Strategies That Encourage Making Connections

 Looking for new strategies? Here's one from Glenn Wiebe, one of my favorite social studies bloggers (seriously, go subscribe to his blog. You won't be sorry .)

Which One Doesn't Belong

Here's how to play:

• Put kids in pairs. 
• Find four things that have something in common--say the Cardinals, the Eagles, the Ravens, and the Bears football teams--and share it with your students--on a slide or on paper. Pictures are obviously better than words.) 
• Then ask students "which one doesn't belong?" Maybe they'll say the Bears, because the other three teams are named after birds. Or maybe they'll say the Ravens, because they play in the AFC. Or maybe they'll say the Cardinals, because that's the only name that's shared by both a professional football and professional baseball team. Any answer works as long as they have evidence to support their theory.

Glenn suggests doing this a couple of times with things students are familiar with--like foods, movies, etc., before trying it with social studies content--tribal leaders, technology that changed Montana history, etc. Head over to his blog to get more nuance and ideas for deepening the activity. 

Hexagonal Thinking

I first discovered hexagons in 2020. And I still think they are a great way to engage students. Here are the basics:

• Place ideas or topics on hexagon-shaped pieces of paper (or on digital hexagons). For example: drought, Great Depression, New Deal, Fort Peck Dam, 1930s, Indian Reorganization Act, unions...
• Then give those pieces of paper to students and ask them to place the hexagons so that they only touch related topics/ideas.
• Then have students explain their thinking.

Here's the blog post I wrote about this in 2020, with example word lists for both homesteading and the treaty period. 

Here's an old blog post of Glenn Wiebe, who does an even better job of explaining hexagons than I did. (Did I mention you should subscribe to his blog?)

Do you have a favorite strategy to get students thinking more deeply and engaging with the content? Let me know and I'll share it out.

P.S. Join us October 10 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for Tech and Social Studies and come away with new ideas of ways to integrate tech into your social studies classroom. Register here to receive the Zoom link. Attendees can earn one OPI Renewal Unit.