• Invitation to inquiry
• Open minds
• Stimulate curiosity

Sonia Sotomayor with President Obama and Vice President Biden (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin by Michael Deas.

• Build background knowledge
• Connect to content
• Discover interesting ideas

*Throughout the research process, you may use a variety of inquiry tools and strategies.

You have been studying the Declaration of Independence and its role in the success of the American Revolution, and in creating a foundation for the American Dream. The men who wrote and signed the Declaration, whom we often call our "Founding Fathers," were frustrated ...

Consider the enduring relevance of the Declaration of Independence and the Founding Fathers who wrote and signed it:

• Nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the United States Supreme Court:
  • Watch from minute 11:30-15:30 of "The Nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the United States Supreme Court" or read "The Nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the United States Supreme Court" text. Focus on Sotomayor's address near the end and the reason that Sonia Sotomayor gave for becoming a lawyer.
• Saving the National Treasures: (Video accessed via Safari Montage)
  • Consider the great reverence modern Americans have for the original versions of our foundational documents. This NOVA program views the preservation process of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as a team of leading conservators, engineers and historians come to the rescue of the documents to prevent them from deterioration and damage. (55 minutes; view at least the first few chapters)

You might assume that all the signers of the Declaration of Independence agreed on its contents. However, the Founding Fathers and the people they represented had a variety of viewpoints on freedom, rights, and the role of government; there was heated debate over certain issues, like slavery and states' rights. The Declaration underwent collaborative revision by the group before it was finally signed and published.

Likewise, Americans and their representatives have not always agreed on what the Founding Fathers intended when they declared our rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Consider the changes in American law and society that have occurred as a result of such debates, for example:

• The Civil Rights Movement - Rights for African Americans
• The Women's Suffrage Movement - American women's right to vote

Contemporary issues involving our rights, and the role of government in ensuring those rights, continue to be the subject of heated disagreement and debate. Politicians often invoke "the intentions of the Founding Fathers" when arguing their positions on contemporary issues like censorship, environmental policy, health care reform, immigration, same-sex marriage, and zero tolerance policies. What would the Founding Fathers have to say about such issues if they were here with us today?

Through guided inquiry and the research process, you will have an opportunity to really "get to know" one of the Founding Fathers, and to investigate a contemporary American issue from his perspective, in order to answer the essential question:

First, build your background knowledge about one of the Founding Fathers by reading the biography article linked to his name on the Student Resources Page. Pay particular attention to the Founding Father's ideas, beliefs and accomplishments.

After reading the article provided, locate two additional reliable, authoritative biographical articles about your Founding Father using the recommended Biographical Resources.

Begin your Inquiry Journal (paper or electronic) or use Cornell notes or another note-taking tool to respond to these inquiry questions:

• What were the concerns of this Founding Father's constituents?
• What were this Founding Father's views on personal freedom, rights, and the role of government in people's lives?
• What makes this Founding Father a relevant point of reference to politicians and citizens today?
• What current issues or events might evoke comments from this Founding Father?
• What surprised you? What would you like to know more about?

Engage in conversation in an Inquiry Circle with students researching the same Founding Father, to develop ideas and discuss emerging questions with a small group of classmates.

Click on the Task and Product tab to continue the research process ...

• Explore interesting ideas
• Look around
• Dip in

Image Source: Library of Congress

Task and Product

In order to answer the Essential Inquiry Question, you will first need to explore your Founding Father's views on freedom, citizens' rights, and the role of American government. Then, you will research a contemporary American issue through the lens of your Founding Father's perspective to determine how he might respond to the issue.

You will use your research evidence and insights to compose a written argument that defends a stance your chosen Founding Father would take on a modern American issue. In addition, you will assume the character of the founding father you researched in order to participate in a Socratic Seminar surrounding modern American issues.

Explore

Use exploratory search strategies like browsing, scanning, and skimming several seminal documents written by your Founding Father, from the Seminal Documents on the Student Resources page. "Dip in" to read and reflect as you explore.

