Inquiry. Content area reading. Essential questions. Choice. Agency. Curiosity. Nonfiction synthesis. These words fly around our minds so much these days. Recently, through working in two great 1st Grade classrooms, I got to experience how all of this can come together, following the steps listed here.
| Our new 1st Grade reading curriculum called on children to engage in content area reading quite differently than it had in the past. This unit had students pre-read about a topic before they study it in science. To prepare for this, the teachers gathered mini-libraries about animals. | ||
Students then generated questions they wondered about. The questions I used to model were, "How do hippopotamuses breathe underwater?" and "How do animals communicate?" These curious kids had lots of great things they wondered about.
Our next essential teaching move was to move their very specific wonderings into more general essential questions. One surefire way to do that is to take the words in the question that are specific and replace them with words that are general. For example, in my question about the hippo. we changed the name of the animal to the word animal? It now read How do animals breathe underwater? This worked for most questions, but not all. For example, How do frogs ribbit? became How do animals ribbit? So we had to think about what ribbit is an example of? This then became, How do animals talk?
Students then sorted the questions, categorizing them into what we called "chapter titles," and eventually turned them into essential questions (non-Googleable questions that usually start with how or why) that can guide them in their reading throughout the unit. This graphic strategizes how kids can turn these categories into essential questions.
Once these questions are posted, kids can start reading, all the while thinking about these questions. As they find answers, they can post them under the question, and link up answers to synthesize and talk.
Once these questions are posted, kids can start reading, all the while thinking about these questions. As they find answers, they can post them under the question, and link up answers to synthesize and talk.
This is a messy post, but thinking and inquiry and learning are all messy ventures. Be brave enough to try it out. You'll see retention of information, excitement about reading, and depth of thinking grow, because you took that chance!
Thank you to Kristen Greco, Cherylin Zotollo, and Meredith Rampone for sharing this learning with me!!!
Thank you to Kristen Greco, Cherylin Zotollo, and Meredith Rampone for sharing this learning with me!!!
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