Category Archives: Inquiry/Project Based Learning

Making Thinking Visible Chapter 4

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I love getting into the nitty gritty or meat of a book.  Now I can explore new routines to use to prompt further thinking and use for assessment!  In chapter 4, you are introduced to 7 new routines.  At our last school, we were already using See, Think, Wonder in response to a visual in math and science as a tool to understand where students are in their understanding or to prompt discussion.  Also, Think, Puzzle, Explore just sounds like an alternative to a KWHL chart.  Zoom In is similar to See, Think, Wonder but focuses on a small piece of an image, then yielding to a larger view.  I think this would be handy as a lesson to show students the value of close reading and reviewing material.  It also gives a different perspective to how you see something.  Chalk Talk is similar to how we opened up new units in our International Baccalaureate program: Ideas?  Connections?  Questions?  These were all valid tools, yet I didn’t feel like it was anything truly new from what I’ve been practicing.

So let’s get to the 3 which I found the most interesting:

3-2-1 Bridge

Here is a quick method to stimulate background knowledge, promote thought, then assess connections/growth.  The idea is that a student provides 3 words, 2 questions, and 1 metaphor/simile in response to a topic, then repeats the same activity after learning more about the concept.  If time, I might would ask students to write a brief explanation and draw a diagram to show their thinking.  At a minimum, I would ask for because to be added to each of the 3 words to deepen the activity and provide a better understanding of what each student is thinking.  Otherwise, you’re just playing word association – I can do this without really knowing what I’m saying.  Because is such a powerful word in education.  I’m always about students writing down their thoughts to practice explaining ideas.  If you’ve ever taught, then you know a student saying the sky is blue because of the angle of the light coming through the atmosphere sounds like he/she has some understanding.  However, when you ask for an explanation you might get something quirky such as, “because the aliens from other planets are shooting rays of light from different places, which planet is shooting rays decides which shades of blue you see or if it’s red,” which means Suzy actually doesn’t understand at all and has access to alien movies at home.  Ah, small moments such as these bring joy to teaching, almost as well as that aha moment by little Suzy.  I’d like to play with this routine several times to see what types of assessment I can gain.

Compass Points

In second grade, we teach interpreting information on a map including orientation and legends.  How fun to tie in the compass points with a method of sharing our ideas.  In this routine, E = Excitement/advantages W = worries/concerns/problems (which leads to action needed), N = needs, and S = stance/opinion.  I see this as a different structure for a concept wheel.  I can imagine using this when researching landforms, considering how people settle according to their environment or considering the concept of saving money.  I think I will tie in the Carousel Kagan structure with this routine for a unit allowing for movement with activation, the revisit the same activity for assessment.

The Explanation Game

This routine allows for a student to look closely at one piece of a larger concept and consider its function or role.  The steps are Name it, Explain it, Give reasons, and give alternate reasons/possibilities.  I like that it is asking for reasons, then asks a student to delve more deeply into possible alternatives.  I will need to really work on modeling this to promote thought beyond the superficial, but it allows for a natural differentiation with infinite growth.  This is an excellent match with open ended projects in science and social studies.  In a way, I think Number Talks provide this type of thinking in math naturally.  Students are describing their observations/steps, explaining them, then discussing alternative perspectives.  I’d like to try this with the program SeeSaw, allowing students to record their thoughts individually or in pairs, then discuss as a class.

Overall, I’m always looking for engaging ways to get my students thinking about their learning and better understand what they know.  I’m excited to implement these ideas in my next job.  I can’t wait to be back into the classroom to try these ideas.

NPR Is Launching Its First Podcast For Kids With Updated Review| USA Extra News

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I am so excited! I just stumbled across this on Facebook. I have another way to bring relevant current events to my students. I’ve received great interest from my kids when I use newsela. Now I have podcast to add to the agenda. I’m thinking writing responses, persuasive essays, research inquiry, and teaching standards such as generating questions. This is technology I can use well. I love a good story, but nonfiction fosters engagement and discussion so easily. Click on the title below to learn more.

