IntroductionTo help introduce 7th grade students to the research process and prepare students for the school's "Social Studies Day," Mr. Wolmar is using materials from the DBQ (Document-Based Questions) Project to engage students in higher-level critical thinking skills. The DBQ provides a high interest topic, "The Black Death: Comparing the Christian & Muslim Responses," a variety of Primary and Secondary Source artifacts, both printed materials and web-based. The DBQ requires many of the same skills used in developing a research paper - interpreting primary and secondary sources, evaluating sources, considering multiple points of view, using historic evidence, and developing and supporting a thesis. |
The use of this approach will provide students a variety of learning opportunities, collaboratively and personally, and open the door to different types of presentations that demonstrate what they've learned in the process. |