This module is for Elementary QFT Lesson

The Q-Focus serves as a starting point for students to create their own questions. In this lesson, they use a photo of Thurgood Marshall to spark curiosity and build confidence asking their own questions.

Inquiry Question:

Why was Thurgood Marshall called “Mr. Civil Rights”?

In this lesson, students engage in the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) to explore the life of Thurgood Marshall. Students investigate the guided inquiry question, “Why was Thurgood Marshall called ‘Mr. Civil Rights’?” and examine primary sources to collect evidence to answer the question.

Resources You Will Need

Please review ALL materials carefully, including videos and primary source sets, before selecting to show them to students.

 

Procedure

Begin by telling students that we will be exploring the life of Thurgood Marshall during today’s lesson.

QFT Step 1:

Q-Focus photo of Thurgood Marshall

QFT Step 2:

Produce questions about the Q-Focus.

QFT Step 3:

Improve questions by identifying closed and open questions and then changing them.

QFT Step 4:

Prioritize questions by selecting questions that students most want to answer.

QFT Step 5:

Guided Inquiry begins with the inquiry question: Why was Thurgood Marshall called “Mr. Civil Rights”?

  • Timeline:
    Have students take 10 primary source image sets and predict a timeline (use clues from the images to guess their order).
  • Introduce Inquiry Question:
    Why was Thurgood Marshall called “Mr. Civil Rights”? Have students look at the images and predict a historical claim based on the images.
  • Background reading and short video clips about Thurgood Marshall
    (Reading includes information that will help students understand the images.)

Reflect

Ask students to reflect on the QFT process by considering how the lesson was different and how it impacted their learning.


  • Supreme Court Case Predictions:
    Students look at five primary source sets related to Supreme Court cases won by Thurgood Marshall. Students predict what rights he was helping to ensure/protect in those images.
  • Matching Activity:
    Students match five Supreme Court cases to five primary source sets.
  • Review of Materials and Revisit Q-Focus:
    Students return to the Q-Focus and discuss what additional information and context they have for the image. Students consider what high might be doing now that they know more.
  • Making a historical claim:
    Students answer the inquiry question: Why was Thurgood Marshall called “Mr Civil Rights”? After matching and learning, students make a historical claim by completing a graphic organizer to answer the inquiry question and supporting it with two pieces of evidence. Students also choose one image that they think best supports Thurgood Marshall being called “Mr. Civil Rights.”