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Pioneer Lesson Segment Activity

Directions:
The purpose of this activity is for you to examine a non-example of elaborative interrogation and
practice modifying questions to elicit effortful thinking by asking elaborative interrogation
questions.
Instructions:
1. Watch the first 3 minutes and 30 seconds from video from ATLAS Case #50, Learning
About Pioneer Life through History and Art. Remember that you can search for a case
using the case number.

2. Now, take the perspective that you are going to provide feedback and coaching on the use
of elaborative interrogation questions to the teacher. You should look for “lost
opportunities” in the teacher’s questions – questions that missed opportunities to elicit
deep thinking and help students develop higher order thinking.

3. Complete the table below.

a. Identify five (5) instances where a question was asked by the teacher, but it was a
“missed opportunity” to elicit deep thinking. Try to identify instances from across
the entire 3-minute video.

b. Write down the original question posed by the teacher.

c. Identify the level of thinking required of students for this question. Was it a recall
question or an elaborative interrogation question?

d. Modify or write a new question that elicits more effortful thinking. You may refer
to the Bloom’s Taxonomy Question Starters. Questions that promote effortful
thinking prompt students to analyze, justify, and/or provide detailed explanations
of to-be-remembered content. They should be more challenging than “remember”
questions on Bloom’s Taxonomy.

e. Justify why your question does a better job eliciting deeper thinking.
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Important Background Information:

Sod homes

Sod homes were constructed by cutting and stacking patches of prairie grass together (roots up)
so that the walls grew together. This material was free and plentiful in the plains, but cutting the
sod was hard work. A scythe could only cut so much, so building a “soddy” required a special
plow to cut through the thick prairie grass. Soddy construction was also tricky (especially
building a roof), which kept the houses small. The houses were well insulated from cold and
heat, and were fire resistant. The weather posed problems for the homes. Dry, hot weather
resulted in the homes crumbling and dirt dropping from the ceiling into food. Too much rain
could result in the collapse of the home, and especially the roof.

Log homes

Log homes could be built inexpensively in regions where trees were plentiful. The only tools that
were needed were an axe, saw, and adze - for straightening logs, or carving our niches so logs
could stack. Walls could be constructed on the inside of the home. “Chinking” or using mud to
fill in the cracks between logs helped reduce drafts. Log homes were often close to water
sources, but were more of a fire hazard.
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Approx. Question Posed by Teacher Thinking Modified Question Justification for

Time Required by Modification
Marker Original
Question
(Recall or
Elaborative
Interrogation)
00:32 What are sod homes? Recall How were sod homes made? By asking a how question
instead of a what question
the students are required to
understand the what of the
question while also giving
more information on the
how.
1:30 What kind of land were they on? Recall Where were sod homes By asking the students
built? where the homes were built
this opens up a dialog so
you get more than just one
answer. Instead of just
saying on the prairie you
may get a specific region or
location. It also opens up
more questions.
1:52 Were there any good things about a Recall How would you compare a This helps the student make
sod home? sod home to you home? a sonnection to a sod home
being something that people
lived in and connecting it to
the world today.
2:05 What are the walls like in a sod Recall Why does sod work as a This question requires the
home? way to make a house? student to pull from their
understanding of why they
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would have used sod and

then explain why they think
that may have been a good
idea.
2:13 Are they thick walls? Recall What examples can you find This will require the
that the walls may have students to look back into
been thick? the information to review
what they have learned in
order to give you a direct
example.