Watching the news this morning there was a story about a baby panda growing
stronger in the zoo. Isn't it ridiculously cute? As usual, it got me to thinking
about zoos and breeding programs and endangered species….and off I go!
With the new Common Core, teachers can turn their focus from
“the test” to teaching students to think for themselves. Sometimes it just takes a simple
question. That seems to be the basis of “Problem-Based
Learning.” Think about the question
posed by the NYCDOE
Nonfiction Reading and Opinion/ Argument writing task for 5th grade: “Should zoos exist?” or for older students,
Room for Debate’s “Does
Captive Breeding Distract from Conservation?” These simple questions can be the basis for
some great informational reading and research-based writing and some great
critical thinking.
Check out these resources that provide different
perspectives on the debate on zoos:
The same resources can be found here, all neatly arranged in
this “live binder” – a digital
binder that will allow you to share all of these resources with your students
in one easy place. Have your students do the research and use this great persuasion
map from readwritethink.org to get their writing started!
Jumpstart their thinking!
Having a discussion before students start writing can help
them understand new perspectives and gain a deeper understanding of the
issues. The SCAN tool at TregoED.org
has a great new scenario “Should Zoos Exist?” (always free) complete with scenario, four perspectives, resource links and a private
discussion format to get them started.
