Opinion Writing Inquiry

"Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other." - Paulo Freire

"To often we...enjoy the comfort of opinion, without the discomfort of thought." - JFK







     My goal was to teach students how to write their opinions in a short essay with emphasis on elaboration.  W.3. 1. Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.  a. introduce the topic, state an opinion, create an organizational structure that lists reasons. b. provide reasons that support the opinion. c. use linking words to connect opinion and reasons. d. provide a concluding statement or section.  It was easy to ask them their opinions, to teach them ways to insert details and anecdotal stories to elaborate upon their ideas. 

     But I want so much more for them. I want their opinion pieces to be meaningful; beyond their opinions of pizza and the color red.  I will open up this writing to inquiry tomorrow.  I'll ask students to turn their opinion into a question using http://wonderopolis.org, find others that have the same question, argue both sides of the opinion, find research to support your claims, THEN write an opinion piece that is rich with care and vigorous pursuit.  Finally, reflect upon question driven opinion writing.

I use to think...

     It was enough to teach to the standards.

 Now I think....

It is a disservice to students if we limit their learning to JUST the standards, to the structure and skills required of all third graders... they deserve 100 times more... they deserve to be asked to CARE, to OWN, to INVESTIGATE, to ARGUE, to COALESCE, to move to ACTION, to be EMPOWERED to have educated opinions and open minds throughout their lives....

Mini-Shakespeare Inquiry

Shakespeare Mini-Inquiry

The Shakespeare Festival snuck up on me this year.  I knew it was coming, that my students were auditioning and running around in fantastic costumes, but somehow I thought I had more time!  Nevertheless, Monday came, the Festival was on Friday, and I wanted to teach my third graders as much as I could about Shakespeare in four days.  Was there no time for inquiry?

My inclination, my go-to, was to teach my heart out with books, skits, videos, and passion in my voice.  But this year, with our study into inquiry, although I did provide background knowledge for two days, on the third and fourth days I opened the study up to inquiry.  My personal question was, "Would inquiry provide the understanding and hunger for knowledge that a longer unit was capable of providing?"  I was wonderfully surprised!  Although my students questions were basic, "Who is Shakespeare?  Why is he important? When was he alive?  Why do we still learn about him?" and a few a little deeper, "How is Shakespeare still influencing us today?" they couldn't get enough.  Three online resources and a stack of books turned into, "Can we study him more?  Is our unit over?" and continued pursuit of Shakespeare knowledge even today!

Students coalesced their learnings into an essay persuading me to take them to the Shakespeare Festival.  It was a blast!

1. What are the ways that inquiry has had a positive impact on your teaching and / or student learning?

This mini-Shakespeare Inquiry is a great example of my personal shifts around instruction, especially when I feel crunched for time.  Last year, my inquiry projects looked a lot like research projects that took six weeks to culminate.  Now, I use inquiry as a teaching tool instead of a unit.  I am sure that this impacts student learning because of the way my students OWN their learning.  They love the questions.  They love the collaboration.  They all follow their own interests and bring it to the whole class to share as experts.  How did I ever teach a different way?

Shakespeare's quote sums up open inquiry for me..."We know what we are, but not what we MAY be."  The end game of inquiry is unknown, yet inquiry is an authentic and meaningful way to learn.  It allows students to discover their own interests and learning potential.

There is a quote from the book, Collaboration and Comprehension: Inquiry Circles in Action, “In the world of standards and benchmarks, it seems like teachers must always know what kids will know a the end of a lesson.  But consider this: do real researchers, investigators, and authors know exactly where they are going when they begin an inquiry?”– Daniels

2. What are the drawbacks? What are the ways that inquiry still feels uncomfortable? What are you still unsure about?

I am uncomfortable with the way explicit lessons on collaboration and process of inquiry take time away from content lessons, though I KNOW those skills are as important in life as knowledge.  

I continue to be unsure about weaving the standards into inquiry, so I need to:

• create a routine for the  inquiry process that feels as comfortable as a readers workshop.  
• trust inquiry to create the environment of lifelong learning that I believe in! 
• learn when to pull students back to me for a critical lesson at the right moment.  
• learn how to create more thoughtful scaffolds and differentiated lessons so that all learners have access to the information.
• be clear on the true outcomes, skills and essential knowledge

Although, my "need to" list continues to grow, and may grow throughout my career,  Shakespeare helps me rest in the process...

"Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow." - William Shakespeare

Inquiry into Denver History

Our current work

    So many questions! Right now I am thinking about the difference between traditional research and inquiry.  It seems that  student choice of the research topic and the collaborative process are the key differences.  In a collective effort with my teammate, Brenna, our student teacher, Tori, and Roberts librarian, Suzi, we created an inquiry unit into Denver History.

     It was interesting to team in so many ways.  As we processed our roles for the best conditions of student learning, it began to take shape in the following way: Brenna taught students the habits of mind of researchers and social scientists,  Tori and Brenna Immersed students into the building of background knowledge, Suzi and I taught research and note taking for Investigation, Tori and I created the essential question of , "How did the people, places and events of Denver's' past influence (or affect or contribute to) Denver today?", students chose their own area of interest to pursue, and then Suzi and I are helping students Coalesce and Go Public with a Making Thinking Visible Routine of Step-In through a site called "Fakebook". Here is an example:

Native American - Little Raven

     It is a fairly fluid process with the natural hiccups of inquiry itself.  The most difficult part is feeling that inquiry is successful when students need to return to teacher modeling/instruction for skills, or if we need to return to building background knowledge in the middle of the process.  

     My biggest Ah-Ha is the realization that the messy process of inquiry holds great power in developing student ownership and depth of understanding as students grapple with ideas in multiple ways.

My inquiry group

     The beautiful question of my inquiry group - The Weavers - is "How do we integrate the standards into inquiry?" We have had inspiring and collaborative discussions that continue to come back to our belief that the standards and underlying skills are the foundation of inquiry and are being taught authentically every day.  Though we believe this, we have still created the assignment to correlate the standards to our inquiry projects.  So, here are the standards that are being taught through our Denver History Inquiry project:

1. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.3

Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.

2.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.4

Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.

3.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.5

Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.

4. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.7
Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).
5. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.10By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2-3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension.

6. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.2.A

7. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.2.B
Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.

8.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.4
With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)

9.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1-3 up to and including grade 3 here.)

10.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.6
With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

11.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.7
Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.

12. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.8
Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.

13.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.10
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Clearly, there are a plethora of Common Core State Standards being taught.  The piece I am missing is a direct assessment of each student's success with each standard.  Currently, I rely on my daily anecdotal notes and the final project for assessment.

Rubric from Galileo.org

     Another resource I recently found that is helping me to grow as a facilitator of powerful inquiry is the rubric at Galileo.org.  I am sadly living in the Developing column, but I see ways to move to Emerging!

http://galileo.org/rubric.pdf

Mini-Inquiry for Spelling Language Standards

 Overarching Inquiry

  Our inquiry group is the Weavers and our beautiful question is "How do we integrate, or weave, the standards into inquiry?"  All the members on our team are fully immersing ourselves into inquiry with our students.  We are searching for more information from each other, observing other teachers, researching literature, and relying on our students as our teachers.  Our formal work right now...

1. Being mindful of the standards we are weaving throughout our work and create a list

2. Teaching to the standards side by side with our inquiry "process" lessons

3. Exploring different ways for students to share their learning that broaden the authentic learning and will hold everyone accountable for understanding

4. Continuing to pursue inquiry as an integrated process of learning concepts versus inquiry as a project

5. Wondering, "What skills do kids need to be READY for inquiry?"

6. Continuing to bring inquiry work to discuss and reflect upon

7. Using Galileo.org

8. Planning a visit to Logan with the lens of standards woven throughout a practice of inquiry

Case Study: Personal Exploration

of Spelling Inquiry with Students

  
   At Friday's PLC, I brought my mini-inquiry of word endings (beyond Words Their Way).  It is nerve-wracking because I've never used inquiry directly with spelling, but I am also infinitely discouraged by my current practice of spelling instruction that yields very little transfer into daily writing/spelling.  Therefore, I am completely willing to try inquiry to see if the spelling rules will "stick".

The standard is CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.2.F Use spelling patterns and generalizations (e.g., word families, position-based spellings, syllable patterns, ending rules, meaningful word parts) in writing words.

My question (I know it is supposed to be theirs):

In concert, my students immediately changed my question to their own... "How do word endings affect words?"  Of course, their question is much more to the point!

As we embarked upon our journey of discovery, I struggled with how much to give them, how much to guide/facilitate, and how tangential their wonderings should be "allowed" to run.

I wanted my students to notice patterns of word endings that we could translate into rules for future spelling.  This is a glimpse what they discovered on their own within the first 20 minutes...

But then, we had more questions.....

Then this happened....

-ly, -less, -er, -ness, -s, -ies, -or, -ful..... and many many many more....

AHHH!! Back to teacher directed! Our immersion and wonderings were out of control!  How would we coalesce and understand what we were diving into?  

So, I focused our attention onto JUST the -ed and -ing.  I am hoping for them to discover the doubling rule, the add rule, and the drop the -e rule.  

In the end, we will coalesce our understandings with these reflective pieces:

1. What are the key (important) understandings/strategies/points to remember and use?
2. How can I use these ideas in the future?
3. How did my understanding change?  (I use to think… now I think…)
4. What did I find most interesting, confusing or difficult?

I am still unsure how we will "Go Public" other than writing stories with exceptional spelling that can be shared and celebrated.

PUZZLE: I know that my students are gaining a deeper understanding of word endings.  I know that my students will authentically write everyday using that understanding in a classroom of raised spelling expectations.  BUT, I am afraid that I will just end this whole spelling inquiry with worksheets to practice the rules that I already know I want them to know. Rules that require a lot of practice to master.  Will the inquiry have been in vain?  So,  I search for inspiration...

EXPLORE:  When I think about this quote, I recognize my love of inquiry AND my need for "control".  Control of the process, control of the outcome, control of the standards/skills taught, etc.  My personal goal is to embrace my need for control, create systems of inquiry that I am comfortable with and then allow the natural process of inquiry to further develop my students' understandings.

Understanding and Assessment

For me, the ultimate goal of education is understanding; to gain knowledge, to analyze and create, to transfer knowledge to new situations, to come to accept and realize one's self.

In our professional learning community we are discovering the difference between understanding and comprehension.

What does it mean to understand? 

Then, how do I assess understanding? padlet

6 facets of understanding – explain (generalize, make connections, put in their own words, have a sound theory), interpret (student offers a plausible and supported account of data, text, experience), apply (the student can transfer, adapt, adjust, address novel issues and problems), perspective (student can see from different points of view), empathy (student can walk in the shoes of people/characters,  self-understanding (student can self-assess, see the limits of their understanding, reflect metacognitively)

This was the visual that we created in PLC as we made sense of "Understanding".  Ultimately, we all agreed that it is never-ending life long process.

Backwards Lesson Design - Regions

      This year I have worked to clarify all of the stages of backwards lesson design.  I am pleased to plan the thinking strategy routines within the learning plan stage, but continue to struggle with whittling down Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions.  As we weave social studies content into the readers and writers workshop, I don't know which Understanding to focus on.  I see the power of focus and continue to determine the best focus for kids.

