Trends

***The Elements of Depth & Complexity are, to put it simply, a framing tool for creating critical writing prompts. Each Element is paired with an Icon. Drawing and/or memorizing the Icon is secondary to the actual USE of the Element to create better questions. When students learn what each Element means, they can start creating prompts for themselves, saving the teacher a lot of time.

This Element has the students connect local, regional, national, and/or global current events, as well as contemporary people, groups, politics, etc. to the topic at hand. Prompts may involve: How time, people, and the world around them have affected this topic. Representing patterns graphically to demonstrate trends over time. Drawing parallels from this topic to current events and trends using up-to-date articles and research. Inferences drawn from data collected in conjunction with the "Patterns" Element.

Prompts may include:

  • Describing social, economic, political, geographical, and other factors that caused events to occur/connecting these factors to contemporary issues
  • How major historical events continue to resonate
  • If a story from long ago had happened in the present - how would it have been different (i.e. a modern retelling of To Kill a Mockingbird)
  • What greater historical theme or debate is this topic associated with, and how does that theme or debate stand today?

Social Studies

  1. How has the treatment of Indigenous Americans by the U.S. Government changed over time? Present some current struggles that indigenous peoples are still facing in America today.
  2. How does the exploration of the Americas compare to space exploration today?
  3. What lasting impact did the World War II have on trade between Europe and the United States?
  4. How is the pattern of treatment of minorities in the 1950’s similar to the treatment of the LGBTQ community currently?
  5. In what ways does the Civil War still resonate in our present society? Use evidence from the news media, a poll, or academic survey to support your claim.
  6. How does massive credit card debt compare to indentured servitude?

English

  1. Find a current event that used or requires knowledge of this concept to understand, and report on it.
  2. How do current teaching strategies influence the teaching of this concept? Research a different way to show students this concept and try it out on your class with a presentation. Was it more effective? Why or why not?
  3. Describe a current event in space exploration and how what we are learning now in class is important to this event.
  4. Write up a debate against a partner about the importance for all high school students to learn this concept. One person will attack why it is unnecessary, and the other will defend why it is.
  5. Discover a new, contemporary author in this genre. Read some of their text that is compatible with our current unit of study and compare what you read with what the rest of the class is doing.
  6. Find the most recent movie or television show where __________________ (historical author/poet/playwright) was copied or quoted. What was the context of this quote?

Math

  1. What were some of the social struggles that scientists and mathematicians of this time period had to overcome? Are they still facing this issue today?
  2. What did people do before there was an Order of Operations?
  3. What are some popular jobs for people who are strong in math? What are their salaries?
  4. Find and share an article or post that misrepresents, shows bias, or outright lies about some statistic. “How do people use math to try to convince people that they are correct? How can people protect themselves from being fooled in this situation?
  5. Find a current event that used or requires knowledge of this concept to understand, and report on it.
  6. How do current teaching strategies influence the teaching of this concept? Research a different way to show students this concept and try it out on your class with a presentation. Was it more effective? Why or why not?
  7. Describe a current event in space exploration and how what we are learning now in class is important to this event.
  8. Write up a debate against a partner about the importance for all high school students to learn this concept. One person will attack why it is unnecessary, and the other will defend why it is.

Science

  1. What were some of the social struggles that scientists and mathematicians of this time period had to overcome? Are they still facing this issue today?
  2. What can meteorologists predict about the weather nowadays that they weren’t able to in the past?”
  3. What are people doing to help solve the problem of _________? How did they get started?
  4. What are some current trends or advances in __________?
  5. Find a recent article from _____________(science magazine) that relates to what we’re learning. Summarize the article for the class.