Tuesday, September 13, 2005
-Wondering-
-Click on inspiration chart to magnify-
I wonder what all started the tradition of Halloween? What time period and what country did Halloween originate? What were Halloween celebrations like in the beginning? How did traditions of Halloween evolve where they are today? For example, why did the pumpkin become a major player in Halloween? What is the idea behind costumes of scary, sad, funny, silly, and just plain crazy? What role does religion, (past and present), play in Halloween? What about the role of commercialism regarding the holiday? Does advertisement and the media play a role? Is Halloween a child's holiday or a ploy by the candy companies to profit on a past tradition taken to the extreme? These are the issues I wonder about when brainstorming about Halloween.
-HALLOWEEN-
I am "Wondering" what I can explore about the topic of Halloween?
What questions do I have? What knowledge do I seek to gain when researching Halloween?
I. Origin
- Where did Halloween originate?
- What country created Halloween?
- What were the motives behind the first celebration?
- Was this a celebration of the fall harvest?
II. What are the traditions of Halloween?
- What does Halloween consist of?
- Halloween is noted for costumes, candy, parties, children, pranks, the occult, the dead, spirits, and many other traditions that need to be investigated.
III. Religion
- How does religion play a role in Halloween?
- Does the Devil hold the key to Halloween as some religious groups believe?
- Or, Is Halloween just a children's holiday?
IV. Halloween and the economy
- Is Halloween just a commercial holiday invented by the candy companies?
As I wonder I might attempt to utilize Annette Lamb's 5 w's and H's Chart. This would be useful for many students when contemplating questions on particular topics. These questions are what, why, who, where, when, and how(Lamb, Annette).
"Prior knowledge acts as a lens through which we view and absorb new information. It is a composite of who we are, based on what we have learned from both our academic and everyday experiences" (Kujawa and Huske, 1995).
What do I already know about Halloween? I know that I have celebrated it since childhood by trick-or-treating, decorating, pranks, parties, costumes, school parties, candy, hayrides, haunted houses, and apples, lots of apples, and finally pumpkins, (carving pumpkins). I know that Halloween was started with a different name a very long time ago. I believe it was referred to as "All Hallows Eve." I believe that this was started for more religious reasons rather than a child's holiday. However, I am unclear exactly what the purpose of Halloween was. Thus, the origins might be a good place to narrow my topic. Narrowing is what I will continue you to do as I zone in on my topic.
As I wonder, I will now begin to narrow my topic surrounding Halloween. I can do this by using information from sites such as: http://www.squires.fayette.k12.ky.us/library/research/general.htm
http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/topic/index.htm
Frustrations at this point seem minimal. A student in the K-12 setting might have more difficulty at this stage because choosing and then narrowing a topic into viable questions can be overwhelming. This is especially true for inexperienced students. The 8w's may be fairly new to a student. As I proceed into webbing, weaving,and wiggling I am almost certain I will begin to run into frustations.
References:
Lamb, Annette. C. 2001. http://eduscapes.com/info/topic71b.htm
Kujawa and Huske. C. 1995 Critical Issue: Building on Prior Knowledge and Meaningful Students Contexts/Cultures.
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr100.htm
