Iraq+&+Inquiry+Materials+-+3.26.10

= __//**Iraq and Inquiry Based Learning Materials - 3.26.10**//__ =

The materials below were used in the presentation on 3.26.10 at the Jackson Center. The Charts/Graphs on the Iraq War are all from the www.icasualties.org website. The photos used in the slide show are sited in the Iraq Bibliographic Organizer with their permanent URL. At the time that these materials were created, the Library of Congress had not uploaded its images for the Iraq War besides a few political cartoons. Please feel free to download any materials you wish and use them as you see fit for your students.

The icon above is the summary of the Inquiry Based Learning Series that was presented in a progressive manner at each History Dinner Club meeting. It contains links to the leading research on Inquiry Based Learning that build towards the most challenging form called Problem Based Learning or PBL.

Step 1 - show students the slide show below. [] The link above will take you to the slide show used for Problem Based Learning on 3.26.10 prior to Judge Ra'id Juhi Al-Saadi. It plays to Hootie and the Blowfish if you have audio. The photos are sited in the "Iraq 3.26.10 Bibliographic Organizer" which as has been loaded in parts due to its size at the bottom of this page.

Step 2 A. Ask students to use the Template below, (either with or without prompts) to record their thoughts on the slide show. B. Ask them to share which slide moved them the most and why. C. Ask them to share "B" with their group and then with the entire class. D. Ask them to share the questions they recorded in the template with their small group and then the entire class.



Step 3 Ask students, "Should the US Soldiers remain in Iraq beyond this summer - August 2010?" Have them record their response Yes/No then take a vote and record it for the class. While this question appears simple as a Yes/No, it sets the stage for students to give their opinions. Most will not feel comfortable responding with only a Yes/No; they will want to qualify their response with terms such as: depends, if, etc. This exactly what is supposed to happen. Allow the discussion of this question to go on for a while.

Step 4 Ask students what questions/information/qualifications they need in order to answer the support their answer to whether or not American soldiers should leave Iraq.

Step 5 Once students have qualified their response and recorded some of the information and questions etc. they want to research more in order support their response you can either allow them to begin looking for those answers or share the charts/graphs/images below with them.

The charts below (taken from icasualties.org) can be used to prompt students after they respond to the question: "Should the US soldiers remain in Iraq after August 2010?"





















Step 6 Allow students time to research support for their response. Remind them that many of the issues complicating troop withdrawal stem from deep seeded historical events, relationships, and issues that must be considered, addressed, and dealt with to carry out their decision. Only by including these pieces can the justification for their decision on troop withdrawal near completion.

Step 7 Students share their responses and support, listening to each other and offering questions, suggestions, unforeseen issues that may need to be considered to develop a workable occupation or withdrawal plan in Iraq. Listening to others and modifying their own positions and plans as well as doing additional research in order to have a workable plan are the final stages of this process. The point is for students to "poke holes" in each others plans so that they develop stronger plans for solving the occupation of Iraq.

Step 8 Students write an editorial or letter to share their findings and opinion. They may also submit/send plans to local Congress representative, podcast the discussion etc.

Bibliographic Organizer - This URL contains the Organizer with data as of April 2010. It was too large for wikispaces to upload to. We are housing it at the the Teaching American History Grant site. []

Older version here: