| As students learn about a person in history or start to engage in problem-based learning, they must apply new information to their preconceptions, suppositions and hypotheses. They end up adding, subtracting, meshing and adjusting.
 Let's see how this works with Joan of Arc.
Most of us have some image of Joan's personality before doing much research. We know just enough to make a list of 10-12 reasonable suppositions. Open Inspiration or your word processor and make a list of words like "courageous" or "devout" that seem reasonable to you.
Finding Evidence to Test Suppositions
Now consult some of the following sources and see how they lead you to adjust your suppositions:
Source O ne - Joan of Arc's 'Letter to the English'
(22 March 1429)
Source Two - Saint Joan of Arc's Trial of Condemnation
Source Three - Saint Joan of Arc's Trial of Nullification
Source Four - Catholic Encyclopedia > J > St. Joan of Arc
Source Five - Wikipedia
Source Six - The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
Note how this kind of research and thinking prepares students for the tough reading questions on NAEP (The National Assessment of Educational Progress):
Sample Item
- What causes the main character to do _____? Use evidence from the story in your response.
More examples at the bottom of this NAEP page.
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