I would use the book Walking for My Life, written by Jennifer Dewey, to teach students about the ways in which suffering can help a person become more knowledgeable and understanding. In this story, the narrator walks through the desert …
We’ve seen how essential questions can organize an entire US history course. This week we see how one can begin a unit on the Women’s Movement and inspire students to become more thoughtful about how gender roles affect human identity …
Though people like Socrates made asking questions seem deceptively simple, it’s actually a very complex process. Here are a few criteria to creating the kinds of deep questions that fuel great conversations. A really good essential question causes confusion and …
From the historic March on Washington to the streets of Charlottesville, and into the opening ceremonies of football games, we see people and groups fighting against intolerance to promote a more peaceful, just society. But wait… Can intolerance be a …
Seems counter-intuitive to me. But maybe I’m missing something. Inspired by stoic philosopher Epictetus, here’s how you can work through the 3-Step conversation method to create an essential question for a US history unit on imperialism.
Roscoe Pound, former dean of Harvard Law School, famously said “The law must be stable but must not stand still.” Designers of the Supreme Court comparison FRQ for the AP government exam must have been listening. Consistent with the expectations …
Respect is something adolescents think a lot about After all, there are great rewards to being respected: more friends, love from parents, favors from teachers and acceptance from society. That’s a pretty sweet deal. American history is replete with leaders …
“I think, therefore I’m right.” Whether it’s defending a position on gun control, angling for a better grade in class or arguing about musical tastes in the lunchroom, many students tend to think that thinking about and believing in something are sufficient grounds …
In Monday’s (1/22/18) sschat we discussed ideas for Embedding Writing into the Social Studies Curriculum. I shared an innovative tool called The 4-Sentence Paper, which was created by Dennis Earl, Department Chair and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Coastal Carolina University. …
On their face some essential questions seem simplistic. They don’t involve big words or big concepts– that is, until you really start thinking. High school teacher Justin Riskus constructed one of these questions and used it during an exploration of …
Is it just me or are learning targets often written in very sterile and boring language? In a social studies classroom… Students can describe the political and social consequences of American imperialism. or in an English classroom… Students can summarize …
Here’s an idea for how to combine a good classroom conversation with the writing of an argumentative essay FRQ on executive orders. Procedure: Tell students to submit answers to this Google form 2-3 days before the conversation. On the form …
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