More Wondering...

I have been working my way through the Dr. Lamb's stages of wondering.
1. Finding purpose - The first step was to find my purpose for this project. Other than the obvious purpose of fulfilling the course requirement, I really want to use this knowledge to have fun with and educate my children. I also love to learn new things, and I'm realizing how little I really know about Chicago. Sure, I've visited there many times, but I've never taken the time to learn about its history.

I decided to try ThinkTank , which is a research tool designed to help kids in grades 3-8 organize their topic and subtopics. I found it very simple to use. I entered my topic, and then Think Tank asked me a few questions about the topic. Then it suggested some subtopics that I could select, and it also offered prompts to help me think of additional subtopics. After answering the questions, this was the outline I created:

Research Topics for Chicago -(From Think Tank)

Topic 1: How has Chicago changed over time?

Subtopics:

• When was this place founded? Who founded it? Who settled it? Why was this place chosen?
  
• What were some of the events that changed this place and when did they happen?
  
• If someone was going to visit this place, what are some important historical sites/areas they should visit? What would they learn from these places?
  
• What are some fun, educational places in Chicago for kids to visit?

I think this research tool (Think Tank) could be a very useful tool for kids, especially if they have little experience in creating subtopics. I was happy with the results that it gave me.

2. Questioning - Thinking of questions is something kids do naturally, I think. At least the kids I know seem to have a lot of questions. I began to make a list of questions I have about Chicago.

What makes Chicago special?

What is unique about this city?

Why Chicago? Why did the city develop in the place that it did?

Who founded Chicago and when? What were the circumstances?

What happened during the Great Fire? How bad was it? How did they recover?

How does the recovery efforts from Hurricane Katrina compare with the rebuilding efforts of the Great Fire?

How did the Great Fire change the city?

Were there any other big events that had a significant impact on the city?

What do kids need to know about the history of Chicago?

What are the top places to go (with kids) in Chicago?

What are the best ways to get around the city?

So many questions, and I know I am just scratching the surface on what is possible to discover and explore about this great city.

Research Questions:

Of all of these questions, the ones I am choosing for my research questions are the following:

What has made Chicago an outstanding city?

and

How can my family best experience what this city has to offer?

Focus:

The focus of my investigation is going to be taking the information I discover about Chicago and tailoring it so that is useful for families. I want to present the information I find about the history of Chicago in a way that is exciting and understandable for kids. I want to find places and activities in Chicago that will help kids capture the spirit and culture of this city.

http://thinktank.4teachers.org/

Lamb, Annette. Information Inquiry: Wondering. http://eduscapes.com/info/topic71b.htm