According to Dr. Lamb, a "wondering chart" can help an individual focus on "brainstorming options, discussing ideas, identifying problems, and developing questions." So after doing some preliminary reading, I created the above "Jack the Ripper Wondering Chart." According to Barbara K. Stripling, "Graphic organizers are helpful for any type of inquiry. Virtually any student benefits from attaching new information to a schema."
The second phase of my "wondering" took to me Think Tank 4Teachers. Here, I plugged in some ideas and questions I had and let the program create subtopics and some really research-worthy topics/hypothesis to explore. Here's what I came up with and the link I used to create some possible questions:http://thinktank.4teachers.org/assist/subject.php3?ts=1189977436
Research Topic 1 for Jack The Ripper : How did the era and the time influence Jack The Ripper?
1) What other things were happening in science during the time this person lived? Did these have an influence on him/her/them?
2) What things were happening politically in the country in which this person lived? Did this person fit in with the political climate or was s/he in opposition to it?
3) What religious interests were in power in the country in which this person lived? Did this person fit in with the religious climate or was s/he in opposition to it?
4) Were there crises happening in the country in which the person lived? Did these affect this person's choice of work, interests, or lifestyle?
5) Do you think this person could have done the same thing(s) in a different time period? Why or why not?
6) Why couldn't anyone solve the murders then?
7) What might forensic science tell us today about who Jack the Ripper was?
8) Whose theory on the identity of Jack the Ripper seems logical?
9) What evidence convinces the reader of Patricia Cornwell's theory? And if not, why and how so?
10) Do any of the possible Jack the Ripper suspects share anything in common (viewpoints, politics, religion, etc.)?
Research Topic 1 for Jack The Ripper : How did the era and the time influence Jack The Ripper?
1) What other things were happening in science during the time this person lived? Did these have an influence on him/her/them?
2) What things were happening politically in the country in which this person lived? Did this person fit in with the political climate or was s/he in opposition to it?
3) What religious interests were in power in the country in which this person lived? Did this person fit in with the religious climate or was s/he in opposition to it?
4) Were there crises happening in the country in which the person lived? Did these affect this person's choice of work, interests, or lifestyle?
5) Do you think this person could have done the same thing(s) in a different time period? Why or why not?
6) Why couldn't anyone solve the murders then?
7) What might forensic science tell us today about who Jack the Ripper was?
8) Whose theory on the identity of Jack the Ripper seems logical?
9) What evidence convinces the reader of Patricia Cornwell's theory? And if not, why and how so?
10) Do any of the possible Jack the Ripper suspects share anything in common (viewpoints, politics, religion, etc.)?
Research Topic 2 for Jack the Ripper: How were people affected by Jack the Ripper and His Murders?
1) How were people affected by Jack the Ripper and his murders?
2) Were people of different races affected differently by this event?
3) What people/groups/countries were involved in this event? Why were they involved?
4)What were some of the differences between those who survived and those who did not?
5) What individuals played significant roles in this event and what were some of the things that made them important?
6) What were the backgrounds of individuals who played significant roles in this event.
7) What do you think people "behind the scenes" (e.g. police, newsreporters, politicans, religious figures, etc.) thought of this event and the people in it?
8) How were different groups portrayed when this event is reported? What evidence of prejudice or tolerance can be seen in this reporting?
I absolutely love ThinkTank! It provided me with different angles, approaches, ideas, and further questions I wouldn't have thought of on my own. I would most definitely encourage all students who visit a media center to check this site out, and also to encourage teachers in various content areas to consider adopting this resource too, as well. And using graphic organizers as Stripling discusses is a fantastic strategy to break down one's thinking, ideas, and research needs and questions. I wish I would have know about these strategies when working on my Master's history thesis; from now on, whatever reasearch I do, I will try to implement these concepts and I'm sure Stripling, Lamb, and ThinkTank! would be very excited and inspired to know one very naive student is learning more valuable research strategies than she ever did from her history professors at graduate school! :)
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Works Cited
Works Cited
Lamb, Annette. "8 W's of Information Inquiry." http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/ws.htm
Stripling, Barbara K. "Fostering Literacy and Inquiry." School Library Journal 49 (2003): 5-7.
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