Claim Testing - Imperialism

Hi Curt!

I love this activity and have been using it in several units for a while now.  It works so well!!  I usually do it toward the end of the unit so that there is a lot more material for kids to sift through and use when supporting/refuting the claims.  I've added more claims at times to keep group-size small and just to include more information.

Biggest tweaks:

I use a shared Google Doc to streamline the finals steps of the process for kids (instead of the whiteboard), and I color-code the claim cards to make all the transitions easier.  I also have a slide show to keep it organized.  I've attached these materials below, hopefully the links open, feel free to use them.

Materials:

• Colored Claim Cards
• Shared Claim Chart as a Google Doc template for students to compile evidence during the last phase of the activity.  Pre-fill the claims on the left and then post into Google Classroom as an “assignment” that “students can edit.”
• Google Slides presentation to host instructions and keep the pace.  (This example is for the Industrial Rev, but I just change it each time)

I also like to discuss the process with the students afterward, not just the content.  Our state test is now heavily skills-based so I try to be pretty explicit about the skills as we practice them.  So I'll add questions such as: 

• After Round 1 - 
  • Was this a difficult task? How did you make your decisions?
  • Which claims were the easiest to find evidence for and which were the hardest?  
• After Round 2 - 
  • Evaluate the evidence you were provided with - mostly strong/weak/repetitive? What did you use as your criteria to decide?
  • What was the most challenging part of your task? 
• How does this activity further our understanding about the role of a historian?  
• In what ways is this a good exercise for becoming stronger writers? 
• Besides writing, in what areas of our life is the skill of supporting/refuting claims useful or important?

Tell us how it goes

Julianne:

You’re a rockstar!!  Thanks for the feedback and so soon too! We’ve done claim testing, but we’re just pulling into the end of our imperialism unit and thought we would use this to provoke some thought at the end of the unit.  We’re doing this tomorrow, so I’ll give you some feedback after I’ve reflected. We have three weeks of school left in the semester with a week off for Thanksgiving.   I know we can, I know we can, ... whoo, whoo!

With gratitude,

Curt Greeley

Julianne:

You’re a rockstar!!  Thanks for the feedback and so soon too! We’ve done claim testing, but we’re just pulling into the end of our imperialism unit and thought we would use this to provoke some thought at the end of the unit.  We’re doing this tomorrow, so I’ll give you some feedback after I’ve reflected. We have three weeks of school left in the semester with a week off for Thanksgiving.   I know we can, I know we can, ... whoo, whoo!

With gratitude,

Curt Greeley