Regions Nonfiction Unit

Stage 1 – Desired Outcome
Established Goals:             Reader: Use strategies to make sense of difficult nonfiction/fiction text Writer: Integrate information from multiple sources to interestingly explain important ideas Researcher: Build knowledge through primary and secondary investigation of different aspects of a topic Social Scientist: Compare region’s economy, culture, geography and issues; Create connections
Enduring Understandings: Overarching understanding: Researchers use tools of interviewing, reading, searching, etc. to build background knowledge. Questions drive discovery of new topics. Overarching Understanding: Multiple sources about a topic may contain conflicting views or biases. We use critical thinking skills to analyze and interpret that information. Overarching Understanding: Authors use a variety of nonfiction text features and literary devices to enhance understanding. Overarching Understanding: Readers use multiple thinking strategies to make sense of text. Topical Understanding: A region’s economy, culture, geography and issues shape the uniqueness of that region. Topical Understanding: Each unique region contributes to the U.S. as a whole.	Essential Questions: Overarching question: How do researchers build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic? Overarching question: How do social scientists discern the difference between opinion/impressions and facts? Overarching question: How do writers integrate information from multiple sources to interestingly explain important ideas? Overarching question: How do readers make sense of difficult text? Topical Question: How do a region’s economy, culture, geography and issues shape the uniqueness of that region? Topical Question: How does each unique region contribute to the U.S. as a whole? What is the interdependence of the regions?
Key Knowledge and Skills:          Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences.          Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources.          Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition or understanding.          Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and evidence. Apply precise language and domain specific vocabulary
Thinking:            Activate schema including background knowledge, experiences, and  connections in order to hinge new learning, and remember            Create sensory images that deepen understanding through details            Infer the motives, feelings, and perspectives of people to understand and empathize            Determine importance across texts while considering different perspectives            Monitor for meaning when analyzing  information to revise thinking            Synthesize information from a variety of sources to create new understandings

Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence 6 facets of understanding – explain (generalize, make connections, put in their own words, have a sound theory), interpret (student offers a plausible and supported account of data, text, experience), apply (the student can transfer, adapt, adjust, address novel issues and problems), perspective (student can see from different points of view), empathy (student can walk in the shoes of people/characters,  self-understanding (student can self-assess, see the limits of their understanding, reflect metacognitively)
Performance Tasks:     Students will research one of the regions, compare facts and design a ThingLink or green screen interview to share knowledge.  After reading several sources, students will write a multi-genre product including information, opinion and narrative to answer the essential question: What makes each region unique and how do the qualities within the regions connect?			Other Evidence:            As an assessment to activate students’ background knowledge about the thinking strategies, we will use the thinking routine Chalk Talk.         The four questions students will answer in a "quiz"  include:  1) What makes each region unique? 2) How do different industries effect regions? 3) In what ways does geography affect the development of towns? 4) How does culture show in food, festivals, holidays, etc.?
Stage 3 – Learning Plan Long Term and Daily Targets (Content Language Objectives) Learning Plan – What activities, experiences and lessons will lead to achievement (Acquisition, Meaning Making, and Transfer)
Planning Day	April 8 Region overview How do we learn about new concepts? Chalk Talk	Researchers/Readers/ Social Scientists/ Writers Impressions and Interviews – Create questions What Makes you say that?		Truth/Fact and Impressions/Opinion	Skim and Scan Textbooks Choose a region with a group Think Puzzle Explore
April 14 Sort impressions CSI 50 States – Nifty Fifty	Create chart – Economy, Geography, Issues, Culture Textbooks	Teach note taking		Note taking and paragraph synthesis	Vocabulary
April 21 Zooming In	Research	Research		Research	Synthesize Research
April 28  What is synthesis?	Synthesizing perspective	Synthesizing perspective		Practice script	Practice Script
May 5  Research and synthesis	Green Screen Technology	Review Sources		Thinglink technology	Assessment Day
May 12 Collaborate in teams to make connections across content	Write informative essays	Poetry		Step Inside	Multi-genre work
May 19  Headlines about uniqueness of regions	Chalk Talk connecting all regions	Reflection		Reflection	Reflection
Memorial Day	May 27 Parent Share Night

At our Professional Learning Community, we created a metaphor for Backwards Lesson Design.  This is an image of our metaphor.  It is like creating a pasta dinner as the desired result, the evidence of success would come from the consumers, and the learning plan comes from all the components of recipe, etc.