Inquiry Based Lesson Plan

Teachers: Matt Sanders

Subject: Social Studies

Standard:

10: Contemporary United States PO 1. Describe current events using information

from class discussions and various resources (e.g. Newspapers, magazines,
television, Internet, books, maps).
Concept 1: Research Skills for History PO 5. Evaluate primary and secondary sources
for: a. authors main points b. purpose and perspective c. facts vs. opinions d.
different points of view on the same historical event (e.g., Geography Concept 6
geographical perspective can be different from economic perspective). E. credibility
and validity.

Objective (Explicit):

The students will identify primary source newspaper articles from 2001 and today and evaluate
the articles for causal relations existing between the events depicted in the two articles.

Evidence of Mastery (Measurable): The students have identified 2 (Two) newspaper articles, one from September 11 th,
2001 or later that same year that deals with the Terror Attack, or actions taken by the government or society
immediately following, and one that was written in the past 6 months that they identify is causally related.
Sub-objectives, SWBAT (Sequenced from basic to complex):

The students will differentiate between articles from unreliable primary sources and reputable
primary sources.

Key vocabulary: Causality, Terrorism, Correlation,

Credibility, Bias, Hindsight

Materials/Technology Resources to be used:

Computers, Online Newspapers, Physical
Newspapers

Explore

Engage (Make content and learning relevant to real life and connect to student interest): Teacher will gain students
attention by asking them if they know anything about terrorism. The students may be a target of terrorism, thus they
need to know about it. This will most likely lead to a discussion about the Middle East and the teacher will further
probe by determining if any students had parents or relatives who served in the military in the Middle East.
Teacher Will: Ask important and leading questions:
What is causality? What signifies a causal
relationship between events? Does correlation mean
causation? What qualifies as a credible source and
what qualifies as a not credible source? Can
anything be learned from sources that are not
credible?

Student Will: Look through various newspapers

trying to locate articles related to the attacks or the
immediate follow up of the attacks. They will also
find articles from recent times that they think are
causally related to their previous article.

Co-Teaching Strategy/Differentiation: Bringing in physical newspapers as opposed to just online ones

would be good for tactile learners and those who like to move around because they would have to fetch
newspapers.

Explain

Teacher Will: Insure that the students understand

what causality is and will make sure that the
students are getting their information from reputable
sources. This may lead to a discussion in bias in the
media. This will be done by walking around the
classroom and engaging with students.

Student Will: Show the teacher the articles they

have identified and will explain how they think they
are causally related to one another. The students will
demonstrate their knowledge of cause and effect by
informing the teacher of how their articles relate to
one another in this way.

Elaborate

Co-Teaching Strategy/Differentiation: Allowing students to verbally explain their thought process will be
invaluable for students who learn audibly. This part may also require students to map out their thought
processes on paper which will be helpful for students who learn in that manner.
Teacher Will: Insure that the students arguments are
based off of sound logic and are not based off of
logical fallacies, i.e. correlation does not imply
causation. The teacher will also make sure that the
students arguments are based off of sound evidence
and that the students can explain their evidence.

Student Will: Use the articles they have found and

based off of their own ideas and the feedback they
received in the Explain step they will write a well
thought out paragraph explaining the causal links of
their articles.

Co-Teaching Strategy/Differentiation: The lengths of the paragraphs can be shortened or lengthened as

needed for students and time adjustments can be made as well for certain students.
Evaluate
The evaluation will be summative, in that it is a paragraph that they hand in, and it will detail the causal relations
that they identified between two primary source articles that they located. If the students are able to explain why the
events in a primary source article and a current event article are causally related then I will know that they have
achieved the objective. The students will evaluate their own learning in that they will have to take what they learned
writing the paragraph and apply it while crafting their essay regarding the same topic.