Choose at least one of your Founding Father's seminal documents to do an in-depth analysis of the his beliefs about rights and the role of government, and the rhetorical devices he used to express them:

• Complete the Analysis of Devices a Seminal Document.
• Make notes in your Inquiry Journal (or use another note-taking tool) to record examples, evidence, and insights about the Founding Father's views on rights and the role of government.
  • Consider using a Web 2.0 note-taking tool like Evernote, Live Binders, or Zoho Notebook to collect and sort information. See the Student Resources page for tutorials on using these tools.
• Use the Inquiry Log to keep track of sources that might be useful later or will need to be cited for your written argument.
• If necessary, use the Pair-Share Protocol to clarify your ideas, get feedback, and gain insight.

• Evaluate the achievement of learning goals
• Reflect on content
• Reflect on process

Assessments

The following scoring tools may be used or adapted by you and your teacher to evaluate your research process and your final product and presentation. You can use these assessments throughout your inquiry process to plan, make decisions, monitor your progress, and self-assess your achievement of your inquiry-based learning goals.

• Pause and ponder
• Decide direction
• Identify inquiry question

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Questions

Essential Inquiry Question:

Subsidiary questions that would help you to gather some specific information relevant to your Essential Inquiry Question:

Questions about the Founding Father:

• What were the concerns of this Founding Father's constituents?
• What were this Founding Father's views on personal freedom, rights, and the role of government in people's lives?
• What makes this Founding Father a relevant point of reference to politicians and citizens today?
• What current issues or events might evoke comments from this Founding Father?

Questions about a Seminal Document written by the Founding Father:

• How does the Founding Father use rhetorical devices like syntax, diction, tone, and parallel structure to convey his argument?
• What does the document reveal about the Founding Father's beliefs about rights and the role of government?

Questions about a Contemporary American issue:

• How does this issue involve freedom or individual citizens' rights?
• How does this issue involve the role and responsibility of American government in ensuring rights and freedom?
• How does this issue illustrate the enduring relevance of the Declaration of Independence?

Generate some questions of your own as you engage in your inquiry:

• Consider a variety of questioning techniques as outlined in Jamie McKenzie's Questioning Toolkit.

• Gather important information
• Go broad (search)
• Go deep (read)

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Gather & Sort

See the brief videos below to select a contemporary American issue that you find personally interesting, and that would be of interest to the Founding Father you have already begun researching. Select an issue your Founding Father might feel strongly about, based on what you have learned about his views on rights and the role of government:

• Censorship - What Should Determine What Airs on Network TV?
• Environmental Policy - President Obama on BP Oil Spill
• Health Care Reform - Supreme Court Debates Health Care Bill
• Immigration - Snapshot of Immigration Debate
• Same Sex Marriage - Both Sides of the Debate
• Zero Tolerance Policy - Rethinking

Use the Contemporary Issues Resources on the Student Resources page to locate information about the contemporary American issue you selected.

• Use this sheet to Evaluate Sources of information about contemporary issues as you find them.
• Use the Inquiry Log to make choices and track your inquiry journey.
• Read deeply from pertinent resources and apply reading strategies to construct meaning.
• Use strategies and tools for note-taking, documentation, and reflection as you gather:
• Refine your inquiry question or focus as needed, based on your research findings so far and your new insights and understandings.
• Demonstrate digital citizenship and avoid plagiarism by paraphrasing or quoting information, and by citing your sources in a Works Cited list.
  • Use an online citation generator like EasyBib, BibMe, or Son of Citation Machine to format your citations (MLA format).

• Reflect on learning
• Go beyond facts to make meaning
• Create to communicate

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Create

Analyze your research notes to identify information that establishes a connection among the biographical information, seminal document analysis and contemporary issue you researched.

Synthesize your learning and new insights based on these connections to write a thesis statement for your written argument in response to the Essential Inquiry Question:

Organize your research findings and conclusions to create an outline for a well-reasoned, logically structured argument. Support your thesis statement with biographical evidence, your seminal document analysis, and information pertaining to the contemporary American issue you researched.

