Litspiration 2: The Scorpion Project - Setting & Harkness Tables

DISCUSSION PROMPTS: THE HOUSE OF THE SCORPION, THE SCORPION PROJECT, CLONES, TALKING TO THE TEXT, HARKNESS DISCUSSIONS, SETTING, CHARACTERIZATION, LITSPIRATION CHALLENGE, COLLABORATION, TEAMWORK

UP NEXT: Litspiration: The Scorpion Project & Characterization

Litspiration Challenge 1: Setting
On Wednesday, all teams posted their completed first litspiration challenge on their team blogs. Students were asked to explore the setting in the first 100 pages of the novel, working to understand how the choices made by the author help to drive the narrative. Click here for details on the setting challenge, and go to the main site to check out the team blogs (links on the right hand side of the website) and explore some of the challenges. All teams are looking for some readers, so please leave a supportive comment for them on any of their 3 posts so far!

Harkness Discussions



The other two posts on the team blogs are of their team discussions on the first 2 sections of the novel. Harkness 2 and Harkness 3 were general discussions on the students' thoughts so far on the novel and with this novel, there is rarely nothing to talk about! Two teams join together and then are assigned a space to meet up and discuss the topic presented to them. This discussion is recorded, and teams are responsible for posting their discussions via Soundcloud or Youtube or Vimeo to their team blogs, along with their discussion map and their answers to some reflection questions.

During the discussion, students need to fill certain roles:

• The moderator will ensure that the discussion stays focused, and can use the discussion questions he/she created.
• The cartographer will map the discussion using the provided form. This map should be posted along with the discussion (take a picture!)
• The recorder will use his/her computer (or an appropriate device of his/her choice) to record the discussion for the group. The  recorder is also responsible for uploading the discussion to Soundcloud AND posting on the blog.

This modified version of the Harkness Table gives some structure to the discussions, and responsibilities to the students. The general topics and dates of these discussions are known to the students as they are posted on the timeline. More details are included in specific posts on the project blog.

Litspiration 2: The Scorpion Project - Let's begin...

DISCUSSION PROMPTS: THE HOUSE OF THE SCORPION, THE SCORPION PROJECT, CLONES, TALKING TO THE TEXT, HARKNESS DISCUSSIONS, LITSPIRATION CHALLENGE, COLLABORATION, TEAMWORK

UP NEXT: Litspiration: The Scorpion Project

We are working with three different editions of this novel, and this provides a great opportunity to talk about author's choices, and the business side of books. 

A whole-grade novel study in the age of student choice

Student choice is, for many teachers and schools, becoming a cornerstone of literature study in schools. Student choice and voice are essential components to our curriculum at Connect, and it is something I value very highly. There are articles galore extolling the virtues of involving students by giving them a level of choice/voice in their studies, and from my experience, the positive outcomes of this approach are many and powerful. For example, almost every single student in 8.1 and 8.2 stated that having "free choice" for their project format and guiding question for the final Renaissance project was their favourite aspect of the inquiry. Choice, unsurprisingly, often leads to a higher level of engagement. So that begs the question: why have I chosen to have every student read the same book for this literature inquiry?

In short, using the same book gives us common ground on which to build and solidify students' literary analysis skills. This novel has a lot to explore and is accessible to all grade 8 readers; it introduces some interesting ideas that really allow students to consider the author's choices and intentions. The House of the Scorpion has proven to be an engaging read that leads to some interesting discussions about science and technology, social issues, and even current events.

This week, students recorded their first team Harkness discussion and started on their first team litspiration challenge, an exploration of the setting in the novel so far.

Final Update - Stories of Worldview Case Study: Intercultural Contact Between the Spanish and Aztec Empires of the 16th Century

DISCUSSION PROMPTS: WORLDVIEWS IN CONTACT, WORLDVIEWS IN CONFLICT, SPANISH EMPIRE, AZTEC EMPIRE, GEOGRAPHIC LUCK, PEER FEEDBACK, REVISION, REFLECTION, HOUSE OF THE SCORPION, THE SCORPION PROJECT

UP NEXT: Litspiration: The Scorpion Project

Step 4: Peer Feedback & Revision

On Monday, all groups were expected to come to class with a completed project in order to participate in the peer feedback opportunity. As a large group, we talked about the difference between feedback and judgement, ensuring we all focused our efforts on providing specific, action-oriented ideas to our peers, as well as support. I encouraged students to approach this in conversation form: instead of abandoning your own work in order to view someone else's, two groups were instructed to sit together and discuss each others' projects. We used this small, two-sided form to help us and to record our big ideas:

I took a page out of the elementary handbook with the "stars" and "wishes" approach. 

