Social Studies Standards and Skills

How do you feel about the new social studies standards? (This is a real question, not a rhetorical one. Please email me!) I'm excited about them--but can also imagine they seem a bit daunting. So, I'm starting a series of periodic posts focusing on resources to help you meet specific standards, starting with the skills section, which are supposed to be integrated across all grades. 

Skill #1 (SS.K12.1): Develop Questions 

Question Formulation Technique (QFT)

Practicing the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) is a GREAT way to teach students how to develop questions. Here's a link to a blog I wrote sometime back describing the technique, but the best thing to do is go to the Right Question Institute Website, and start exploring the materials on their Teaching and Learning page, including lesson plan templates, PowerPoints, and videos showing QFT in action), and/or watch this 27-minute tutorial on YouTube. 

Question Starts

Of course, there are other ways to help students learn how to develop questions. I came across Question Starts when I was exploring the Thinking Routine Toolbox on Harvard University School of Education's Project Zero website. 

Like most good routines, this one is deceptively simple. Here's a PDF from Project Zero with all the details, but in brief, here's how it works:

1. Brainstorm a list of at least 12 questions about the topic, concept or object. Use these question-starts to help you think of interesting questions:
   Why…? How would it be different if…?
   What are the reasons...? Suppose that…?
   What if…? What if we knew…?
   What is the purpose of…? What would change if…?
2. Review the brainstormed list and star the questions that seem most
   interesting. Then, select one or more of the starred questions to discuss for a few moments.
3. Reflect: What new ideas do you have about the topic, concept or object that you didn’t have before? 

Question Cubes

Billings librarian (and MHS Teacher Leader) Ruth Ferris introduced me to question cubes, a variation on question starts, and TPS-Barat/Primary Sources Nexus Teacher Resources has a template online so you can make your own. They explain:

If your students need help with asking questions when analyzing primary sources, bring out the question cubes. You can make them from paper or cleaned-out school milk cartons. Each student or student group should get two cubes [one with the words "who, what, when, where, how" and the other with "is/are, would/could, should, might/will, was/were"] ... and roll both to help get those questions flowing.

How are you going to work with your students on developing questions this year?