Connecting Theory & Practice Week 3

 When reading about primary and other essential resources, we learn that "using primary sources help students develop skills of observation and inquiry (Kopp, 2017)." Students are ultimately able to analyze information and draw conclusions. This takes critical-thinking skills, which students need help developing. These tasks can be complex for students. This week, through observations, I noticed that students have a hard time independently asking questions and drawing conclusions. There seemed to be confidence when analyzing the sources and making connections. Students were unable to come up with their own questions. Developing historical empathy was another struggle I noticed of Middle Schoolers. I am unable to pinpoint if this is common among Middle Schoolers, or if this is an isolated incident. This week, students were given a "Mini-Q" and were expected to analyze multiple documents. "DBQ is historical inquiry and analydid. Students read and analyze a series of historical documents to respond in writing to a specific question, or to devise and compose a thoughtful thesis and/or argument all based on historical evidence (Kopp, 2017)." 

The question asked for students here is "How Should We Remember Toussaint Louverture"?

When first looking through this Mini DBQ, there were a lot of words and documents, which could be discouraging for some students and could stem to a lack of interest. I wish there were more visuals for students. Attached are some of the documents included in this Mini DBQ.

Students begin with qualities of a good leader so they can make connections and get engaged with the content. 

We then see a background essay that provides students background information before they get into the documents. 

Here are questions to the background essay that can support students in their critical thinking skills and analysis skills. 

We can see the different documents and questions that support analysis. Finally, students are expected to use the documents to answer the question. 

Observing this task, I did see students struggle and requiring additional supports. 

This was especially evident for students who have special needs. As you can see on this document, this student was only required to answer the highlighted questions. The student who had this assignment reads at a first grade level. He was able to have additional supports such as having the documents read to him, reduced questions, and support with answering the questions. 

After observing this class, I wonder how we could make "MiniQs" or "DBQs" more accessible for students who have special needs. In the class I observed, besides the support from the paraprofessional, there were not additional supports for students in the class with special needs. I would be interested in how we could make these assignments more accessible while being inclusive. Some inital thoughts are for students to collaborate and work together as groups. Educators could intentionally create groups depending on student level. I look forward to more observations in order to see how to create social studies classes that are inclusive and supportive for all students.