Talking about "stars" and "wishes" for each group's project.

The peer feedback process took almost an entire double period (80 minutes) as I encouraged students to seek feedback from at least two other groups. Some got up to 3, and all ended up with some clear advice which they then used to improve their final product to have it ready for Wednesday's gallery walk.

The process of peer feedback is also a way for me to assess how students enhance and support our learning community. As you can see from the supportive, specific feedback, that is going pretty well in our classes!

Step 5: Reflection
On Wednesday afternoon, students set up their projects in the Collaboratorium so that both classes could see each others' work. They then chose their top 2 projects, and told me why. This tells me a lot about what they value in projects such as this, and how they understand the learning outcomes. This also allows students to reflect on the project in full, considering how others have taken up the learning outcomes differently than they did.

Students received feedback from me on their final product as well (already! I know - I really committed to getting this done quickly!), and have completed individual reflections in their journals which I will look at asap.

The Scorpion Project
Friday morning we started on our second litspiration inquiry of the year, a full grade novel study! This novel study will allow students to dig into the process of literary analysis, as well as solidify their skills of reading closely, Talking to the Text, effective discussion, and writing well (i.e., engagingly, concisely, precisely, and clearly).

There is a reading schedule that students must follow closely; the request has been made for students NOT to read ahead! We will be moving quickly through this inquiry in order to complete as much as possible before Spring Break. Of course, we are often met with challenges in the form of schedule changes (field trips, assemblies, etc.) that we cannot always control, but it is my hope that we can stick to this timeline as closely as possible.

Stories of Worldview Case Study: Intercultural Contact Between the Spanish and Aztec Empires of the 16th Century

DISCUSSION PROMPTS: WORLDVIEWS IN CONTACT, WORLDVIEWS IN CONFLICT, SPANISH EMPIRE, AZTEC EMPIRE, GEOGRAPHIC LUCK, RESEARCH SKILLS, COLLABORATION SKILLS, PROPOSAL, CREATE

UP NEXT: Reflection and Litspiration 2: The Scorpion Project

Step 2: Proposal
At the beginning of this week, all groups had to put together a proposal for me to approve. They needed to include some very specific details:

Some found this process quick and easy, while others were asked to re-think some details. It is always amazing how willing students are to think more deeply when given some advice, and the chance to do so.

Step along the way: Assessment

I liked this image as a visual metaphor for assessment; essentially, the components are the same for each student and each project, but the small details can, and should, vary. When searching for an image, I first Googled "messy" then "complicated" and finally found this when I searched "multi-faceted."

Interspersed amongst the steps is assessment. By creating multiple opportunities for students and teachers to assess the work, assessment becomes a conversation, and moves away from something that is done TO students, and towards an activity that allows the assessment itself to be part of the learning. ("eduspeak" catchphrase: assessment for, of, by, as learning...)  This can take many forms, some of which might include:

• Intra-group check-ins - Groups work together to accumulate and record evidence of how they are meeting expectations for specific assessment categories; students used their own copies of the assessment tool to do this.
• Group - Teacher check-ins - Feedback loops are built into the work as students are required to have conversations with the teacher at various points along the way (e.g., the proposal approval process). I like to record specific notes from these check-ins in a Google doc for future reference.
• Collaboration check-ins - Each student individually completes a quick overview of their understanding of how the collaborative process is going up to that point in the project using a pie chart and/or percentages. After many years of learning HOW to collaborate, and reinforcement of those skills in grade 8, students can be very astute in understanding the nuances of effective, or ineffective, collaboration.
• Peer feedback - Students are asked to view other projects, often with a specific task to complete. The focus in my class is to ensure students are providing feedback, not judging/ranking/summatively assessing. As with my check-ins, the goal is to provide action-oriented advice, a skill we continue to work on.

Step 3: Create
Once a group's proposal was approved, they were in the homestretch...really! The creation of the actual artifact of learning is like icing on the cake in some ways - the ingredients were purchased, the cake was mixed, baked, and cooled, and now for the finishing touches. In other words, a lot of the work was already completed in terms of inquiry and knowledge/skill development. Often, in our assessment scheme, communication is a very important aspect that is demonstrated through the final artifact as students carry out their planned intentional choices to engage their audience in their thinking and convey their knowledge.

