Dimension 1 | Home Group Activity

Land-Use Inquiry Challenge

Make an initial judgment, discover what your group does not yet know, and turn that uncertainty into questions worth investigating.

15 minutesHome groupsOne recorderShared saved response

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Your inquiry team

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Home Group:

Choose one recorder to type. Everyone else should discuss and help refine the group's answers. This saved document belongs to the whole home group.

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Assigned home group

Shared compelling question

How should a growing community use a 20-acre parcel of undeveloped land?

A growing community must decide how to use a 20-acre parcel near homes, an elementary school, a creek, roads, and public transportation. Possible uses include housing, a public park and open space, or a mixed-use plan.

Group members

Recorder

1Make a quick decision (2 minutes)

Based only on what you know right now, which option would your group lean toward?

Housing Park / Open Space Mixed Use Not Ready to Decide

Why?

How confident are you?You are making a first judgment before investigating. It is okay to be uncertain.

2Find the holes in your thinking (3 minutes)

Identify three things your group is assuming but does not actually know yet.

Unknown or assumption 1

Unknown or assumption 2

Unknown or assumption 3

Which assumption would be most dangerous to leave untested? Why?

3Turn uncertainty into questions (5 minutes)

Create one supporting question for each kind of thinking. These questions should help your group investigate the compelling question.

History | Past and ChangeWhat do we need to understand about how this place or community has changed over time?

Geography | Place and EnvironmentWhat do we need to understand about location, transportation, people, or the environment?

Economics | Choices and TradeoffsWhat do we need to understand about costs, benefits, resources, or competing needs?

Civics | People and DecisionsWhat do we need to understand about who has a voice, who is affected, and how the decision should be made?

4Build the investigation plan (3 minutes)

You cannot investigate everything first. Choose the two questions your group thinks should be investigated first.

Priority Question 1

Question

Why investigate this first?

What information or source might help?

What could happen if the community acted without answering it?

Priority Question 2

Question

Why investigate this first?

What information or source might help?

What could happen if the community acted without answering it?

5Reconsider (2 minutes)

After developing your questions, how confident are you in your original choice?

What question most changed how your group is thinking about the problem?

Bridge to Dimension 2: Your home group now has questions that require different kinds of expertise. Next, each member will move to an expert group to investigate through History, Geography, Economics, or Civics, then return to teach the home group.

One recorder should save. If another teammate has saved a newer version, refresh before continuing so you do not overwrite their work.

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