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Friday, September 16, 2011

Real-Life Stamp Act?!

What would you do if your 8th grade teacher presented you with this memo after giving you a 3-page quiz?
Now you owe $0.45 for the 3 pieces of paper you just used.  Is that fair?  Is that just?  What are you going to do about it now?

Today social studies students spent the day exploring this problem and how they would solve it.  Using some systems thinking methods such as BOTGs and feedback loops, as well as their own personal opinions and ideas they all came up with solutions to the problem of the school now charging them for their paper usage.








In the end students made the connection between this "real-life" Stamp Act and the one that occurred back in 1765.  A lot of their proposed action plans were similar to what the colonists did: rebel...refuse to pay...riot against their oppressors.

1 comment:

  1. I have just stumbled upon your blog. I know that you have moved on and are pursuing new things in your current career, but I was wondering if you have some of the handouts for the activities that you do still? I tried your French and Indian war Movie poster activity and it was a HIT. Thank you so much for the project instructions that went along with it. Also wondering, do you have any more information on how you utilized Systems Thinking in the classroom - I loved the tutorial on BOTGs. Is the idea of feedback loops a strategy done through this?

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