WEBVTT 00:00:12.136 --> 00:00:16.466 In order to gain students with-get them involved in higher-order thinking 00:00:16.466 --> 00:00:18.336 and to move up on Bloom's Taxonomy, 00:00:18.376 --> 00:00:21.916 we start with really basic concepts that all students can do, 00:00:21.916 --> 00:00:24.816 and then we just build upon that going deeper and deeper each time. 00:00:25.286 --> 00:00:29.246 An example of-during our preview activity or an anticipatory set, 00:00:29.456 --> 00:00:34.246 we're asking students really basic questions that everyone in the class can do 00:00:34.246 --> 00:00:37.086 because we are asking them simple things, like "what do you see here?" 00:00:37.086 --> 00:00:39.366 or, "what do you think is happening in this image?" 00:00:39.366 --> 00:00:43.156 And then as we go through the lesson and the content, 00:00:43.156 --> 00:00:45.186 we are going to ask more critical thinking questions. 00:00:45.766 --> 00:00:48.366 One of the ways that will push that type of thinking is 00:00:48.406 --> 00:00:53.096 through an activity called the Response Group, in which students are placed in groups of four 00:00:53.426 --> 00:00:57.486 and will be given historical situation, where they will be debating whether 00:00:57.486 --> 00:01:01.136 or not the United States should have taken the course of action they did 00:01:01.136 --> 00:01:04.096 or possibly considering alternative courses of action. 00:01:04.566 --> 00:01:08.356 One of the lessons we have the students do is they are trying to figure out a way 00:01:08.356 --> 00:01:11.466 that western farmers could get their crops to market 00:01:11.736 --> 00:01:14.236 when France has control of the port of New Orleans. 00:01:14.736 --> 00:01:18.596 So, the students will learn a little bit of information-just enough to make a decision 00:01:18.596 --> 00:01:21.906 or debate with one another, and then we will give them three choices: 00:01:22.396 --> 00:01:26.956 a) Should the United States threaten to go to war with France if they don't give us 00:01:27.166 --> 00:01:32.646 or the United States the Port of New Orleans or 2) should we offer to buy New Orleans 00:01:32.856 --> 00:01:37.256 from France or, 3) should we offer to buy the entire Louisiana territory 00:01:37.356 --> 00:01:39.146 and double the size of United States? 00:01:39.196 --> 00:01:41.476 The students will then, in their groups of four, 00:01:41.776 --> 00:01:46.536 debate and discuss which course of action is the best for the United States to take. 00:01:46.536 --> 00:01:50.696 We will then bring it back to whole-group discussion and have each of the different groups 00:01:50.726 --> 00:01:57.456 in class talk about what they decided and reasons for maybe why choice one would be good 00:01:57.456 --> 00:02:01.016 or reasons why choice two would be good, reasons why choice three would be good 00:02:01.266 --> 00:02:04.536 and also some of the negative impacts that those choices can have. 00:02:04.536 --> 00:02:08.126 And then the students will then go on to find out what actually happened. 00:02:08.876 --> 00:02:14.106 I think asking the students to explain their reasoning for coming up with a decision 00:02:14.106 --> 00:02:17.436 or an idea in history helps them reach the higher-order thinking. 00:02:17.706 --> 00:02:21.686 It kind of goes back to when we had to show our work in math when we were kids. 00:02:21.686 --> 00:02:25.316 If you are just letting the students come up with a quick answer, 00:02:25.316 --> 00:02:26.626 you are kind of letting them off the hook. 00:02:26.626 --> 00:02:29.936 But if you ask them to explain or give specific examples, 00:02:30.316 --> 00:02:33.066 you are forcing them to really think through the process, 00:02:33.066 --> 00:02:35.756 and that's allowing the wheels to turn a little bit more. 00:02:36.236 --> 00:02:40.706 I believe this helps them remember the material and internalize it for them 00:02:40.706 --> 00:02:44.826 because you are not just asking them kind of wrote memorization questions 00:02:44.826 --> 00:02:47.176 that are getting them ready for when they are on Jeopardy someday. 00:02:47.686 --> 00:02:51.806 They are thinking through this and making a connection to themselves 00:02:51.806 --> 00:02:54.976 and making it meaningful to themselves, and they own it.