LESSON 5.9 Grade the Why Ideas

LESSON 5.9
Grade the Why Ideas

You now have ideas for the two variables of the What section and for the Why section.

WHAT STATEMENT			WHY STATEMENT
LH	Verb Phrase	RH

Next, check to see if the Why ideas are good ones.

Tautology

Your Ys cannot describe, define, or otherwise duplicate any part of the What Statement. If they do, you will have a tautology, also known as circular reasoning.

WHAT STATEMENT			WHY STATEMENT
LH	VP	RH	Because	Y
OLD	Verb Phrase	NEW	because
Polio	could not stop	Wilma Rudolph from becoming a world-champion sprinter	Her achievement are especially important because	she overcame a life-threatening illness as a child.

Same thing

Task 5.9.1 – Tandem or Small Group

Grade your first three ideas from Lesson 5.8. Grade them as—

Old – Adult readers are not likely to be interested
New – Adult readers are likely to be interested
Dup – Tautology: repeats part of the New section
Gen – Too general

For example:

Possible Idea	Name	Why Important (legacy)	New?	Grade	Why Old?
White slavery	Florence Baker	Shatters myth that only Africans were enslaved		Dup	Tautology: Y repeats LH column
The Old West in 1820	Jim Bridger	Opened up the West for migration and settlement		New
Newly discovered ancient cities in the Amazon	Percy Fawcett	Revolutionized how we think of the Amazon		Dup	Tautology: Y repeats LH column

Task 5.9.2 – Tandem or Small Group

If you have less than three New ideas for the Why, then continue brainstorming, adding, and grading more of the table from Lesson 5.8 until you have that many.

Example:

Possible Idea	Name	Why Important (legacy)	Why’s Grade	Why Old?
White slavery	Florence Baker	Shatters myth that only Africans were enslaved	Dup	Tautology: Y repeats LH column
The Old West in 1820	Jim Bridger	Opened up the West for migration and settlement	New
Newly discovered ancient cities in the Amazon	Percy Fawcett	Revolutionized how we think of the Amazon	Dup	Tautology: Y repeats LH column
Polio	Wilma Rudolph	Revolutionized sprinting for female Americans	Gen	Y is too general
Racism against Native American runners	Billy Mills	Helped raise awareness and funds to Native American communities	New
The creation of Nike shoes	Steve Prefontaine	Inspired a generation of American runners	Gen	Y is too general
The history of the marathon	Eliud Kipchoge	Made researchers ask why so many great runners come from one valley in Kenya	New

Task 5.9.3 – Tandem or Small Group

Still have less than three New ideas for the Why? Then do either (or both) of the following—

Correct a Why idea that has a tautology so there is no duplication
Funnel down one of the general Why ideas

Example:

We have three New ideas. However, for demonstration purposes, we will correct the Why for Florence Baker and Percy Fawcett

Possible Idea	Name	Why Important (legacy)	Why’s Grade	Why Old?
White slavery	Florence Baker	Her story makes us want to examine modern-day slavery	New
The Old West in 1820	Jim Bridger	Opened up the West for migration and settlement	New
Newly discovered ancient cities in the Amazon	Percy Fawcett	Shows that several millions from South Amer. civilizations probably died from smallpox and other European diseases	New
Polio	Wilma Rudolph	Revolutionized sprinting for female Americans	Gen	Y is too general
Racism against Native American runners	Billy Mills	Helped raise awareness and funds to Native American communities	New
The creation of Nike shoes	Steve Prefontaine	Inspired a generation of American runners	Gen	Y is too general
The history of the marathon	Eliud Kipchoge	Made researchers ask why so many great runners come from one valley in Kenya	New