The Myth of the Boring Topic

1. The Myth of the Boring Topic • Get into groups of three; each group picks a commonplace object. • As a group, brainstorm a list of potentially interesting questions about the object (someone in the group will record this thinking on a computer) • Work toward questions that might address the history of the object, its uses, its possible impact on people, the implications on society, any surrounding controversy.

2. Switch! • Each group will shift to a different object. Read the questions the previous group asked. • Add even more interesting questions to this list that may not have occurred to the group before you. • Work toward questions that might address the history of the object, its uses, its possible impact on people, the implications on society, any surrounding controversy.

3. Switch! • Shift to a new object. • Pretend you are an editorial team assigned to propose a researched argument article for a general interest magazine (ieTime) that focused on the object in front of you. • Review the list of questions; what might be the starting question for the investigation? Why? • You will be asked to present the object, the question, and why you selected that question to the class (so pick a spokesperson).

4. Asking Questions of a Text • Watch the following TedTalk and come up with a list of potential inquiry questions (just like we did with the common objects). • Gary Kovacs “Tracking the Trackers”