Introduction
For our collaborative social studies activity presentation our group took on the role of teaching inquiry. To do this we took on the grade 6 Heritage & Identity strand of the curriculum and posed the question
What does it mean to be Canadian? This is a very open question that gives students the opportunity to draw deeper and deeper connections should they so choose. In order to facilitate this process, we chose the web platform Lino where students could post sticky notes to a collaborative graphic organizer. From here, students are given the opportunity to take an idea from the brainstorming session and develop it further using Google Docs. This is a simple example of an activity that is differentiated for all levels and easy to implement in the classroom.
Activity
Social Studies
Grade 6
Focus: Canadian Identity
Big Ideas:
Communities that have made significant contributions to Canada's development.
Overall Expectation:
A3. Understanding Context: demonstrate an understanding of significant experiences of, and major changes and aspects of life in, various historical and contemporary communities in Canada.
Specific Expectation:
3.8 identify and describe fundamental elements of Canadian identity.
Inquiry Question/Central Lesson Theme: What does it mean to be Canadian?
Minds On: (5 Minutes)
Propose inquiry question on Linoit: When you hear the phrase “Canadian Identity” what questions come to mind?
Have students access Linoit on their individual devices.
As a class brainstorm some major concepts and ideas that come to mind
Action: (10 Minutes)
Assign each table group a column in the Google Doc chart
Have each group pick an idea from the Linoit word wall
Use the brainstormed ideas and concepts as prompts for further questioning
Have students ask as many questions as they can in ten minutes
Encourage students to take ideas further and draw deeper connections
Consolidation: (10 Minutes)
Have each table group explain why they chose their line of questioning
Have students review the responses of the whole class
Are there any responses they feel stand out?
Alternative Method
This activity could also be done through a Google Form. General questions could be asked with open dialogue boxes for student responses. The responses are then saved to a spreadsheet which could be distributed or displayed on a blog. This method could be used for activities that call for less collaboration or where students might benefit from having a physical record of the results.
Reflection
This activity generated many interesting inquiry questions that could potentially be explored by students. The number of questions attained however was somewhat disappointing as a result of technical difficulties setting up, but this is easily overcome as students could continue working on such an activity even when not in class. When facilitating such an activity there was a clear benefit to having pre-made documents with clickable links provided to the students, and it was found that students would benefit from having a column in the Google Doc with an example provided.