Wow in the World: NPR for Children Ages 5 – 12

Update Review May 22, 2017

This podcast is divided into multiple segments with highly expressive presenters, Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas.  When I first saw the podcast was 24 minutes, I thought, oh no, this is simply too long.  Once I began listening, I realized the format covers multiple topics.  This means a teacher would need to preview, then notate the beginning/end of each segment.  Since this a method that is effective for auditory learners, plus provides practice in active listening, then my opinion is that it’s worth my time.  Each episode, written by number Ex: Episode 1, has Conversation Starters for the family/class and links to written articles.  If you use only one section in the podcast, you could push the link to the entire podcast and included features through an app such as Bloomz, Remind, or your website.

Introduction 0:00 – 1:44

Planet 9  1:45 – 7:12

Conversation and Creative Story told by young girl, Birdy 7:14 – 9:05

Commercial 9:05 – 9:50

Origin of Humans and How our Brains became Smarter with Seaweed 9:50 – 17:50

Conversation with Kids 17:55 – 18:30

Gratitude is Healthy 18:35 – 22:20

Conclusion 22:21 – 24:16

In the first segment about the search for Planet 9, I thought about how it could be used during a solar system or for a research unit. Questions I would model during this podcast would be: How can kids and adults with simple telescopes help scientists with sophisticated technology find this planet?  Why do scientist estimate the size of this planet to be 15 times the size of Earth?  Visuals could be present for groups to collaborate in putting the planets in the correct order, generating questions, and coming up with a practical plan of how to answer these questions.

How our brains become smarter was mildly interesting.  Mainly I wondered if so much seaweed and eating diet evolved our brains, what will be the long term effect of how we eat today?  I could research, but I might not like the answer. 🙂  In the Gratitude segment, I can visualize setting up a classroom environment of respect and appreciation.

As you can see by the time segments, I’ve noted you can move the cursor forward and backwards to play only the parts relevant to your lesson.  My final thoughts:  I think I will use pieces of this.  The hardest aspect will be making the time to preview and jot down the times.  It helps that the conversation starters and article links included tell you which topics will be presented.  This will save time because you know if a topic may coordinate with the current or future standards which need to be addressed.

 

Inquiry Journal

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A year ago, I began reading Why are School Buses Always Yellow? Teaching for Inquiry Pre-K-5 because I have an interest in student led inquiry/project based learning.  This summer, I’m working through it more closely.  I have to tell you several years ago, I thought I was being original when I came up with the idea of a Wonder Wall.  What a shock when I saw this concept being used in nearby districts – at least I was in line with current research.

Now I’ve learned someone has already beaten me to the idea of an Inquiry Journal as well.  Again, I’ll take it as validation.  Here are my thoughts.  The wonder wall is great; let’s get the mind juices pondering.  However, I don’t want it to end with a brief discussion.  Where can the students take their ideas?  Also, what about the random questions that occur during a Read Aloud or watching a video in science?  Enter the Inquiry Journal (or Wonder Journal for younger students).  I plan to give my students a composition book to encourage development of questions and ideas, with some time given to searching out answers – a place just for independent questions and answers – not just questions that coordinate with current lessons.  Using natural curiosity, I plan to extend/supplement  lessons with student led questions to teach students how to determine whether sources are valid and determine a plan to problem solve.  The idea isn’t a formal lesson, but rather naturally searching answers to satisfy personal curiosity.  Time is carved out during writing, a few minutes of computer time during one of the guided reading blocks or actual computer time, perhaps when assignments are complete for early finishers.  The details are specific to the classroom/school environment.  Many inquiries will be the result of class discussion in line with objectives being taught merging assignments with interest, but I hope to encourage students to take those mini-lessons, such as observing as a writer, into their personal thoughts.  That’s our goal, right, that students realize the relevance of the classroom, applying gained knowledge to life?

Without the journal, I’ve used this idea successfully with one student.  A group of TAG students presented their independent studies to the class.  A student not in TAG, interested in a specific topic, asked if I would give him time to research and present.  Each day, during one of the Guided Reading blocks, I gave him approximately 10 minutes with a computer.  He researched, then created a Power Point on his topic.  One afternoon, before recess, he presented his discoveries to the class.  It was time well used – reading, researching, writing, using computer skills, and finally presenting in front of an audience – all student initiated.  Giving students a journal to record wonderings and ideas, then small chunks of time for investigation can only add to this process.  I’ve begun my own Inquiry Journal as a model, adding tabs to organize my ideas (PD, Classroom Management, Math, Reading, Writing, Science, Social Studies, STEM, Organization, PBL/Inquiry).