these "essential" questions. Students will not have a single correct answer but rather several viewpoints that naturally demand more of students and lead them to deeper understanding.

A well-chosen essential question generates additional thought-provoking questions. These questions are more subject or unit specific, yet they will continue to challenge students to view their subject from a broader perspective and to develop true understanding. All the while the essential question provides a coherent structure around which to frame the unit. It creates a clear direction and provides a purpose for studying the material. The table below from Wiggins and McTighe (1998, p.29) gives examples of essential questions and the more specific unit questions that could be used with them.

Where Should I Begin?

Excited to make some constructive changes, I began working with the first unit I taught in the year--the study of the early American colonies. Recognizing that the questions I asked would be the first step on the pathway to my students' understanding, I took some time to develop a question to guide us through the unit. I finally decided to use: "Is America a land of opportunity?" Students would be challenged to take information learned throughout the unit and use it to develop theories and opinions on this question. It is likely that their answers and outlook would change over the course of the unit.

This central question led naturally to the next layer of questions students would be asked to address. "How did America come to be considered by many as a land of opportunity? When did America first come to be a land of refuge? Why?"

I asked the students to reflect in a learning journal before we even started the unit. "Is America a land of opportunity?" They wrote their reactions to this question. Just the introduction of the question for consideration generated significant thinking. Before writing, students wanted to clarify: What do we mean by opportunity? What opportunities does America offer its people? After writing, some students wanted to share their thoughts and this sparked more discussion leading to more questions. Do struggles come along with opportunities? Is it still an opportunity if there is a struggle with it? What a welcome change to see excitement generated by the questions being asked in social studies class.

Where Do I Go Now?

I realized that if I wanted students to see American history in light of its impact on our world today, I needed to rethink my practice of studying events in chronological order. "If our goal is to have students understand historically, we might well begin and end in the present to better view the past in light of a more familiar present" (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998, p.138). Beginning our study of the past by looking in the present would facilitate students in making connections and recognizing the bigger picture.

With this in mind, we began our study of the American colonies in the 21^st century. Our class read an article explaining why young boys are coming to America from Sudan today. Students discovered why these boys were fleeing their own country, what America offered them, and what some of their struggles were when they came here. A discussion of these issues led naturally to asking why people started coming to America as refugees. What did they find when they first came here? We could now begin our study of the early colonies with a reason to study the colonies--they have a link to the present.

As we studied the early colonies, we kept our essential question in focus. For example, as students drew a representation of a New England town or a Southern plantation, they were asked to consider, "How does this drawing reveal opportunities that the New Englanders had? What were the opportunities available to the people from the Southern colonies?" One group of students debated among themselves: "Were there equal opportunities available to all people on the plantations? Was America a land of opportunity for all?" Clearly, students were now living up to the social studies standards by analyzing the significance of events and making their own connections to those events.

What Is the Student's Role in Learning?

As I watched students learn to construct meaning for themselves, I realized the value of students becoming more active participants in the classroom. Students must participate in constructing their knowledge if they are going to make it their own (McKeown & Beck, 1999). I needed to design instruction so students could more frequently make their own connections.

Providing adequate time for student reflection needed to become a priority. By continually rushing to cover the material and not providing time for reflection, I had been decreasing the probability that students would understand and remember what had been taught. "You can either have your learners' attention, or they can be making meaning, but never both at the same time" (Jensen, 1998, p.46). Allowing time for written reflection provided students the opportunities to create their own links and patterns in what they were learning. Making these connections is "critical to the formation of meaning" (Freeman, 1995).

With this in mind, I had students continue to write in their learning journals throughout the unit. In their journals they wrote about something they learned that day and how that information connected with what they already knew. They ended by writing a question still going around in their mind. This simple form of reflection allowed students to notice patterns in what they learned and thereby create their own learning.

Written reflection was not the only technique I used to move students into the role of active learners. I considered my role and how it affected the classroom. I asked myself as I looked at my classroom, "Who's doing the talking" (McKeown & Beck, 1999)? The more I lectured, the more I learned. It was as simple as that. It was time to give the students more responsibility for talking. As a result of that realization, student-to-student interactions and group discussions took place every day throughout the class period. These communications could take the form of larger role-play, structured review activities, or short student-to-student discussions of a new concept just learned. "Discussing the learning in small groups makes good sense for the learning brain"(Jensen, 1998, p.46).

