Name Columbus’ 3 ships

Test questions from a real 6th grade test

Nina Pinta Santa Maria

Which of the 3 ships sank? Santa Maria

Captain of the Pinta? Martin Pizon

Ponce De Leon

Explorer seeking the Fountain of Youth?

Test questions from a real 6th grade test

Name Columbus’ 3 ships

Nina Pinta Santa Maria

Which of the 3 ships sank? Santa Maria

Captain of the Pinta? Martin Pizon

Explorer seeking the Fountain of Youth?

Ponce De Leon

De SotoExplorer who discovered the Mississippi River?

Test questions from a real 6th grade test

Name Columbus’ 3 ships

Nina Pinta Santa Maria

Which of the 3 ships sank? Santa Maria

Captain of the Pinta? Martin Pizon

Explorer seeking the Fountain of Youth?

Ponce Deleon

DesotoExplorer who discovered the Mississippi River?

CortezConquered the Aztecs?

Test questions from a real 6th grade test

Name Columbus’ 3 ships

Nina Pinta Santa Maria

Which of the 3 ships sank? Santa Maria

Captain of the Pinta? Martin Pizon

Explorer seeking the Fountain of Youth?

Ponce Deleon

DesotoExplorer who discovered the Mississippi River?

CortezConquered the Aztecs?

Montezuma IILeader of the Aztecs?

Test questions from a real 6th grade test

Name Columbus’ 3 ships

Nina Pinta Santa Maria

Which of the 3 ships sank? Santa Maria

Captain of the Pinta? Martin Pizon

Explorer seeking the Fountain of Youth?

Ponce Deleon

DesotoExplorer who discovered the Mississippi River?

CortezConquered the Aztecs?

Montezuma IILeader of the Aztecs ?

BalboaDiscovered the Pacific Ocean ?

Test questions from a real 6th grade test

Name Columbus’ 3 ships

Nina Pinta Santa Maria

Which of the 3 ships sank? Santa Maria

Captain of the Pinta? Martin Pizon

Explorer seeking the Fountain of Youth?

Ponce Deleon

DesotoExplorer who discovered the Mississippi River?

CortezConquered the Aztecs?

Montezuma IILeader of the Aztecs

BalboaDiscovered the Pacific Ocean

WHO CARES?Why do we spend so much time &

energy teaching stuff that well-educated people don’t know the

answer to?

Somebody seems to because high-stakes tests often reflect extensive

amounts of trivia

By the way, did you know that the natives Columbus brought back to Spain were taken to demonstrate their potential as SLAVES?

Did you know Columbus was the first to ship slaves to the new world?

Did you know Columbus ordered the natives’ hands, noses, & other body parts CUT OFF if they did not produce a weight in gold each month!

SO WHY DO WE CELEBRATE THIS GUY?

Did you know Columbus was such a murderous leader that someone was sent from Spain to arrest him and that he was shipped home in chains?

Did you know that Ponce De Leon NEVER searched for the Fountain of Youth!

It’s a “urban legend” promoted by the tourist industry that’s now treated as an historical truth that students are expected to memorize

WHY DO WE CELEBRATE THIS GUY?

The reality is De Leon was searching for Native Americans to capture and to be shipped to Hispaniola as SLAVES!

IMPLICATIONS …

Not only are we expecting our kids to memorize a bunch of trivia …

A LOT of it is erroneous information that’s been re-cast as something we should value and even celebrate.

Meanwhile, students totally miss the bigger picture

If a “lost continent” was suddenly discovered today, would the people and resources there be treated the same way as in the Age of Exploration? Why or why not?

Do you think religion was intentionally used by countries as a way to build wealth during the Age of Exploration? Why or why not?

Competition for resources often causes powerful countries to manipulate and exploit weaker countries. Explain how this idea showed up during this age.

BONUS QUESTIONS (bigger picture)

BONUS QUESTIONS

If a “lost continent” was suddenly discovered today, would the people and resources there be treated the same way as in the Age of Exploration? Why or why not?

Do you think religion was intentionally used on by countries way a way to build wealth during the Age of Exploration? Why or why not?

