Many cities in the state of Washington are facing severe overcrowding in their schools. People are discovering that Washington is a wonderful place to live. They would like their children to grow up in the Seattle area. However, this has resulted in some unforeseen problems.

 

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Task

The city of Seattle would like to build a new elementary school. They have hired the firm of Great Building Associates, leaders in architectural design. This new school will feature the latest technology and state of the art design. However, there is great concern from the citizens of this city. Recent discussion has centered around the possibility of a severe earthquake happening in this area. Citizens worry that such an event could cause massive destruction to their city and many of the buildings and infrastructure surrounding the school. They refer to the earthquakes that struck California on October 17, 1989 and the earthquake that struck India on January 26, 2001. Several hundred children in India were trapped in school buildings where they were injured or died. Parents worry about the safety of their children and citizens worry about the cost effectiveness of building a new school that might experience great structural damage.

If this school is not built, certain overcrowding will occur. A special meeting will be held to debate this issue. A panel of experts will attend and members of the community will have the opportunity to question this panel. The panel will consist of Mr. Matthew Rock, geologist; Ms. Alice Safe, safety expert, Ms Olivia Past, historian; and Mr. N. G. Neer, structural engineer representing Great Building Associates.

 

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Process

You will assume the role of one of the following: geologist, safety expert, historian or structural engineers. Working in your expert groups you will have to research the possibility of building a school in the Seattle area. Based on your role, you will look at this problem from various perspectives.

After researching, your expert group will be asked to make a HyperStudio presentation based upon what you have found out. You will also be asked to write a persuasive letter addressing the issue of whether or not a new school should be built.

As you begin to research, you will need to think about the following:

• What do you need to know to begin your research?
• What types of questions do you need to have answered?
• How will you organize your work?

As you begin your research, you will need to develop questions. We have included suggestions to help you develop these questions.

Please consider:

What you already know about the topic.
What you would like to know.
As you continue to research, add new questions that you would like to know.

 

What makes a good question?

There are BIG questions often called essential questions. These questions cannot be answered easily. Some examples of essential or BIG questions are:

• What makes a good friend?
• When are laws fair?
• Why do we have conflicts?

or in our case, our BIG question is:

• How can people best try to overcome the forces of nature such as earthquakes?

If we were studying rocks and minerals, we might ask:

• Do rocks change?

However, a better question would be:

• How do rocks change?

The question "How do rocks change?" cannot be answered with one or two words.

When studying the global warming, we might ask:

• Is the earth becoming warmer?

However, a better question would be:

• How could we determine if the earth is becoming warmer?

• Look at a description of your role as an historian, geologist, safety expert, and structural engineer. Read the suggestions and develop questions to begin your research. You can use the worksheets and graphic organizers provided for you.
• Work in your expert groups to brainstorm a list of questions and record them on chart paper. When your group has finished brainstorming, go over your list with a teacher.
• Try to refine your questions.
• Record each question on a separate recording sheet.
• Use the worksheets below to help you organize your questions and gather information that answers your questions.
• Steps two and three of the Research Cycle will offer suggestions on selecting your resources and will provide you with some resources you can use to gather your information.

Worksheets: You can use this recording sheet to write each question, to write your notes and to indicate the source and page number.

You can use this resource recording sheet to record the important information about each resource you use.

In step two, you will need to think about which resources you will need to use to find answers to your question.

Graphic Organizers: You might want to use the Inspiration software to create a cluster diagram. Click here for an example.

You will need to assume the role of one of the experts listed in the chart below. Click on your expert from the Expert Chart below to see suggestions on developing your questions.

Remember: As you learn more, you should be developing more questions.

Structural Engineer - A structural engineer is a person who makes sure that buildings are built according to specifications and that the buildings are safe.

In your role as a structural engineer, you should think about the following things and develop a list of questions. Examine the resources provided for you. Your list should continue to grow as you learn new things.

• What if you were going to build this new school in the Seattle area, what types of things might you need to investigate?
• How might you learn from the past?
• Consider the technology of today.
• Consider the location of the school.
• As a structural engineer, what kind of information might be useful to help people decide whether to build the new school or not?

As a structural engineer, think about this comment made by an MSNBC news reporter, "Earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do"

Geologist - a person who studies the history of the earth and its relation to rocks.

In your role as a geologist, think about the following things and begin your list of questions. Remember, as you read through various resources provided, you should add to your list of questions.

• Consider the location of this school and what the earth looks like in this region. What types of questions might you want answered?
• Think about what you know about plate tectonics and what you'd like to know.
• Think about what you'd like to know about earthquakes.
• As a geologist, what kind of information might be useful to help people decide whether to build the new school or not?

Historian - as an historian, you will be asked to investigate past earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest, especially in the Seattle area.

In your role as an historian, you should think about the following things and plan on developing your questions. As you begin your research, you should add more questions to your list.

• How can we use the past to make sense of the future?
• What kind of questions might an historian be asking?
• As an historian, what kind of information might be useful to help people decide whether to build the new school or not?  

Safety Expert - as a safety expert, you are concerned about the possible destruction that could occur during an earthquake. You are also concerned about informing the public about safety tips on how to keep safe during an earthquake. If an earthquake does occur, your main concern is how to safely rescue people and how to clean up after the earthquake strikes.

In your role as a safety expert, you should think about the following things and plan on developing your questions. As you begin your research, you should add more questions to your list.

• What types of things will you need to know?
• As a safety expert, what kind of information might be useful to help people decide whether to build the new school or not?

Your group will put together a HyperStudio presentation which includes your questions and the answers you have found. You will be asked to answer the big question, "How can people best try to overcome the forces of nature?" from your expert's viewpoint.

Your research will be evaluated using this rubric.

Your presentation will be evaluated using this rubric.

After seeing every group's presentation, you will need to make a decision whether building a new school in the Seattle area will be a good idea. Once you have decided which course of action, you believe will be best, you will be asked to write a persuasive essay to the town manager stating your opinion and the reasons why.

Many thanks to Jamie McKenzie who has designed the Research Cycle and has helped to develop the essential question and offered some guidance on the development of this research module. Many of the ideas mentioned above are derived from the seminars and writings of Jamie McKenzie, Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. For more on this subject, see From Now On published by Jamie McKenzie or Understanding by Design (Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe).