Inquiry Planning

I use this model and the Taking Action is the big idea - this is where we need to get to with a well thought out path and direction for student learning. 

This model can be found on many websites and I am not sure who the original author is. 

So to demonstrate how I use this model this unit on Gold in Australia is an example. 

Before I plan any unit of work - even an Inquiry - I look at the Curriculum, school planing documents, curriculum audits and reporting requirements. 

This way I don't miss parts of the curriculum and have my eye on the ball for other things we need to cover. 

Then I start with - How can we use any learning to make a difference?

This helps to build the BIG IDEA - use student driven questions and student devised ways to present new learning. 

Then I pull in the Key Understandings which will help drive the teaching and/or independent leaning to help create individual questions for research. Skill development helps me to asses in other areas ie ICT, Personal Learning, Thinking Skills, Communication, English and Maths if they fit. 

This is where I gather information on what my kids know. 

We record our current knowledge, what we want to know. 

Then the Inquiry Model Process begins. 

Tuning In

Finding Out

Sorting Out

Then as a grade we brainstorm possible Inquiry Questions, as I know what the curriculum needs are I can help guide the questions and direction so that they are covered as well as what motivates each student. 

Going Further 

and 

Making Conclusions happen here

The taking action is our conclusion. 

Some kids will help along the way and I have tasks for them to assist in a modified version of an inquiry. Some kids are just not ready for an independent Inquiry Model yet.

Click here to see more detail for this Gold Unit. 

Spring/fall is here

Spring is here and it is my favourite season!

These photos are from our Botanical Gardens in Ballarat and they are amazing at this time of the year.

Do you teach to themes?

I have blogged over at Australian Teachers - here is my post.
I have joined a group of six other teachers for this collaborative blog.

How high a profile do you give the arrival of a new season? 

With many of our schools either on holidays or returning to school tomorrow planning is a high priority for us all. 

We spend so much of our time planning those just right tasks that will support and challenge our learners and make learning and teaching engaging and embedded in what we do. 

Why teach to a theme?

When learning has interesting content, our kids are more engaged.

Any theme or unit is more than asking children to sing a few songs, draw pictures or work on worksheets.

A great unit has tasks that will engage children and lead to observations and inquiry.

I use themes to teach because they create excitement, hold attention spans, provide new vocabulary and teach new skills. A great theme encourages learning new content, sharing what we learn, investigating what we don’t know and form questions about what we what to explore. 

I am a huge fan of Inquiry Planning and whether you follow a subscribed method or not - the engagement is much higher and retention of information is higher. 

A very basic way to plan is the e5 model or use other inquiry process models. I will blog more about the planing aspect latter in the week. 

   

These packs will help you with your planning and create that great theme all based around Spring - click on the images to see more details. 

There are some Fall links below.

     

These are two freebies for you to use. 

   

Happy spring or fall!

Here is a Fall link for you too.

Revisiting some work

         

This week is our school concert - GIRT BY SEA

 

We are celebrating our wonderful country - Australia and our National Anthem. All 23 grades will be presenting an item and it is at a Performing Arts Centre in our regional city of Ballarat.

 

I will attempt to post photos if I can - as I will be super busy this week.

 

We have one and a  half days of rehearsals and two night performances- so a big week for our kids and us.

 
 

 

 We will still be teaching and learning this week - no collapsing of the curriculum for us.

In the prep rooms we will be revisiting living and non living and recording our learning from this term.

 

We will be revising and revisiting some animals we would like to look at in more detail. I am hoping to have another look at "Pets" so I will be getting out my "Pets and Vets" work.

 

For those of you in the USA who are just starting out on your school year - this is a great way to get to know your kids.

 

This pack contains 47 pages

References to the Australian Curriculum and CCSS (USA) are included.

A Word Wall – you can print in colour and display

KWHL – complete the first three columns as the unit starts and then the final column as the unit concludes.

A PET TALES – book cover, instructions to go home or you could use it as a class book

Boggle for Stethoscope and Veterinarian

How to take care of a pet in all weather conditions

Pros and cons for having certain types of pets

Comparing human and animal x-rays

Comparing animals in Venn Diagrams

Writing descriptions about pets

Interview your grade to gather fact and opinions about pets

Pets can-have-are-need

If I were a pet for a day

Collect tally marks and make a graph of your own design

Write about your dream pet

A day planning

On the last day of term we had a planning day. Not all schools have them, some have a few a year and some have one a term.

 

I am part of the coaching team that meets to establish the protocols for these days.

 

We decided that we needed to plan for an Inquiry Approach so that all teams were approaching this with the same information and similar ways of recording information.

 

We were trying to do an integrated approach but not hitting as many curriculum areas as we wanted.

 

So Step One - Curriculum Summary

This types of documents have been around for a while and Kate that shared my grade talked to the coaches about doing this.

So I put the domains and dimensions across the top. As a team we then added our topics and went across the spreadsheet highlighting the areas that were part of that topic.

This exposed gaps and then we looked at what we needed to teach and come up with our topic.

The grey areas are areas we teach but do not assess.

 

 

Step Two - Find out what our students know and want to know about the topic. We got

them to write down or draw and then compiled them onto the charts below. This would drive our whole planning day.

Step Three- Professional Reading prior to the day. Each team member took hard copies of our curriculum home to read and they needed to be the 'expert' and have a voice for that part of the curriculum.

With a new curriculum - this was a great way to become familiar with and be accountable.

 

Step Four - A big brainstorm

We spread out and all wrote and all contributed to our plan. The different coloured sticky notes represent different parts of our new curriculum. I was so impressed with out efforts.

We came up with Inquiry questions, tuning in tasks and assessment tasks.

 

Step Five - Whole School Share

 

Built into this day was a 15 minute share by each team. Our Principal was so moved she couldn't speak! A hugely successful day by us for our students.

 

 

That is what it is all about!

 

Step Six - to get this to a planner that is portable....keep reading and see the first draft



 

 

 

Inquiry Approach

I know that I have said this before - but I am so lucky to work in the place I do.

For my new followers - I teach for 4 days a week in a Prep space (1st year of school) and I am the team coach for this group.

I am the Curriculum Leader for the whole school as well as a Coach.

I don't work in the Prep space on Tuesdays as I coach staff and coach the other coaches.

It is busy - hectic - challenging but I wouldn't have it any other way.

So today the other coaches, our Principal and I spent 3 hours looking at Inquiry Learning.

Kate, who is Assistant Principal at another school led us in a discussion, information giving and helped us with a plan for action.

I have used this appoach before, but not at my curent school. We have Daily 5 and Cafe in most rooms and we are looking at upping the ante and exceeding potential. Our studenst show stamina, choose best fit, make decisons every day about learning in English - next step real Inquiry Learning.

So we have some reading to do.....watch this space!