Open-ended Responses Strategies

Multi-faceted Questions  OERs require higher-level thinking skills like analysis and evaluation  The selection must be read critically to provide an intelligent and insightful response  Organization includes an opening, an answer, and an extension.

Example OER In Moral Perfection, Ben Franklin wrote about what virtues he wanted to expand and/or improve.  With those virtues in mind, how is he different than the Puritans, who believed they couldn’t “help themselves?”  What makes Franklin an idealist?

Example OER In both The Last of the Mohicans film and the “Escape” excerpt, James Fenimore Cooper shows us the conflicts that occurred between the Native American Indians and the European immigrants.  In what ways did these conflicts shape the earlier definition of an “American?”  Explain similar conflicts experienced by contemporary immigrants here in America.

The 3-STEP OER Process  (1) begin / “set up” with paraphrased prompt  (2) answer ALL questions with PROOF from the text  (3) extend your answer by answering the question SO WHAT? WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? – comment on author’s purpose – (or prediction / suggestion)

Sample OER In Moral Perfection, Ben Franklin wrote about what virtues he wanted to expand and/or improve.  With those virtues in mind, how is he different than the Puritans, who believed they couldn’t “help themselves?”  What makes Franklin an idealist? (1) set up: In Moral Perfection, Ben Franklin wrote about what virtues he wanted to expand and/or improve. OR Unlike the Puritans of the Crucible era, Ben Franklin believed he was responsible for his own fate and thus made a plan to “improve” himself…

Sample OER In Moral Perfection, Ben Franklin wrote about what virtues he wanted to expand and/or improve.  With those virtues in mind, how is he different than the Puritans, who believed they couldn’t “help themselves?”  What makes Franklin an idealist? (2) answer: Ben franklin differed from the Puritans in that he felt that he was responsible for his own destiny. He chose a few virtues, such as temperance and resolution, and actually journaled each day whether or not he fulfilled the virtue more so than he had the day before…

Sample OER In Moral Perfection, Ben Franklin wrote about what virtues he wanted to expand and/or improve.  With those virtues in mind, how is he different than the Puritans, who believed they couldn’t “help themselves?”  What makes Franklin an idealist? (3)Extend your answer – answer SO WHAT? WHY DOES THIS MATTER? Ben Franklin’s attitude toward “moral perfection” shows how American thought was beginning to change during his era. Americans were starting to believe they had more control of their own personal fates.