Heather Register: December Blog Post-Inquiry in the Classroom

December Blog Post: Inquiry in the Classroom

Last year, the fifth grade teachers set out to plan units around inquiry. We spent time selecting a text to hook our learners and developing a question that would require students to research and plan to find the best solution. It was terrifying. We had to give up any idea of control in the classroom and welcome what seemed like a chaotic mess. Students were building life sized trenches for WWI, developing cars that could outrun the police for Prohibition, and developing plans for filtering polluted water. Even though it was a scary change for the teachers, the students LOVED it. Students from every ability level were blowing us away with their creativity and problem solving skills. I had one student who rarely talked use an old CD and a Girl Scout cookie box to create a periscope for the trench challenge. Experiencing this kind of engagement really convinced me of the value of inquiry in the classroom.

The more I looked into it, the more I realized that inquiry doesn’t have to be on a grand scale to count. I often provided text sets to students to start units in science and social studies. I asked them to look through the sets to ask questions and develop theories about the topic. Allowing them to start the learning process this way instead of simply telling them what they need to learn was far more engaging and beneficial in the end.

Taking from this, Ashley Blackwelder and I have continued our love of teaching inquiry this year. In our new positions, we are afforded the opportunity to work across grade levels to integrate literacy, science, problem solving skills, and social studies in the inquiry based classroom setting. We started with a unit for fifth grade centered on the flooding that recently took place in SC. I taught a mini lesson on close reading with a text that captured their attention. They took questions they had from this text to research the causes, effects, and solutions to flooding. Using this information, they planned and constructed a dam that would prevent flood water from leaking through. Students were actively engaged and were given the chance to read for a deliberate and immediate purpose. I know Ashley’s love of inquiry is taking her into more classrooms than I get to visit, but I love the chance to work with her! Our upcoming challenge is to integrate Goldilocks with a challenge to build a chair that won’t break under her weight. This will be presented across grade levels and I look forward to seeing how students of every age react to this type of challenge!