Washington State
History ( DCTS Framework)
D2.His.2.3-5. Compare life in specific historical time periods to life today.
Theme #2: Time, Continuity, and Change (NCSS)
Knowledge: Key people, events, and places associated with the history of the community, nation, and world.
Compelling Question:
What would the Pacific Northwest be like if Lewis and Clark never went on their expedition?
Supporting Questions:
- · What specimen and plant life did they discover?
- · How did Lewis and Clark describe the land they surveyed (journals)?
- · How did the tribes they encountered live?
- Why did they explore the Northwest?
Compelling Question Answer:
Although Lewis and Clark did not find the northwest passage (a waterway to the pacific) they did make numerous discoveries especially in the Northwest. Through their journals we are able to create an image of what life and land would have been like at the time. They were able to build relationships with natives and gain trust with many. Not much was known about the Northwest at this time, but this was the starting point of exploring the area due to the Louisiana Purchase.
When looking back on 4th grade history me and my partner both remembered Lewis and Clark. The expedition was always related to Northwest history because it is where the journey ended. Not much was known about this area at the time because the US was divided and owned, by other countries still. For the most part we owned much of the east side, then gained much land from France with the Louisiana Purchase. For deciding our compelling question, we looked at the DCTS guidelines picked one of the four categories and chose a standard. Then chose a them for the NCSS we felt that could expand and explore ideas on. We then thought of our supporting questions thinking about how they saw the Northwest during that time. Through the journals Lewis and Clark kept we can get an idea of the specimens, plants, land, and their experiences with tribes during the expedition. Our supporting questions were meant to show different discoveries Lewis and Clark made.
Mary,
ReplyDeleteMe and my partner also did fourth grade and chose Washington State as a topic, we ended up going with more of a geography lesson rather than history but this is a great history lesson for fourth grade if we would have chose to go that route. I really liked the supporting questions that you guys gave to the students to help them answer the compelling question. When thinking about this lesson I wonder if you could also then move into more of a geography lesson as well and maybe talk about the route they took in depth to also hit some standards with geography? You guys did a great job with this lesson and I also loved the idea of the students learning from journals, I could totally see that as being something engaging for fourth graders.
Thanks Celynne, Geography would be great to add when learning about Lewis and Clark. We considered mentioning some of the elements, but ended up not. If I were to add more Geography elements I would take about the trade routes they used and how that impacted why they wanted to explore the Northwest. Also, when talking about the route we could have mentioned locations and what they are now to touch on both standards.
DeleteHi Mary,
ReplyDeleteI thought your compelling question works does a very good job at setting up the inquiry for the lesson. It doesn’t have a simple answer, but your supporting questions do a good job at helping to work towards the answer to the compelling question. The supporting questions are also well worded and thought out. They all help to build towards the compelling questions without one giving too much or too little. The standard and theme you and your partner choose are very fitting for the questions and the lesson as a whole. These questions and inquiry all work together well and should do a good job at helping students through the inquiry process.
Thanks for the feedback on the compelling question.
DeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteYour topic and standards align very well! Your compelling question was well thought of and definitely makes students think deeply about the question. It is also relatable as if it were not "discovered" who knows if we would be living the way we do now. Your supporting questions do their job because they provide students with the evidence they need to answer the compelling question. In all, your inquiry process is great!! We did it slightly different when picking our compelling question. Instead of starting with the standard and theme and then moving to our compelling question, we picked a compelling question that fit our topic by looking at our standards and then decided the themes that best fit with our standard and compelling question.
Thanks Melany,me and my partner were trying to figure out the best way to incorporate Washington history into the expedition.
DeleteI really like how this question was thought out and composed. It makes students go deep into thought and think about how different their life could be. My partner and I had the same process of finding the standards, thinking of the compelling question, then finding supporting questions.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ashley, I find that working backwards helps me make sure everything is aligned.
ReplyDelete