Laying the Groundwork for Research

Description

In this lesson, students continue to read and analyze pages 21–25 of Guns, Germs, and Steel. In this excerpt, Diamond continues to examine and debunk possible answers to Yali’s question regarding wealth and power disparities in relation to human development. Diamond also begins to lay the groundwork for his research or answer to Yali’s question. At the beginning of the lesson, students participate in a Pre-Discussion Quick Write, in which they consider the Quick Write prompt and the ways in which the author’s ideas in this excerpt refine his purpose. Students then participate in a whole-class discussion of the Quick Write, during which they make connections to their previous analyses of the author’s research purpose or the “subject” of his book (p. 16). Students then revisit the Quick Write to close the lesson.