SWANSONG

Social Studies Review, Fall 2003 by Murphey, Carol E

SWANSONG

The Random House College Dictionary, Revised Edition, defines the word "swansong" as the last work, act, utterance, or achievement of a person, group, period, etc., before death, retirement, dissolution, etc, [so called from the belief that the dying swan sings]. As far as I can possibly know, I am not about to die, but I am retiring from the writing of this column. In reviewing previous writings and my thoughts on what is most important to the teaching of any subject, 1 have decided that my "swansong" should be about questions that make students, no matter how young, think critically. From the moment a child can speak they drown the world with questions, not just "What's that?" which is very concrete, but the search for meaning, with the eternal, "Why"? We live in an age in which it is inherently important for students to think critically about what happens in their world. True or false, right or wrong, black or white views of the material they are given, tends to foster narrow thinking, and develop dogmatic minds. The greatest gift a teacher can give a student is the tools and permission to think, to explore, to question, to struggle with the "what ifs" of life. A curriculum without this is sterile. The following are questions from articles by me, previously published in Social Studies Review. They are intended to stimulate ideas for questions suitable for elementary students.

QUESTIONS THAT STIMULATE STUDENTS TO THINK CRITICALLY

Questions from the article, "What's in a Name?" are below. Please note that questions that begin with "what" can be open ended if asked correctly. Students should also be given opportunities to develop their own open-ended questions.

* Why do you think your place has the name it has?

* What can you learn about the history of a place from its place names?

* How does where a place is, influence the naming of it?

* Why would place names change over time?

* Why would people name the new place they are living in, for a place they had lived before?

* How does language reflect the people who settled in a place?

* How and why would you rename a place? Answers should always be backed up with detailed explanations.

Questions from the article, "Learning from Pictures, Sacred Places":

* In your photographs, what seems to be the most important feature, the building or the area around the building? What might this tell us about this religion?

* What materials are used in the construction of these sacred places? Why do you think these materials were selected?

* Are the building materials local? If they are not, how where they transported to the site and why?

* In your pictures does "man" triumph over nature, or is nature an important part of the sacredness of the place? What might this tell us about what is valued in this society?

* What examples of the culture's concepts of beauty, are reflected in the sacred places they have built?

* What ideas about their religion did the builders of your sacred places put into the architecture?

* How do the sacred places in your pictures play a role in the lives of the people they served?

* What can you tell about the culture of the people who built your sacred places? What did they value most?

Student discussion is important to the development of the ability to ask pertinent questions. Ideas and questions from the article "2 Simple Organizers," are below:

Divide the students into groups of 3 or 4 and give each group a set of 3 or 4 pictures. Charts labeled social, economic, political, beliefs, and aesthetics should be pinned up. The terms should be defined. Instruct the students to discuss among themselves which chart each picture should go on. They then glue or paste them on the charts they have chosen. Every child in the group should get to place at least one picture and be prepared to tell the whole class how the group decided on the placement of the picture.

EVALUATING LEARNING

After each group has placed and discussed their pictures, ask the class to think about what they see. Could some of the pictures also be on another chart? As suggestions are made connect the picture in question with a piece of yarn to the chart proposed. Leave the charts up for several days and ask the students to think about what they have learned. Continue to make other connections with the yarn.

Ideas and questions from the article "Places in the Heart, Using Geographic Oriented Books," are below. Some discussion and question ideas:

* What, special features made the person in the book, love the place in the book?

* Explain the emotions felt in the book. Why did the person feel that way?

* What was the climate like in your book? How do you know this?

* Using, the pictures in the book, explain how you would recognize the place if you were to go there.

* Compare the descriptions of a place, such as the prairie, that appears in more than one book.

* How does a favorite place change over time? Does that place change in a person's heart? Why? Why, not?

* Describe how a journey from a home-place to a new place affects a person. Has this ever happened to you?