Projects are due in full by this Wednesday, with an opportunity for peer feedback tomorrow, and revisions on Tuesday. All students will then get a chance to view each others' work in a "gallery walk" event Wednesday afternoon.

Stories of Worldview Case Study: Intercultural Contact Between the Spanish and Aztec Empires of the 16th Century

DISCUSSION PROMPTS: WORLDVIEWS IN CONTACT, WORLDVIEWS IN CONFLICT, SPANISH EMPIRE, AZTEC EMPIRE, GEOGRAPHIC LUCK, RESEARCH SKILLS, COLLABORATION SKILLS

UP NEXT: After research comes creation

Step 1: Research
After critically examining the Age of Exploration, we have started digging into a case study of intercultural contact from that time, the empires of the Spanish and the Aztecs. Our goal is to create some kind of artifact that visually demonstrates the worldviews of both of these great empires, as well as includes examples of their intercultural contact, be that conflict or merely contact. In order to tell this story, we needed to find out some details in order to develop an understanding of these events. The resources we used to start our research were predetermined, with extra research limited to specifics, not just random Google searches. <skills!>

Students also considered with their groups how best to organize their research Google docs, after some suggestions and feedback from me; this is part of the assessment of this project.

The next step is for students to put together a proposal for me to help ensure they start off on the right foot, and once approved, students will create their artifacts. Next week will be a flurry of creativity: I can't wait!

The Age of Exploration continued

DISCUSSION PROMPTS: GUNS, GERMS, & STEEL, GEOGRAPHIC LUCK, JARED DIAMOND, AGE OF EXPLORATION/DISCOVERY/EXPANSION, NEXT LEVEL WRITING, ESSAYS

UP NEXT: A case study in discovery/expansion and geographic luck, the Spanish X Aztecs

The Age of...

Click for more
From Wikipedia commons: Cantino planisphere 1502, earliest surviving chart showing the explorations of Columbus to Central America, Corte-Real to Newfoundland, Gama to India and Cabral to Brazil. Tordesillas line depicted, Biblioteca Estense, Modena

We really dug into the Age of Exploration, formerly known as the Age of Discovery, working to answer the question that came up during a class discussion a few weeks ago: why was it the Europeans doing all the exploring? We explored a possible answer to this by watching parts 1  & 2 of the documentary based on Jared Diamond's book Guns, Germs, & Steel. Students were asked to develop an understanding of Diamond's theory of "geographic luck" and consider if it holds up. Most thought it did, but a few had some concerns centred around problems with deterministic theories such as this not taking into account individual actions and decisions, an issue echoed by some in critique of this theory. (Good job, grade 8s!)

We will now keep this theory in mind as we move into a case study of the Age of Discovery/ Exploration/Expansion, the intercultural contact between the Aztec and Spanish Empire of the 16th century.


Next Level Writing

We started last week exploring the five-paragraph essay as a model of "academic" writing, examining its pros, and its cons. Some specifics include:

• introductions (hook, general to specific, thesis)
• body paragraphs
• conclusions (touch back, hit the heart, look to the future, and zinger)
• topic sentences
• just write it
• This refers to novice writers' use of superfluous phrases such as "In this essay I am going to" or "I believe that." While there may be a place for phrases like this in certain types of communication, I am encouraging students to avoid telling me what they are going to write, and to just write it!

Now, students are re-writing their Renaissance test long answer responses (I am referring to them as a mini-essay) and working to utilize the positive aspects of the form we have examined. I have purposely organized this in a way that students are forced to work in drafts, returning to their revisions with fresh eyes every day or so. Through an informal poll, all students are making changes, and most are making significant changes to format, and some even to content.

The Age of Discovery? Exploration?

DISCUSSION PROMPTS: RENAISSANCE SHOWCASE, AGE OF EXPLORATION, AGE OF DISCOVERY, NOTE-TAKING, ESSAYS

UP NEXT: Why were the Europeans the ones doing the "exploring?"

Renaissance Projects Showcase
We finally had our Renaissance showcase on Monday. I divided the students from both classes into four groups based on topic and/or format in the hope that each group had 12 projects to explore that would expand their thinking on the topic, and maybe even inspire them to try something new themselves next time. They were asked to complete a guide as they did so, eventually determining which projects demonstrated the best outcome in each of our four assessment categories. Due to the weather and lots of late busses, the showcase was a little messier than planned. Now, I start the task of reviewing each student's work, using their reflections and completed assessment tools to help me.

http://futurehistoryteacher.tumblr.com

The Bridge Between Then and Now: The Age of Exploration
My approach this year with this curriculum is to really focus on our place in history, and ensure students are aware that history is not just dead people and events, and that there are always multiple narratives and perspectives to consider.

