Melissa Revis- Inquiry Study

For the inquiry audit assignment, I have been reading Learning For Real by Heidi Mills. The author encourages educators to integrate reading and writing into the content areas. The first chapter provides an example of a bird study done in kindergarten and it has been on my mind since I read it, but also as I begin planning our life cycles unit. It is a great combination of several strategies that we have discussed in our course and integrates reading and writing into math and science.  I love how the students become ornithologists and investigated on their own to learn about birds. They complete shared reading and writing as a class, as well as learn on their own through primary and secondary sources.

Strategies used during the study:

• ·         Teacher reads aloud nonfiction and children flag unknown vocabulary that might be useful to learn for their project. She calls this the “wondrous word wall” in the text.
• ·         Students are given different manipulatives, such as magnifying glasses.
• ·         Student learning is extended at home by asking them to observe birds at home and draw pictures/write what they observe.
• ·         Students pose questions and investigate
• ·         Collect data and show through graphs
• ·         Learn from primary and secondary sources.
• ·         Students work on speaking and listening skills by talking through their thoughts and wonders.
• ·         The teacher creates a text set that allows students to learn through pictures and words.
• ·         Students created books to show what they have learned.

I am excited to carry this example over into my own classroom this spring. We will be doing a unit on life cycles, with a focus on plants and caterpillars. We will begin the unit by creating a KWL chart, so we can determine what we already know and what we wonder. We will use a wide variety of primary and secondary sources. For the plant study, students will plant a lima bean and observe it grow in the classroom. For the caterpillar study, students will observe a caterpillar turn into a chrysalis and then a butterfly. My plan is to create a text set for both life cycles. They will observe the plants and caterpillars and draw a picture to note their changes over time. We will use magnifying glasses to see the details, especially in a chrysalis. Students will be encouraged to label their drawings as best they can. I think the students will enjoy creating a book of their observations to share with their peers and parents at the end. I will create a wonder wall for my assistant to write down unfamiliar words as we read aloud. I am also excited to send home information for parents to reinforce what we are learning at school.  I do not think I could have done this at the beginning of the year, because my students had to learn independent working skills first. Of course, all of the work in this unit will be guided and scaffold by my assistant and I, as my students are just 3 and 4 year olds. However, I feel like it is important for them to learn on their own and investigate just like upper grades.

Note: The two life cycles will not be studied at the same time. The plant study will be completed first and take about 2-3 weeks and then the caterpillar life cycle will take another month.