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The Inquiry Process and the FKCC Book Series

By Lesley Barker

The Kentucky Faith and Public History Education Project is intentionally aligning our resources with the Kentucky Academic Standards for Social Studies for grades K-12 (HKH1, CKGO1, GHI1, HCH1, HCH2, CKGO2, EMA1). We are producing a series of high-interest easy-reader chapter books that model the four phases of inquiry practice at the core of the State Standards for Social Studies: questioning, investigating, using evidence and communicating conclusions.

Each of the Famous Kentucky Christian Club (FKCC) books is designed to be read independently by 7-10 year-old students or by students reading at the second through fourth grade reading levels. Each book is a historically accurate, values-driven book that makes no attempt to proselytize. Instead, using clear, objective and secular language, each book tells the story of a famous Kentuckian whose life was impacted by the Christian message, or the story of a Christian event that changed Kentucky’s history. Each book has four short chapters in which a team of fourth graders brainstorms about their famous Kentuckian. The first chapter models the students asking important questions that will inform their research going forward. The second chapter portrays each of the fourth graders using a different method to hunt for facts, or to investigate the answers to their questions. The third chapter shows how the team proves what they know by citing evidence for their answers. The fourth and final chapter describes the presentation that the fictional fourth grade students created for a state-wide competition.

The books can be used to supplement classroom libraries, in reading groups or as social studies assignments. The first four Kentuckians featured are Simon Kenton, an early pioneer in Big Bully; Elisha Green, a formerly enslaved pastor in New Boots; Dottie Rambo, a singer-songwriter in Picked Last; and Effie Waller Smith, a teacher and poet in Hurt Feelings. The books, by Lesley Barker, are available on Amazon.com as both paperbacks and Kindle e-books.

When students become proficient in using the inquiry practice to independently research and learn new things, they become critical thinkers who won’t be swayed by impassioned persuasive propaganda. They will learn to seek out truth for themselves, to value dissenting opinions and to pursue civil discourse. We hope for these simple books to become a valuable tool to promote authentic inquiry for all the children of Kentucky. After you read and introduce the books to your students, please let us know whether you find them useful in your classroom. Our goal is to produce four new books in the series every six months.

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