Newsletter #5: The 3 Whys

“Mrs. Hawkins, why are we talking about this?” I heard this slightly ill-informed question on one occasion from one of my fourth graders this week. Has this ever happened in your teaching? We’d been discussing native Utah peoples as part of our social studies core. I was highlighting the beautiful petroglyphs carved in Nine Mile Canyon from photographs I’d taken on a recent outing, and this student didn’t make the connection.

Instead of throwing off my lesson, I used the question as an opportunity. “Let’s talk about that right now!” I exclaimed.

Project Zero, a Harvard Graduate School of Education initiative, creates simple, research-based thinking strategies, which enable students to “discern the significance of a situation, topic, or issue, keeping in mind global, local and personal connections” (PZ-Harvard Graduate School of Education).

The routine called “The 3 Whys” saved my lesson by allowing my students to think about how the greater world affects them. You might use this at the introduction of a lesson to promote further investigation, or “expand on a given issue in order to help students become aware of that issue’s far-ranging impact.” “Why” questions can create a personal connection to a topic that might seem remote.

After showing an image of a petroglyph at Nine Mile Canyon, I showed an image of a glyph that has been harmed by graffiti. Graffiti or defacement is a troubling occurrence in Utah; this affects our state's canyon walls, our five National Parks, and the ancient glyphs themselves. Indeed, Nine Mile is called the “world’s longest art gallery,” and although it was created by native peoples hundreds of years ago, it is being damaged by current generations.

Ways to Use the 3 Whys in Your Classroom

After I showed the second image, I asked the students to get clarity through reflection.

• Why might this (topic, question, image) matter to me?
• Why might it matter to people around me? (family, friends, city, nation)
• Why might it matter to the world?

Use these questions in order OR in reverse order. Occasionally, it is important to draw attention to a global question or problem before making it personal. In the context of my students’ question, we started backward. I asked why we care about places like Nine Mile or other places that are special or sacred to native peoples around the world. We started drawing the circle closer to home: why is Nine Mile important to our state and the tribes who lived and continue to live in Utah? How does Nine Mile connect to our world today? Finally, we closed with one last question, which was my student’s first question, “Why are we talking about this?” By inviting students one step at a time, I was able to help them make a personal connection to a nine-hundred year old artwork. How can you apply the “three whys” to your classroom?

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