One example of student discussion was a structured technique I used called Paired Verbal Fluency (Saphier & Haley, 1993, p.29-33). Students formed pairs to discuss the day's learning. One partner spoke on the topic for 45 seconds while the second person listened. After 45 seconds I told the groups to switch so the second person spoke for 45 seconds on the same topic. Switching again when the second person had spoken for the allotted time, the pair continued speaking for 30 seconds each and then 20 seconds each. The students were now having the opportunity to discuss their learning, thereby adapting and customizing it (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998). Paired Verbal Fluency proved to be an effective tool that aided in the understanding and recall of new material.

In addition to having students be active participants, I began to recognize the role that relevance plays in helping students create meaning (Jensen, 1998). It was difficult to blame students for a lack of interest in a time period so far removed from their lives. They needed some way to recognize connections between what we studied and their own lives. To bring relevance to our unit on the American colonies, students were asked to consider their reactions if they had the chance to move across the country to go to a better school with more opportunities. One student commented, "I would never want to move all the way to another country like that. Why did they do that?" Now the question of opportunity was being related to their ten-year-old lives.

What About Assessment?

A new approach to social studies instruction demanded new assessment methods. The multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank test provided by the textbook publisher couldn't begin to accurately measure and reflect the depth of the information the students had learned. Rather, I chose to use multiple forms of assessment. Now, rather than considering assessment as the final measure of prior learning, I view assessment as another tool to develop and evoke understanding. Learning did not end with assessment but continued right through the assessment process.

I developed alternative assessments such as asking students to write an interview of an early colonist to discover his reasons for leaving his homeland and coming to this new land (Attachment A). Students also created brochures advertising the opportunities that a colony had to offer. Students were given rubrics in the beginning that explained the grading expectations for the various assessments. The rubrics provided guidance in creating quality products. As students worked on their assessment, their learning was continuing.

After studying the colonial time period, we jumped ahead to the early 1900s. This time period saw a rapid influx of immigrants to our nation. Students studied the reasons these people came and the struggles and opportunities they encountered. Then through the use of magazine articles students looked at various ethnic groups who came to America. The articles covered time periods ranging from early colonial times to the present day. The same questions used throughout the unit kept the study focused and coherent.

The final discussion culminating the unit noticeably demonstrated the increased level of understanding that the students had achieved. These fifth grade students discussed whether the flow of immigrants to America today should be limited. Students shared their insights and defended their positions with interest and knowledge. I have to admit these fifth graders surpassed my expectations by revealing their understanding of historical relationships and carefully analyzing issues affecting the present and the future. This was just what the standards demanded.

By carefully considering the questions I had expected students to answer and then structuring learning so that the students were active participants, I gave students the opportunity to construct their own meaning and to view American history from a broader perspective. I was certain it was time to do away with "What was the name of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America?" These students were ready for more!

References

Clark, E. (1997). Designing and implementing and integrated curriculum. Brandon, VT: Holistic Education Press.

Freeman, W. (1995). Societies of brains. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Jensen, E. (1998). Teaching with the brain in mind. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

McKeown, M. & Beck, I. (1999, November). Getting the discussion started. Educational Leadership, 25-28.

Saphier, J. & Haley, M. (1993). Activators. Acton, MA: Research for Better Teaching, Inc.

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Early Colonists Interview

America - is it really a Land of Opportunity?

Write an interview of an early colonist to find out his/her reasons for leaving his/her homeland and coming to this unknown land. Your interview should also reveal his/her expectations for being in America, and some hardships he/she has encountered. The questions and answers should make it obvious what group of colonies he/she is from. The interview should also reveal his/her opinion about America being the land of opportunity. Remember, a good interview should ask questions that require more than a yes/no answer. Give us a lot of interesting information.

Interview Rubrics

1. Asks at least 5 questions.

5

4

3

2

1

2. Questions require more than a yes/no answer.

5

4

3

2

1

3. Interview explains clearly reasons for leaving homeland.

5

4

3

2

1

4. Interview explains clearly expectations for being in America

5

4

3

2

1

5. Interview explains clearly difficulties faced in America.

5

4

3

2

1

6. Interview makes obvious which group of colonies the colonist is from.

5

4

3

2

1

7. Answers provide details.

5

4

3

2

1

8. Interview clearly presented to the class.

5

4

3

2

1

TOTAL - _____/38