Intriguingly, 5th grade Washington State Social Studies starts with the year 1492. 1492: A year in U.S. history whose meaning is loaded with various perspectives, opinions, and versions of the "truth." Fortunately for the Islanders, their identity as Seattleites also provides them with a direct challenge to the notion--taught across the country--that "Columbus discovered America." In 2014, the Seattle City Council voted to discontinue the celebration of Columbus Day and, instead, decided that the day would be used to honor the lives of Native Americans through Indigenous People's Day.
The story of one of the most famous years in American history colliding with a special decision made by the City of Seattle provided us with our first guiding, inquiry question of 5th grade Social Studies: Why does Seattle celebrate Indigenous People's Day instead of Columbus Day?
Over the past two weeks, the Islanders have been honing their research skills and investigating a variety of sources to find evidence that addresses the guiding question of this unit. After initially assessing our own knowledge, and realizing that we are coming into the school year with a range of different ideas about Columbus and virtually no background knowledge on Indigenous People's Day, we set off on our own journey of discovery--uncovering the "truth" and realizing that perspective shapes the writing of history.
As a whole group and with partners we collected research from the following online and text sources, among others:
The story of one of the most famous years in American history colliding with a special decision made by the City of Seattle provided us with our first guiding, inquiry question of 5th grade Social Studies: Why does Seattle celebrate Indigenous People's Day instead of Columbus Day?
Over the past two weeks, the Islanders have been honing their research skills and investigating a variety of sources to find evidence that addresses the guiding question of this unit. After initially assessing our own knowledge, and realizing that we are coming into the school year with a range of different ideas about Columbus and virtually no background knowledge on Indigenous People's Day, we set off on our own journey of discovery--uncovering the "truth" and realizing that perspective shapes the writing of history.
As a whole group and with partners we collected research from the following online and text sources, among others:
- BrainPop
- The Seattle Times
- CNN Online
- Time Magazine Online
- The Pew Research Center
- A Young People's History of the U.S. by Howard Zinn
- Encounter by Jane Yolen
After compiling and sharing a list of evidence on our classroom KidBlog, students started to consider the different ways they could express their learning. The next step of this unit will be for the Islanders to form collaborative teams and determine the purpose, audience, format, and content of our projects. Stay tuned--the adventure continues!