Unlocking medieval secrets in 4th grade

Walking into Rachel Ballas’ fourth grade classroom at Graham Elementary, you immediately notice the sound of harps and acoustic guitars as music from the Middle Ages sets a tone of discovery for students, who are scattered in groups across the classroom working on an ELA assignment. Each student has a workbook and a smaller book about medieval castles open. Their pencils are in hand and quiet conversations can be heard around the room as they work in small groups. “They’re going back into the text,” Ballas said. “They’re finding evidence about castle features that protected the castle inhabitants.” Because the Middle Ages are such a foreign concept for students, questions naturally arise, and sometimes they aren’t on topic. “How is string made?” one student asked. A seven-year veteran teacher, Ballas realized these curiosity questions were taking up a lot of class time. So she built a parking lot in her classroom. “That sounds like a really good Parking Lot question,” she said to the student. Each student has Post-It notes at their desk. If they have a question that doesn’t get answered, they write it down and put it in the Parking Lot, a designated space on the wall where a handful of colorful notes are already in place. “And then, when we have an extra few minutes, I go over and I answer some of the questions,” Ballas said. Some of the questions in the Parking Lot included, “In the jousting matches, why did the horses wear long leather around them?” and “On page 22, why is one of the guys not wearing armor?” “It’s been a game changer for us,” Ballas said. Now back together at their desks, she led a whole class discussion about the evidence the students found in their books. “What about the towers helps protect the inhabitants?” she asked. Hands go up across the classroom. Moats led the list and giggles peppered the room as they discussed chamber pots being emptied into the moat, making it a pretty disgusting defense for the castle. “Did anybody find anything else?” More hands shoot up. “I think they probably had farming stuff because how else would they get their food?” one student said. Ballas questioned him and his response showed the power of teaching students how to cite their sources. “It says it in the book. I wrote it down.” he said confidently, citing the page and paragraph. Once they finished citing their evidence, Ballas asked students for their thoughts on what they read. Now teaching students to separate facts from opinions. By giving every question a place to land, Ballas is helping her fourth graders learn that curiosity isn't a distraction; it’s the foundation of real learning.