Teaching Strategies
Direct Instruction – There will be some places in this this unit where students will need specific information in order to make the historical thinking leaps and connections that I want them to make. Direct instruction, in the form of some type of lecture or modeling, will take place only when it is necessary to introduce a new concept or clear up a misunderstanding that is affecting most of the class. It is my goal for this unit to thoughtfully keep direct instruction to a minimum and to embrace more interactive and collaborative forms of instruction wherever possible.
Historical Inquiry – as students are reviewing primary or secondary sources, I want them inquiring, investigating, and questioning the sources. The use of guided inquiry questions and graphic organizers will help students through the readings and other sources and will provide the focus necessary to successfully analyze the material, helping them to arrive at conclusions that they can then support with evidence from the text(s). There will not be one “right” answer that I want students to achieve; rather they should create their own meaning using the inquiry questions and the source in combination.
Collaboration and Conversation – students will be assigned into pairs and groups for some of the research and document analysis tasks. At some points they will also be given the option to work in pairs or individually. In each assignment of this nature I will provide a structure that allows for academic conversations that provide more practice opportunities to not only develop language skills but critical thinking skills as well.
Presentation and Providing Feedback – at several points during this unit, assignments will be jigsawed so that students can more efficiently absorb and then share information. Rather than assign static presentations I want students to practice active listening and civil discourse. After modeling the process with them I will expect students to share reactions to others’ presentations and then have the presenting students react to or rebut the feedback that they receive. In this way students will take their collaboration to the next level and increase the amount of critical thinking. In order to achieve this goal presentations will not always be to the whole class, groups may be paired together and present directly to each other.
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