Is this a more accurate image of history?

And so, with that in mind, we started on the Age of Exploration with a  lecture and class discussion, that included another Crash Course History video!

We need to critically consider the Age of Exploration, and our guiding question will help us:

Why were the Europeans the ones doing the "exploring?"

The Crash Course video already has us critically considering this through its exploration of Zheng He and Vasco de Gama alongside Columbus. By the end of next week, students will have a possible answer to this question!

We are also using the textbook (pp. 94-115, 120) for this portion of our study, and we talked this morning about how to take good notes. Some pointers are:

• Write as little as possible, but include as much information as possible (we did an example of this).
• Consider the Talking to the Text strategies.
• Create a vocabulary section.
• Pay close attention to any lists you encounter as lists usually break down big ideas, and also, teachers often use those for test questions. ;)
• Use the tools available to you: bulleted/numbered lists, fonts, colours, size, underlining/bold/ italic text to organize your notes. Your brain does not easily process large chunks of unbroken text.

Students will finish their notes in Monday's class.

Writing Skills
In last week's post, I mentioned that we would do some targeted work on writing this week and next. Students wrote a long answer question on their Renaissance exams, and as I read through them, I thought they would benefit from some lessons on organization. We are starting at rock bottom with the much-maligned 5-paragraph essay; the only way from here is up!
Intro Paragraphs from Jaime Groeller on Vimeo.

A test, by any other name...

DISCUSSION PROMPTS: TEST-TAKING STRATEGIES, EFFECTIVE STUDYING, RENAISSANCE

UP NEXT: the European Renaissance Inquiry Showcase 

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to do a test. 

The twist: we try to make this test work for us. 

Quizzes/tests/exams are a source of great anxiety, and even fear, for many students. By de-mystifying and de-stressing the process to some extent, I wanted to allow students to work on some skills through this process, rather than just existing in a state doubt and fear before, during, and after. The right amount of stress, and a little uncomfortableness, is what I was aiming for.

At the beginning of this short week, I told the students we would have a test on the Renaissance on Friday, and that they would get time in class to prepare for it. This was their first test of the year in my class. Here is how we prepared:

Step 1 - Effective Studying
Partial review for most students, we had a mini-lecture and class discussion on HOW to study. We talked about a few things that the students can elaborate on:

1. Environment - where, when, who, mindset, comfort, breaks
2. How - passive versus active studying

The students took advantage of class time to try a variety of study skills. Most of them chose to study collaboratively to some extent, but all avoided "just reading over my notes" and worked to actively engage their brain as much as possible. 

Step 2 - Effective Test Taking

We did another mini-lecture and discussion on the best ways to take a test. We discussed strategies for all kinds of questions including multiple choice, short answer, and long answer/essay, all of which would appear on the test. 

Step 3 - Take the Test, Round 1

Friday morning, students individually took the test, many obviously employing the strategies we had talked about in class. (Reflection on this for students to come next week...)

Step 4 - Take the Test, Round 2

In the afternoon periods, students took the test again, but this time worked through it in small groups, discussing the answers and working to create the best test paper.

Step 5 - Reflection (coming up)

Next week, I will ask the students to reflect on the process of taking the test, asking them to identify what worked and what didn't, and engage in some meta-cognition.

Image from here.

I also do a lot of reflection with a test, using the answers to determine what went well and what didn't go well, and where I need to focus my efforts and attention (which is really what a test should be for both student and teacher). Which brings me to...

Step 6 - Diving Board
After a quick review of the long answer/short essay responses, I have decided to use this as a jumping off point to teach some pointers on writing essays, trying to navigate through the rough rapids of writing, versus writing for school.

European Renaissance X Us = Our Place in History

DISCUSSION PROMPTS: RENAISSANCE, RE-BIRTH, EUROPE, REFORMATION, INQUIRY QUESTION, OUR PLACE IN HISTORY

UP NEXT: the European Renaissance Inquiry Showcase 

Final Renaissance Projects are done for some, and almost done for most!

