Focused Inquiry Assignment

Compelling Question: Should we shut down the Line 5 Pipeline?

MI Standards:
3 – P3.1.1
Identify public issues in Michigan that influence the daily lives of its citizens.

3 – P3.1.2
Use graphic data and other sources to analyze information about a public issue in Michigan and evaluate
alternative resolutions.

3 – P3.3.1
Compose a paragraph expressing a position on a public policy issue in Michigan and justify the position with a
reasoned argument.

CCSS
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.1
Standards
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for
the answers.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.1.A
Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that
lists reasons.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1.A
Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and
other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.

Staging the Question-How will you set up your inquiry?

Starting with analyzing a picture…
Picture 1
Picture 2

Supporting Questions-How will students investigate different viewpoints?

1. How is the Line 5 Pipeline beneficial to Michigan?

2. How is the Line 5 Pipeline harmful to Michigan?

Formative Performance Task-How will students work through their inquiry?

Students will create a T-Chart. On one side they will record the ways Line 5 Pipeline is beneficial to Michigan. On the other side they
will record reasons the Line 5 Pipeline is harmful to Michigan.

Featured Sources-Age-appropriate materials that students can use independently or with limited guidance/support

Teacher Sources (For Background Information):

 Michigan.gov: Line 5 in Michigan
 Great Lakes Now: Beneath The Surface – The Line 5 Pipeline In The Great Lakes (for teacher)
 Congressional Research Service: Line 5 Pipeline – Replacement/Tunnel Project
 Report of the Finance, Transactions, and Investments Committee
 Enbridge Energy vs. State of Michigan
 Perceived Risk of the Line 5 Pipeline and Spills Under Ice
 From Gretchen Whitmer: Why I’m Trying to Shut Down an Underwater Oil Pipeline that Threatens the Great Lakes
 Rewordify: Simplify Complex Articles
Student Sources:
 Great Lakes Now: Beneath the Surface – The Line 5 Pipeline In The Great Lakes Video
 The Narwhal: Line 5 Pipeline Information and Arguments (Rewritten by Rewordify)


Summative Performance Task-Construct an argument supported with evidence that addresses the question

Should we shut down the Line 5 Pipeline?

Students will research and conduct a written argument on the side they chose for Line 5 Pipeline. They will be divided into 2 groups,
the side they chose, and deliberate with their peers on how to construct a valid and logical argument. Students will present these
arguments in a mock trial in front of a counsel of their peers.

Extension-What could next steps be? Academic or community based?

Invite a guest speaker from Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to discuss with the class how
Michigan uses renewable and nonrenewable energy. Students will write a letter to the Michigan Legislature supporting or opposing
the Line 5 shut down and support their reasonings with evidence-based claims.

Lesson Procedure
Staging the Question (invite students into the inquiry)
 Students will engage in a group discussion comparing two pictures of the Line 5 Pipeline and the possible implications of
both. The teacher will elicit and interpret student responses as they discuss what they are noticing, what these pictures might
be trying to say, the author’s purpose or message behind the images, and their wonderings. Students will consider the
positive and negative impacts of the Pipeline and support their claims with evidence from the images. As students are
engaging in the discussion, the teacher will record student responses on a chart that they may return to later.
 Students may not have much prior knowledge on the Line 5 Pipeline the teacher will provide some background information
before posing the question, they will receive more background information through their WebQuest.
 The teacher will explain to students their tasks of investigating, making a claim, and supporting that claim and pose the
question Should Line 5 Pipeline be shut down?

Investigating the Sources

 Students will complete a WebQuest that will aid them choosing a side and supporting their claim. The WebQuest will
provide background information on the Line 5 Pipeline, it’s history, and then supporting and opposing arguments. As
students work through their WebQuest they will be completing a T-Chart to record their answers on how Line 5 Pipeline is
beneficial to Michigan and how Line 5 Pipeline is harmful to Michigan.
 Once students have finished their investigation and T-Chart they will be tasked with constructing a written argument that
supports their reasoning with evidence-based claims. They will use their T-Chart to help construct their argument and refer
to any evidence they found.
 WebQuest Link: https://whatsidedoyouchoose.weebly.com/

Whole Group Discussion

 During whole group discussion, the class will present some of the evidence they found that supports and opposes the Line 5
Pipeline shut down. The teacher will use a T-Chart to record students responses as they discuss the evidence and arguments
they found.
 As the class engages in the whole group discussion the teacher will prompt for further explanations and reasonings from
students for each side of the argument. The teacher will challenge responses from both sides to ensure they remain an
unbiased party and to encourage students to think deeply about the positive and negative impacts of both sides.
 The teacher will then tell students of their next task consisting of a mock trial. The class will discuss as a whole group what a
 mock trial is, and the components needed for an argument. The teacher will take a poll of those who support and oppose and
Line 5 Pipeline and those who are still undecided.

Summative Task
 Students will construct and engage in a mock trial that poses the question Should Line 5 Pipeline be shut down?
 Students will be divided into two groups consisting of who supports the shut down and who opposes the shutdown. Each
group will construct a well-developed argument consisting of a claim, introduction, reasonings supported by evidence,
counterargument, and a conclusion. Students will refer to their T-Charts, written claims, and the collaborative T-Chart
provided by the teacher to help them in their arguments.
 A small group of students will work on each part of their argument (introduction, reasoning/evidence, potential
counterarguments, closure) while collaborating with the other small groups on their side. Each small group will pick one
person to present their portion of their argument. Other members of the group will either be on the council or listening for
counterarguments from the other side.
 Those who are listening for counterarguments will listen carefully to the points made by the other side and deliberate with
their group what they heard and refer back to the evidence they have to present a counterargument.
 The council will consist of an even number of students from the supporting and opposing sides, and the students who said
they were “on the fence” at the beginning of the lesson. The council will come to a majority vote decision at the end of the
arguments to determine if the Line 5 Pipeline will shut down or remain active.

Closure
 We will come back together for a whole group discussion and discuss some of the thing we heard and learned during the
mock trial. We will discuss how claims were made and supported, how counterarguments were made, how students
collaborated to form their arguments, and how the council deliberated to come to a decision.
 Then we will discuss how we can use what we learned from this activity to make a difference in our community. What are
some ways we can inform people in our community of the arguments we made? What can we do with these arguments?
Who can we give them to so our voices and claims are heard? What might be the result of voicing our claims?

To extend this lesson:

 Try to contact the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and request a guest speaker to
visit our class to discuss how Michigan uses renewable and nonrenewable energy, the benefits and drawbacks of both, what
 EGLE is doing about the Line 5 Pipeline, and what could students do?
 Students will write a letter to the Michigan Legislature supporting or opposing the Line 5 Pipeline shut down and support
their reasonings with evidence-based claims. They will use their T-Charts, written arguments, teacher’s T-Chart, and what
they learned from the mock trial to help them formulate their argument and create their letter.

WebQuest Link: https://whatsidedoyouchoose.weebly.com/

T-Chart:
For students to
complete during
WebQuest, and
for teacher to use
during whole
group discussion
Essay Organizer:
Essay Template:
Essay/Letters Sheets