Competition for resources often causes powerful countries to manipulate and exploit weaker countries. Explain how this idea showed up during this age.

Problem … “Big Ideas” or “generative ideas” are typically treated as incidental, BONUS learning rather than as essential-for-ALL-to-understand

..or only the really “bright” students are expected to understand the big idea

… everybody else is expected to memorize the trivia

So what? What is important to understand about this?

is about …Titanic lessons from a disasterhow a great ship sinking led to important lessons that changed society

Putting profit over safety = great loss of life

Are wealthy people more valuable?

When a myth is treated as a truth, people fool selves

Newspaper:” Titanic largest & fastest, so it’s probably unsinkable”

Owners liked “unsinkable” idea, so they encouraged people to believe it

Builders began to believe the myth; took short-cuts

Lesson: Don’t believe it because somebody said it

Used cheaper steel (thin & brittle, 1 hull) so ship would not cost as much

Fewer lifeboats = more attractive ship = more people buying tickets

Fastest ship = more tickets sold = taking great risks in ice berg zoneLesson: Safety always produces greatest profit in the long run

Cabins closest to deck = most expensive = rich reach lifeboats 1st

Rich were given priority over poor for spaces on lifeboats

Many of the poorer people were locked below so they couldn’t escapeLesson: All human life is equally valuable, regardless of wealth

A great disaster can cause society to examine its values and practices so improvements can be made to save future lives

Examples of generative ideas

So what? What is important to understand about this?

is about …Titanic lessons from a disasterhow a great ship sinking led to important lessons that changed society

Putting profit over safety = great loss of life

Are wealthy people more valuable?

When a myth is treated as a truth, people fool selves

Newspaper:” Titanic largest & fastest, so it’s probably unsinkable”

Owners liked “unsinkable” idea, so they encouraged people to believe it

Builders began to believe the myth; took short-cuts

Lesson: Don’t believe it because somebody said it

Used cheaper steel (thin & brittle, 1 hull) so ship would not cost as much

Fewer lifeboats = more attractive ship = more people buying tickets

Fastest ship = more tickets sold = taking great risks in ice berg zoneLesson: Safety always produces greatest profit in the long run

Cabins closest to deck = most expensive = rich reach lifeboats 1st

Rich were given priority over poor for spaces on lifeboats

Many of the poorer people were locked below so they couldn’t escapeLesson: All human life is equally valuable, regardless of wealth

A great disaster can cause society to examine its values and practices so improvements can be made to save future lives

Examples of generative ideas

So what? What is important to understand about this?

is about …Titanic lessons from a disasterhow a great ship sinking led to important lessons that changed society

Putting profit over safety = great loss of life

Are wealthy people more valuable?

When a myth is treated as a truth, people fool selves

Newspaper:” Titanic largest & fastest, so it’s probably unsinkable”

Owners liked “unsinkable” idea, so they encouraged people to believe it

Builders began to believe the myth; took short-cuts

Lesson: Don’t believe it because somebody said it

Used cheaper steel (thin & brittle, 1 hull) so ship would not cost as much

Fewer lifeboats = more attractive ship = more people buying tickets

Fastest ship = more tickets sold = taking great risks in ice berg zoneLesson: Safety always produces greatest profit in the long run

Cabins closest to deck = most expensive = rich reach lifeboats 1st

Rich were given priority over poor for spaces on lifeboats

Many of the poorer people were locked below so they couldn’t escapeLesson: All human life is equally valuable, regardless of wealth

A great disaster can cause society to examine its values and practices so improvements can be made to save future lives

Examples of generative ideas

So what? What is important to understand about this?

is about …Titanic lessons from a disasterhow a great ship sinking led to important lessons that changed society

Putting profit over safety = great loss of life

Are wealthy people more valuable?

