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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