2. Name Columbus’ 3 ships Test questions from a real 6 th grade test NinaPintaSanta Maria Which of the 3 ships sank?Santa Maria Captain of the Pinta?Martin Pizon Ponce De LeonExplorer seeking the Fountain of Youth?

3. Test questions from a real 6 th grade test Name Columbus’ 3 shipsNinaPintaSanta 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 Soto Explorer who discovered the Mississippi River?

4. Test questions from a real 6 th grade test Name Columbus’ 3 shipsNinaPintaSanta 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? Cortez Conquered the Aztecs?

5. Test questions from a real 6 th grade test Name Columbus’ 3 shipsNinaPintaSanta 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 II Leader of the Aztecs?

6. Test questions from a real 6 th grade test Name Columbus’ 3 shipsNinaPintaSanta 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 ? Balboa Discovered the Pacific Ocean ?

7. Test questions from a real 6 th grade test Name Columbus’ 3 shipsNinaPintaSanta 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

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

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

10. 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!

11. 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?

12. 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!

13. 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

14. 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)

15. 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

16. So what? What is important to understand about this? is about … Titanic lessons from a disaster how 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 zone Lesson: 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 escape Lesson: 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

17. So what? What is important to understand about this? is about … Titanic lessons from a disaster how 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 zone Lesson: 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 escape Lesson: 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

18. So what? What is important to understand about this? is about … Titanic lessons from a disaster how 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 zone Lesson: 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 escape Lesson: 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

19. So what? What is important to understand about this? is about … Titanic lessons from a disaster how 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 zone Lesson: 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 escape Lesson: 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

20. 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

21. These patterns all represent the same information hierarchy Each depicts a 3 main-idea & details pattern

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. Example of Geography phenomena map

26. 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

27. 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 fit Ignore the parts that don’t fit Discount 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

28. Tension * Reaction © 2004 Edwin Ellis www.GraphicOrganizers.com Unexpected Topic Sources of Tension Reactions Results Spin-off New Problems or Tensions Created Pivotal Event? Expected Example of Tension * Reaction phenomena map