Fostering Thought, Talk, and Inquiry: Linking Literature and Social Studies

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Fostering Thought, Talk, and Inquiry Linking
Literature and Social Studies

• Roser and Keehn, 2002

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Researcher and Teacher goals

• Enter into and begin to grasp the complexity of
  an important period in Texas history
• Read a variety of materials and consult a variety
  of information sources
• Scaffold students thinking, talking and inquiry
  (e.g. willingness to question, suspend judgment,
  entertain alternative views, tolerate ambiguity,
  pose and support hypotheses)

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Three Theoretical Foundations

• Social and cultural contexts influence
  intellectual processes
• Classroom talk can be a valuable tool for
  focusing, supporting, and negotiating meaning
• Literature can bring history to life and support
  and propel inquiry

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The Context

• Two 4th Grade Classrooms in Texas, one urban and
  one suburban (pen pals)
• 5 6 week cross-curricular unit on the Texas
  Revolution, linking social studies with literature

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Primary materials and tools

• Literature biography, historical fiction, and
  nonfiction
• Student and teacher journals
• Wall charts
• Multiple resources Social Studies textbook,
  literature, online resources, newspapers, and
  human resources

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Phase 1 Launching the Inquiry

• Teachers read a biography on Sam Houston aloud
• Daily journal entries made by all
• Whole class discussion of reactions and ideas
• Whole class decision of what to record about
  Houstons character on a large wall chart

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Building the Scaffold What supported talk and
thought in Phase 1?

• Teachers sharing their own interpretations and
  puzzlements
• Student journals
• Character chart

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Phase 2 Going Deeper

• Literature Circles (Book clubs) focused upon
  carefully selected works of historical fiction
• Children rotate through specific roles (orator,
  scribe, discussion leader, member)
• Students take notes in a Big Idea journal
  before the group discussion

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Building the Scaffold What supported talk and
thought in Phase 2?

• Historical fiction novels
• Establishing regular procedures
• Teacher developed prompts and tasks
• Big Ideas journal

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Phase 3 Inquiring and Investigating

• Children work as a large group to pose their
  questions or wonderings
• Teachers record and organize childrens questions
  on data charts that list questions and multiple
  sources they might use to address these questions
• Formation of inquiry groups around 5 major issues
• Individual and small groups research across
  multiple resources and then post and summarize
  their findings using data charts
• Each inquiry group reports their findings to the
  class

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Building the Scaffold What supported talk and
thought in Phase 3?

• Questions students ask of themselves and other
  group members
• Providing procedures materials for inquiry
• Data collection chart showing questions, already
  known information, and sources
• Clues, findings and further questions posted on
  the chart with sticky notes

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What were those goals again?

• Enter into and begin to grasp the complexity of
  an important period in Texas history
• Read a variety of materials and consult a variety
  of information sources
• Scaffold students thinking, talking and inquiry
  (e.g. willingness to question, suspend judgment,
  entertain alternative views, tolerate ambiguity,
  pose and support hypotheses)

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How well did they succeed?Observed Results

• Gains in important concepts and content increase
  in accurate ideas and reduction of misconceptions
• Increase in thoughtful talk and writing
• Increased willingness to work together, sustain
  talk, support ideas with evidence, and to
  acknowledge and build on others talk
• Experiences in comparing information from
  multiple sources, creating summaries based on
  evidence
• Enhanced motivation to learn social studies

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Constraints What got in the way of genuine
inquiry?

• Inexperience with doing book clubs
• Childrens struggles to manage time and
  activities
• Lack of attention to one anothers responses
• Difficulties of the texts for some children
• Some children lack basic locational, reference,
  and notetaking skills
• Time constraints

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How do these supports and constraints relate to
the theoretical foundations

• Social and cultural contexts influence
  intellectual processes
• Classroom talk can be a valuable tool for
  focusing, supporting, and negotiating meaning
• Literature can bring history to life and support
  and propel inquiry

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Three Application Questions

1. What kinds of literature might I use in my
   social studies teaching?
2. What strategies might I use to incorporate
   literature into social studies learning?
3. Why would I choose to use literature along with
   writing and discussion in my social studies
   teaching?