Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Noodling: the primitive art of hand fishing / a possible social studies project

AJ Jones by bd2000
AJ Jones, a photo by bd2000 on Flickr.

In Louisiana back woods Cajuns have traditionally pursued hand (and foot) fishing in bayous as they sought turtles and catfish.

This week I learned that people in Oklahoma also fish for catfish by hand; they call it noodling because the person's hand and arm is presented to the huge catfish as bait.

As a social studies student I want you to learn to spot trends and create hypotheses about the world around you.

So my questioning went like this:
a) Hand fishing in Louisiana.
b) Hand fishing also in Oklahoma.
c) Can we assume that hand fishing is most likely a widespread phenomenon?
d) Can we imagine that hand fishing is a global pursuit? Should I be surprised if I find evidence of it in China? In Europe?

It becomes a social studies project when you pose a question:
- Is hand fishing a global phenomenon?
and follow that with inquiry
- a Google search of the literature on hand fishing
- interviews with qualified people.

When you report your method and the results you have virtually done your project.