Earlier this year, as part of the ninth grade class' quarter-long History Play Project (which involves researching a world history topic, writing a paper, and performing a play about their selected topic), we were asked by a teacher to discuss the idea of topics and thesis statements. We immediately decided that a creative approach would be best to get--and keep--the kids involved. What we came up with was an activity that we called "Topic Statements Around the World."
We set up six tables to take the place of the six regions around the world; each table was piled high with history books and magazine articles about that region. I crafted "passports" so students could take notes as they checked off each region. In teams of two or three, students looked through the materials on each table, crafted three cohesive and original thesis statements for each region, and had them approved by a "customs agent" (a teacher or librarian who gave gold stars instead of passport stamps) before moving on to the next table/region. When all six tables had been visited, the kids had completed the assignment.
Lizz and I made a very beautiful trophy out of discarded library books and a mini foam globe and awarded it to the group with the most specific, original, and in-depth thesis statements. Many of the groups had several quality statements ("the experience of workers during the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railroad"; "the disappearance of the Aina people in Northern Japan") and some were far too simple ("Boer War"; "the experience after WWII") but made us chuckle nonetheless. We also gave bonus points to the group who wrote, "This was cool and we have unique ideas so we should win!!"
A bit hokey and kiddish, this activity ended up being one of the most effective ways to really make students think not only about different areas of the world, but how they were asking questions about the material.
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