A Tool to Help Correct Misconceptions

The point of the RAN Chart (RAN stands for "Read and Analyze Non-fiction") is for students to research and confirm or correct their ideas for themselves! (Thus the RAN Chart improves on the old "Know-Wonder-Learned / KWL" chart.) 

Step 1: Draw the RAN Chart on a whiteboard or smart board, or arrange note cards or post-its on a RAN Chart template. Ideally, leave the RAN Chart up through throughout an investigation. Create categories to help categorize the important ideas and information of the topic. 

Facing History offers an introduction and classroom example of the ways a Graffiti board can engage students who don’t feel comfortable speaking up in class. Click here to watch a video of high school students using this strategy to brainstorm ideas for a project. (6:07 mins)

*** Before watching the video, download the "Viewing Guide" attached below.

Prior to investigating a source, students examine the variety of people and groups that would interpret the source differently. Members of the class brainstorm to arrive at a list of all the different viewpoints, then one by one speak from the perspective of the varying stakeholders. This thinking routine, published by the Visible Thinking project at Project Zero, helps students consider the social and historical context for a primary source.

A way to spur inquiry and close observation is by examining one quarter of the primary source at a time.This six-minute exercise gives students a chance to focus in on particular details of the source. Having students write notes about each quadrant helps students to generate ideas and text fragments they can use in their writing; the partial view makes it easier for students to make notes without self-criticism.

Access an excellent slide show on the Census from Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Consortium member Dr. Elizabeth Osborn, Indiana University Center on Representative Government! 

This lesson uses the 21st century “travel ban,” ruled constitutional in 2018, as an entry point to explore previous shifts in US immigration policy. More specifically, students will use primary sources to examine social contexts of three specific immigration laws (Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Immigration Acts of 1921 & 1924, and Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952) in order to understand who was banned or excluded from the US and why.

Kelley McDermott, History teacher in a Massachusetts Department of Youth Services facility developed this lesson to attract her 8th grade students interest in research and public policy. Historically, students with disabilities are disproportionally caught up in the juvenile justice system. The lesson employs many strategies and tools for accessibility from Emerging America's Accessing Inquiry course. These include a focus vocabulary analysis and Universal Design for Learning plan.

The Relevance Matrix from Teaching Tolerance is a tool for teachers to consider means to connect content to real world applications and contexts that relate to students' lives. Thinking critically about engagement and effective classroom strategies can help students answer, "Why should I learn this?"

Strategies listed include:

Using the table teachers think about

This worksheet from Teaching Tolerance presents four quick, basic ideas to support active learning. Building on inspiration from Herbert Kohl, this tip sheet outlines uses of writing, drawing, images, and small groups to engage students. Any of these strategies could be used to assess student understanding. 

Strategies described and illustrated include:

A "Gallery Walk" prompts students to write responses to an image, and build upon one another's comments anonymously as they write their responses. This strategy offers a silent form of classroom discussion. Click here to watch a video from Facing History where high school students respond to images of monuments and memorials as part of a larger project. (8:08 mins)

*** Before watching the video, you can download the "Viewing Guide" below.