The Struggles are Real
Blog post by Dianna Bembenek
How do I fit it all in? Although I am a very organized and structured second grade teacher, I can't seem to fit it all in, especially inquiry based lessons. Like many teachers I know, I leave everything ready for the next day's lesson ready so I can hopefully teach a lesson and make learning fun without any major problems. That being said, how the lesson unfolded in my mind and how it actually happened with 19 seven year olds are two very different scenarios!
Up to this point, science and social studies have mostly been something we do on Fridays. I realize this is not integrating the content with other disciplines but even when I have, time has not been on my side. The kids loved the inquiry based lessons but they always ended up taking longer than I anticipated so that means something else got shortened or cut altogether.
In recent years, my district has provided frameworks for ELA and Math to guide teaching the standards. The ELA units integrate various writing structures that lend themselves to writing across the disciplines. One of the units is titled Investigation which is basically research. We use nonfiction texts, usually by Gail Gibbons, to model writing to inform and allow for interdisciplinary content all while covering ELA standards and skills. This unit lends itself well to inquiry and students are encouraged to observe, explore and question. What ends up happening is I spend most of the time trying to help my kids understand researching is not copying what is already written in a book. I use mini lessons to prepare my kids for gathering information and we use sticky notes to read, stop, think, jot. I model reading a section, stop, then think aloud about what I thought was most important and jot this information down on a sticky note. The kids practice this with a partner many times but this is where it feels like the cart has been put before the horse because I spend a great deal of time teaching what it means to read information, summarize it and then write about it.
A helpful site I have used is Storyline Online (https://www.storylineonline.net/). There are read alouds and lesson plans with activities that detail how to include math, science, social studies and writing. Without this site, I feel like I don't have much else to use for inquiry rich lessons that don't eat up my instructional day.
The Many Levels of Inquiry by Banchi and Bell details the levels of inquiry and I consider myself at a level 2 which is structured inquiry. The authors state "elementary teachers often struggle with how to design and implement inquiry instruction with their students." That's me! I was excited to also read in this article about the dancing raisins activity because I did this last year with my students and they loved it. However, after reading this article, I realize I missed lots of opportunities for inquiry.
Are there any teachers of 2nd grade or elementary aged students who have a success story or tips for designing and implementing inquiry instruction? I want this to work in my classroom but need guidance on how to help students adapt to this style of learning as I adapt to it as well. How did you prepare yourself and your students for this? What advice do you have for transitioning from one level of inquiry to another?
Source:
Banchi, H., Bell, R. 2008. The Many Levels of Inquiry. Science and Children: 26-29.
Dianna,
ReplyDeleteYou share great points and ask great questions in your blog. I think the pressures of high stakes testing and state accountability hinder me from implementing more inquiry lessons in my classroom. However, I think the benefits for students would be ten-fold if I committed to offering more inquiry lessons. It will be time worth spent...just like teaching procedures at the beginning of a new school year! I'm not an expert with inquiry instruction but I think Project Based Learning resources may be a wonderful reference for getting started. I think you are doing right by modeling research skills and building the gradual release of responsibility for inquiry lessons. I wish you the best for upcoming inquiry lessons. Hopefully the pressures of high stakes testing will not be present this year and we can truly build critical thinking and problem solving skills with inquiry lessons that will do more for preparing our students to be college and career ready!
Dianna, you are always so honest with your comments and admissions about your teaching, I look forward to reading your posts. I think you, like me, like to be in total control of the classroom (because that's the sign of a good teacher, right?) The letting go and letting learning happen is so hard to buy into. How will I know if my students are learning all that they should? How will I know if the goals have been met? How will I know how my principal will react if he comes in my room and we are seeminly not on schedule or on taks? These are real questions and your honesty in answering them helps me rethink my teaching and the activities and explorations I will do with my littles.
ReplyDeleteR2S Reading and Writing in the Content Area
ReplyDeleteTeaching 2nd graders to ask questions is a challenge but it not because they have no interest it because they have not for the most part no encouragement for the most part to be inquisitive in school. The teacher has the answers and everybody knows that. Plus students are little sponges seeking to soak up all that knowledge being bestowed on them. Students are willing to learn much,but they also have much they can share with peers and teachers to help others know about them and their culture if allowed to participate in the teaching and learning cycle.
Inquiry and questioning is a great teaching tool teachers and the students will have to get use to the strategy with more practice. We will build background knowledge and let students share more about their experiences and continue to let them make connections. As teachers we may need to step out and take away a little of the test prep time to do little deep structured discussion with our students.
Dianna,
ReplyDeleteI love the scenario of how you visualize lessons in your mind and how they actually unfold not going quite as planned. I think that happens to me way too often despite the amount of planning done ahead of time. Students asking questions can quickly change the direction of the lesson. I'm like you, no matter how I plan, I can't seem to fit it all in either. I've learn to just go with the flow sometimes and that it's ok to continue the lesson the next day. I definitely plan to try to incorporate more inquiry based lessons in the coming school year if possible. I plan to dig a little deeper into Banchi and Bell's The Many Levels of Inquiry. Thanks for the insight. :) Jennifer H.
Dianna,
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your blog post. I used to teach second grade and can relate to so much of what you said!
First, let me say that it sounds to me like you are doing a wonderful job and are right on track with your students. You state that your students “loved the inquiry based lessons” so, clearly they are engaged! I too read, and reread, the Banchi and Bell article (“The Many Levels of Inquiry”) and according to their continuum your students, at structured inquiry, are right where they need to be. It seems they are moving along the continuum as they should. Remember that your students are second graders, not the fifth graders Banchi and Bell write about.
The last time I taught second grade the other second grade teacher and I did a similar thing as far as fitting science into our schedule. We set aside Friday afternoons for hands-on science activities or experiments. We even called it “Fun Fridays”. Our students also really enjoyed the inquiry based lessons. Working with another teacher really helped this work! Our two classes always did the same experiment. Depending on the activity we would combine classes, mix the classes, or occasionally keep our classes separate. Sometimes we would even switch classes. She would work with mine for the afternoon and I would work with hers. The other teacher and I shared the ideas, planning, organization, gathering of needed supplies in addition to the teaching, facilitating, monitoring and assessing of students. It is great to have another teacher work with and observe our students. Sometimes it is good to have another teacher’s input. Occasionally one of us would even “take the week off” and the other would do all the planning and prep work. This also worked out well, giving each of us a break from time to time.
A couple of days ago I watched “The Power of Literacy: Read, Write, Think, Discuss – Disciplinary Literacy”, a You Tube Video done by the Fairfax County Public Schools. It was primarily directed toward middle and high school teachers but a lot of the information in it could be useful for primary teachers as well. One of the teachers, when speaking about disciplinary literacy and her work with her students said, “You don’t have to do everything huge. The little things you do every day add up over time.” I think that is a great quote and so true. It is only natural that as teachers we want to see the results in our students. There are countless times when we do not get the opportunity to see the end results of our work. As primary teachers often we lay the foundation or groundwork for future successes that we may not ever witness. Keep up the good work laying that firm foundation!
- From Carolina Lewis