• You have collected information from a variety of sources; however, you will not necessarily utilize every note and source you have collected. You must critically examine each piece of information to determine if it supports your argument. If you find that it does not, you should not include it in your outline. Be sure to consider opposing viewpoints as well as your Founding Father’s stance on a contemporary American issue.
• Use the Inguiry Log to determine each source’s relevance to your thesis. If necessary, continue your research to gather additional information that would support your thesis.
• Refer to the Sample Outline Template and Sample Outline on Thomas Jefferson as an example.
• Use the an outline template to create an original outline using your own research findings and insights. Refer to these outlining tools and tips, as directed by your teacher:
  • Thinklinkr
  • How to Create an MLA Outline in Microsoft Office 2007
    

Create an MLA-formatted Works Cited list to cite all sources of information included in your outline:

Write your Research-based Argument:
Use the Research Writing Overview as you begin to compose your argument.

• Review the process for including parenthetical citations using MLA formatting:
  • Using a Style Guide and Citing Sources
  • A+ Research and Writing Links: Citing Sources
• Upload your rough draft onto a collaborative space to be revised and edited in the next lesson, as directed by your teacher:
  • Drop Box
  • Huddle
  • Teacher wiki
  • Teacher drop folder on the school server's Students drive
• Refer to the Research Writing Rubric as you write, to ensure that you are addressing the criteria for the assignment.

After composing your research paper draft, you and your classmates will engage in self and peer revision and editing. During peer revision, your goal is to assess the content and conventions utilized by the writer in order to make suggestions for improving the composition. Use this tool to Revise for Ideas and Organization.  

Evaluate your own research paper according to the assessment criteria on the Research Writing Rubric.

• Learn from each other
• Share your learning
• Tell your story

Share

You will present your research findings to your inquiry community by engaging in a class Socratic Seminar. Socratic Seminars are driven by questions and focus on participants who engage in the following behaviors:

1. Listen - No one can speak while someone else is speaking.  The other person's sentence must be completed.
2. Build - Speakers must attempt to build on others' comments rather than debate or contradict.
3. Refer to the text - As often as possible, speakers must refer directly to a specific section of the text being used rather than making general comments or observations

The purpose of the Socratic seminar is to engage in a dialogue about contemporary American issues from the perspective of your Founding Fathers. The discussion will focus on the six contemporary issues that you and your classmates researched:. 

• It is your responsibility to prepare for the Socratic Seminar by completing the Socratic Seminar Guide.
• During the Socratic Seminar you will use the Socratic Seminar Rubric to complete a Peer Evaluation and Self Evaluation. 
• At the conclusion of the Socratic Seminar, you will complete the Reflection portion of the Self Evaluation on the Socratic Seminar Rubric.

• Evaluate the achievement of learning goals
• Reflect on content
• Reflect on process

Evaluate:

• Use the Research Writing Rubric to evaluate your research-based written argument.
• At the conclusion of the Socratic Seminar, complete the Reflection portion of the Self Evaluation on the Socratic Seminar Rubric.
• Reflect on your inquiry process using the Self Reflection on Inquiry.

Extend your learning:

Make the contemporary American issue you researched come alive! Be creative in telling the story of how the issue has affected a fictional character you create.

• Your narrative will be relatively short, so choose to describe a specific pivotal moment; for example, if your issue has to do with environmental policy, you might write about the moment when a college student is chaining himself/herself to a tree in a Washington forest to protest clear-cutting—including the factors leading his/her to this decision.
• Describe the experience from your character’s perspective, using either first or third person point of view. Be sure to create an engaging opening, vary your syntax for effect, and use vivid description.
• You will need to reference your notes, outlines, or final draft for details about the contemporary American issue featured in your story. 
• Use the Narrative Writing Guide to complete your prewriting and direct your composition.  The Narrative Writing Rubric will be used by your teacher to evaluate your composition.