Integrated in the project from day 1 for the students and me, assessment is essential, but very complex. This year in grade 8 humanities, the students and I have worked to focus on assessment of their "work" as a conversation between each of them and me, primarily, and at times their peers, and even sometimes their caretakers/guardians/parents. In fact, the roots of the word "assess" tell us a lot:

Joe Bower's short piece on this fact is an interesting read.

Using the assessment tool, and in-class check-ins and conversations, students worked throughout the project to inject assessment into each step.

I am really excited to have the students present their final projects. Here is a sneak peak of some from each class:

8.1


8.2

The European Renaissance Inquiry

DISCUSSION PROMPTS: RENAISSANCE, RE-BIRTH, EUROPE, REFORMATION, INQUIRY QUESTION, OUR PLACE IN HISTORY, CURRENT EVENTS

UP NEXT: the European Renaissance Inquiry Assessment 

Our Renaissance inquiry is almost over! Students are soon going to complete their individual projects on their inquiry questions just in time for the showcase after winter break. (More details on this soon!)

As well as developing strong inquiry questions that will allow them to think critically about the European Renaissance (some examples of which I mentioned last week), students have been challenged to consider how they will communicate their ideas. Choosing a format requires students to consider the method that would best match their findings AND enable them to effectively engage an audience. Some of the formats they have chosen include:

• an infographic
• a kinetic text
• a debate
• a newscast
• a Ted Talk
• an interactive timeline
• a two-sided puzzle
• a time capsule
• and much more!

Another essential component of these projects is organization. For this inquiry, students have created dedicated Google docs to house their planning. A few examples show the different approaches students are taking in organizing their ideas:

Student 1
Student 2
Students 3, 4, 5

Free Reading
We are also continuing our commitment to 15 minutes of free reading every school day. We usually start our day with reading, taking the first 15 minutes of our 80 minute morning humanities period to read. Students are expected to come to class every day with something to read; most students have chosen novels, although some are reading graphic novels while others are reading non-fiction books.



Free Reading! from Jaime Groeller on Vimeo.

The Renaissance: Homestretch

DISCUSSION PROMPTS: RENAISSANCE, RE-BIRTH, EUROPE, REFORMATION, INDULGENCES, OUR PLACE IN HISTORY, CURRENT EVENTS

UP NEXT: the European Renaissance x ME

We are well into our final part of our Renaissance inquiry. We have come a long way! We spent just over a month learning about the details and importance of the European Renaissance, and then we watched this:

Click the image to watch the video.

This perspective on the European Renaissance left many in the class thinking critically about what we had just spent a month exploring, and prompted some interesting inquiry questions for the final project. Some of the questions students developed and are exploring include:

• How do we define an era?
• How do we make decisions about how to organize history?
• What other "renaissances" exist?
• What era are we living in right now?
• Should the European Renaissance be part of our curriculum?

Last week:
-We finally finished our spread of the Renaissance presentations. We learned a lot about the European Renaissance outside of Italy, as well as some historical figures that made major contributions to European history.

-We worked on building our vocabulary by creating crosswords for our peers! We have yet to complete these crosswords created by our peers, but that is coming soon!

-We did a mini-lesson on the Protestant Reformation, an example of major worldview change in Europe. We also watched a video on the Reformation and Luther, and practiced our "live" note-taking.

The Renaissance: Beyond Italy continued

DISCUSSION PROMPTS: EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION, RENAISSANCE, RE-BIRTH, EUROPE, REPRESENTATIVE, OUR PLACE IN HISTORY, CURRENT EVENTS

UP NEXT: the European Renaissance x TODAY

This week we were very focused on preparing for our spread of the Renaissance presentations, some of which happened today. We focused a lot on good research practices last week, and this week focused on good presentation practices. Specifically, the focus was on ensuring the presenters are the presentation. We did that by co-creating some criteria on what to do, and what not to do. We also made sure to develop our visuals as an enhancement to what we are saying by minimizing text, maximizing useful and appropriate visuals, and using the enhancements like animation to our advantage.

We don't want this...

We do want this!
Image from: www.brightcarbon.com/resources/

Current Events Afternoons

We also started our current events afternoons this week. Students have signed up for one day over the next month to lead a 10-minute discussion on a current event of their choosing. We are mapping these current events on our own specific Google maps. Check them out!

8.1's Current Events map

8.2's Current events map

The Renaissance: Beyond Italy

DISCUSSION PROMPTS: RENAISSANCE, RE-BIRTH, EUROPE, REPRESENTATIVE, OUR PLACE IN HISTORY

UP NEXT: the European Renaissance beyond Italy

It became clear to us on Monday that we had one main question in our inquiry docs that hadn't been answered yet: Where else did the Renaissance happen? In order to answer that question, students are working collaboratively to explore the spread of the Renaissance from Italy to other parts of Europe through the lens of specific Renaissance personalities. They will present their findings to the class this week in the form of engaging and informative live presentations.

Do you recognize anyone? 

Renaissance: Digging Down

DISCUSSION PROMPTS: RENAISSANCE, ITALY, RE-BIRTH, MEDICI, DOCUMENTARY, OUR PLACE IN HISTORY

UP NEXT: the Italian Renaissance moves into Europe

This week, we really got into the thick of things with regards to our inquiry into what a Renaissance is in order to determine if we are in one, or not.

We continued to explore the European Renaissance by focusing in on the Italian Renaissance. We have accessed a documentary, engaged in class discussions, completed some specific textbook readings, reflected individually, and determined criteria collectively. We also managed to fit in an informal debate!

Our inquiry turned toward art on Monday to help us understand some of the societal aspects of the Renaissance, and the time before the Renaissance. Looking closely at the similarities and differences between these two paintings allowed us to start thinking about the changes that were taking place in Italy around the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

Students' observations of these two paintings led us to discuss big ideas such as humanism, linear perspective, and feudalism. We also talked about the rise of the merchant class, trade routes such as the Silk Road, and the Black Death as conditions for the start of the Renaissance.

We had two checkpoints this week regarding our big guiding question. Checkpoint 1, before the debate and individual reflection, but after a week of exploration, saw quite the exodus of students moving from one side the other. At checkpoint 2, after the debate, there was very little movement!

8.1

8.2

We are in an excellent, but slightly uncomfortable, place right now as we are still building our understanding of what a "Renaissance" actually is. When asked, each group of students had a different definition, and that means we have room to keep exploring! Next week, we continue our examination by answering some of the questions that remain unanswered in our class inquiry doc, specifically how and where the Renaissance spread beyond Italy.

Renaissance: Getting Started

DISCUSSION PROMPTS: RENAISSANCE, ITALY, RE-BIRTH, MEDICI, DOCUMENTARY

UP NEXT: the Italian Renaissance in detail

While searching for some images to include in this post, I came across this fun article. The Renaissance era continues to influence us today! Click the image for the article.

Sacha Goldberger

The Renaissance! 
What pops into your mind when you hear that word? Here's what 8.1 and 8.2 said, initially:

8.2's initial large-group word association

8.1's word association, and then the results of a quick Google/dictionary search on the left

(My word association with "Renaissance," has really changed over the last 7 years. Primarily, I think "outcome" because it is one of the case studies in the Grade 8 Social Studies Program of Studies. This is my fourth time teaching grade 8, and I am really looking forward to the way 8.1 and 8.2 are taking up this work!)

After the word association, we took a look at the Alberta Program of Studies for grade 8 Social Studies and focused in on general outcome 8.2:

This, and our word association, prompted a flurry of follow-up questions, and we really exercised our brains to go beyond the surface, and ended up arriving at some pretty interesting questions such as:

• If the word means "re-birth" and it refers to a specific era in Earth's history, why did there need to be a "re-birth?"
• Can we see evidence of the Renaissance today? How is the Renaissance still influencing us today?
• Were there other Renaissances (other than the Italian Renaissance of the  c.14-16 centuries)?
• What does the Renaissance have to do with how we understand North America?
• When did the Renaissance start? When did it end? 
• What changed during the Renaissance? 
• How did the Renaissance affect the worldview of the time?

We are now working on answering these and many other questions through research via a PBS documentary called Godfathers of the Renaissance. (While the students identified a few different ways to find out what they don't know (a foundation of good inquiry!), I suggested this documentary as a nice starting point.) While watching the documentary, students are focusing on using 3 Talking to the Text strategies to ensure they are making the most of their viewing: determining importance (finding answers to the questions); questioning (being aware of the new questions that arise as we are learning); monitoring understanding (working on being aware of new vocabulary or concepts that we don't understand).

These questions above, and the many others contained in our class Google docs, are going to help us start to determine where we fit in history by answering the following big ideas:

• What era are we living in? How do we know we aren't in a Renaissance right now?

Keep reading to see what we decide, and where our inquiry goes...Every day we are asking new questions and answering the old ones!