Curriculum Connection

Although Jack the Ripper will probably appear as a side note in a world history's course book, or be written as a research paper by a student who is interested in forensic science, the topic of Jack the Ripper and the Victorian Age's political and social unrest are still relevant themes to explore in social studies and science. "Some of the characteristics of skills and inquiry cut across all grades and subjects. Embedded in inquiry are the effective reading and writing skills that cascade down through the grades" (Stripling, 7).

The two age groups I choose include a fifth grade class studying Science, and a high school student studying World History and Civilization.

1) Indiana's Academic Standards and Resources for 5th Grade Science Subject: http://www.indianastandardsresources.org/resources.asp?Subject=sci&Grade=5&Standard=1&Indicator=5.1.2&Resource=12001.

Standard 1: The Nature of Science and Technology

Indicator 5.1.2: Begin to evaluate the validity of claims based on the amount and quality of the evidence cited.

Elementary level students can learn how police and scientists pursued criminals and investigated cases in the late 19th century. Have students compare and contrast what they know today (use "C.S.I." as an example) about forensic testing, including DNA, blood analysis, and finger printing, to what the Victorians had available.

2)Indiana's Academic Standards and Resources for 10th Grade Social Studies Subject: http://www.indianastandardsresources.org/standard.aspSubject=soc&Grade=WH&Standard=8

Standard 8: Students will examine the causes, events, and global consequences of the scientific, political, and industrial revolutions that originated in Western Europe and profoundly influenced the world from 1500 to 1900.

Indicator WH8.8 : Describe the causes and conditions of the Industrial Revolution in England, Europe, and the United States, and explain the global consequences. (Economics; Individuals, Society, and Culture)

High school students can focus on how the Industrial affected and changed England, both politically, socially, and culturally. Explore how the Industrial Revolution introduced dramatic changes to people's lives and structure. Maybe examine how society moved away from agricultural means of living towards industrialization, which meant more people migrated to the cities. This in return resulted in crowed cities, polluted factories, and the growing divide between the wealthy and lower classes.

Overall, I think Jack the Ripper might fit and provide some valuable information about the 19th century and the study of society and political turmoil in England, more than just being a side note on being an "unsolved mystery." And Stripling's wisdom is true: inquiry, no matter what the subject or topic, still involves basic research, assessing, and evaluating skills. Teachers and school librarians can help students learn these skills early in life in order to prepare them for tomorrow's needs and hopefully create life-long learners.

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Works Cited

Indiana's Academic Standards and Resources. http://www.indianastandardsresources.org/index.asp

Stripling, Barbara. "Fostering Literacy and Inquiry." SLJ 49 (2003): 5-7.

Part 8: Wishing and Longing....

With the big project finally completed, I sat down and contemplated on the various research models, resources, and goals I set up for myself. Virginia Rankin heavily encourages students to reflect on their project both in the pre-search stage to the final end. Some of her key terms included:

Hopefulness: I began feeling worried that I didn't know as much as I thought I did about Jack the Ripper. And I worried as I continued to dig deeper and find more data and research, while developing more and more questions. Yet, I finally arrived at this stage with my final project and I feel positive about all my hard work, time, and effort put into this assignment. As Rankin says, "You know you can be successful" (Callison, 513).

Persistence: Rankin defines this as success that is both "exhilarating and worth the struggle" (513). Again, my anxiety and feeling of being in way over my head gradually subsided as I used graphic organizers and various other research tools to keep on track with my research. Do I think my Jack the Ripper blog and final project was worth it? Yes -- I really enjoyed learning more than I ever knew about royal conspiracies and Freemasons, and I hope my fellow students will also enjoy reading and viewing my blog and project.

Dr. Lamb's "Wishing" lesson also helped me to step back and reflect on the overall project. I feel the strengths of my blog and project included the use of many resources, both print and electronic, and from various viewpoints (Ripperologists, YA authors, and educational experts and professionals.). By using Dr. Lamb's 8 W's as a map, and incorporating different themes and research concepts (graphic organizers, visual literacy resources, charts, and "journaling") from others like Daniel Callison, Virginia Rankin, Barbara Stripling, and Jamie McKenzie, I feel I have a better sense of research and how to go about it...something I thought I already had shown and proved with my M.A. thesis in graduate school.

My weak points....probably not enough reflection, both from myself and from the above educational professionals. I am a perfectionist and always think I could have used better and more thorough information, even when the project is turned in. If I had it to do over again, I would definitely narrow my topic down even more: maybe focus only on the royal conspiracy; or compare and contrast Ripperologists' arguments with Patricia Cornwell's offering of Walter Sickert as Jack the Ripper. Or maybe even done a visual literacy project and examined the Rippers letters, drawings, and compared and debated whether Sickert could have been the Ripper. Maybe used less text in my PowerPoint presentation -- something I'm new to creating. So many different angles and paths...and now I'm beginning to feel unsure about what I've already accomplished! LOL All these feelings and emotions are also common with today's students. Surrounded by so much information in various formats, controlled assignments that don't allow or encourage free inquiry, and the perplexing issue of how to begin, continue, and end a project are all important concerns for students. And these concerns must be met effectively by both the content teacher and especially, the school librarian.

I think next time for a project like this, I will focus more heavily on narrowing a topic; even though I thought I did by just focusing on theories of who Jack the Ripper was, in the end, I discovered there is still so much research out there to explore and discover. Overall, I hope to become a more mature information literate student and person by better reflecting "on each piece of information gathered, the manner in which information is linked as evidence, and the strength of conclusions derived from the evidence" (Callison, 510).


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Works Cited:

Callison, Daniel. The Blue Book on Information Age Inquiry, Instruction and Literacy. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2006.

Lamb, Annette. "Wishing." http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/wishing.htm