When a myth is treated as a truth, people fool selves

Newspaper” Titanic largest & fastest, so it’s probably unsinkable”

Owners liked “unsinkable” idea, so they encouraged people to believe it

Builders began to believe the myth; took short-cuts

Lesson: Don’t believe it because somebody said it

Used cheaper steel (thin & brittle, 1 hull) so ship would not cost as much

Fewer lifeboats = more attractive ship = more people buying tickets

Fastest ship = more tickets sold = taking great risks in ice burg zoneLesson: Safety always produces greatest profit in the long run

Cabins closest to deck = most expensive = rich reach lifeboats 1st

Rich were given priority over poor for spaces on lifeboats

Many of the poorer people were locked below so they couldn’t escapeLesson: All human life is equally valuable, regardless of wealth

A great disaster can cause society to examine its values and practices so improvements can be made to save future lives

Examples of generative idea

Generative patterns are featured so that students develop an ability to …

… to organize information themselves

… to organize the same information in different ways (cognitive flexibility)

…recognize how information has been organized

These patterns all represent the same information hierarchy

Each depicts a 3 main-idea & details pattern

Generative Patterns of Phenomena = common patterns in the way life unfolds

There are predictable patterns to …

* How all wars begin* How war are always fought* What always happens

following a war

* Conditions that result in new inventions* Features that all inventions share* Impact of inventions

* Relationship between chaos & attempts to control things

* Data-spinning

* How elections are always won or lost

* What happens when people take risks, and when they don’t

* Rise & fall of economies

* Rise & fall of persons or groups with power

* Tension / Reaction Relationships

* Patterns that appear in nature

* Geography of a land and the culture that lives there

* Maintenance of double-standards

* Why people settle & abandon places

* How technology & new ideas spread

* Co-dependency

Generative Patterns of Phenomena = common patterns in the way life unfolds

* Conditions that result in new inventions* Impact of inventions

There are predictable patterns to …

* How all wars begin* How all are always faught* What always happens

following a war

* Features that all inventions share

* Relationship between chaos & attempts to control things

* Data-spinning

* How elections are always won or lost

* What happens when people take risks, and when they don’t

* Rise & fall of economies

* Rise & fall of persons or groups with power

* Tension / Reaction Relationships

* Patterns that appear in nature

* Geography of a land and the culture that lives there

* Maintenance of double-standards

* Why people settle & abandon places

* How technology & new ideas spread

Generative Patterns of Phenomena = common patterns in the way life unfolds

Makes Sense Strategies focuses on what the abstract phenomenon patterns are and how they can be visually represented in concrete ways

The visual patterns then serve as a “lens” for clarifying and understanding complex phenomena

BIG IDEA: Every place has features that PULL (attract) people to move there, and factors that PUSH them out (make them want to leave)© 2002 Edwin Ellis www.GraphicOrganizers.com

Features of this place that ATTRACT people to move here

Features of this place that make people want to LEAVE here

So What? What can you conclude about this place at this point in time?

Place Point in time

ECONOMIC FACTORS POLITICAL FACTORS LIFESTYLE FACTORS

ECONOMIC FACTORS POLITICAL FACTORS LIFESTYLE FACTORS

Example of

Geography phenomena map

WHAT is being controlled?

WHO is attempting to control it? HOW is control being attempted?

WHY is control being attempted?

What happens if there is

TOO LITTLE attempt to control this?What happens if there is an IDEAL level of control?

What happens if there is TOO MUCH attempt to control this?

Mark on the continuum above the level of control you think is being attempted. Explain below how well you think it is working.

Control*Chaos© 2004 Edwin Ellis www.GraphicOrganizers.com

Example of

Control * Chaos phenomena map

Ways to “spin” information …

Why was the new information “spun” ? What was the goal of the spinner?

Data Spinning© 2004 Edwin Ellis www.GraphicOrganizers.com

Is about …

Existing Belief(or belief that is being promoted) Invent information

that does fitIgnore the parts that

don’t fitDiscount conflicting

data

New data should cause the belief to change to …

New information encountered about this topic…

How was the new information “spun”?

… to fit existing belief or promote something or someone?

Example of

Data Spin phenomena map

Tension * Reaction© 2004 Edwin Ellis www.GraphicOrganizers.com

Unexpected

Topic

Sources of Tension

Reactions

Results

Spin-offNew Problems or Tensions Created

Pivotal Event?

Expected

Example of

Tension * Reaction phenomena map