Inquiry Based Instruction by Nicole

Click on the graphic below if you have a question.

ndilkes1 — 2014-12-01 21:03:57 UTC

Nicole

ndilkes1 — 2014-12-04 16:46:48 UTC

One of my favorite inquiry based assignments I used to do with my 5th graders.

Monique Kaye/Cultural Backgrounds

2014-12-07 01:33:49 UTC

I found that over the years, my students have been inquisitive about others' cultures. I have provided a small Cultural Day where students can share their own background. Initially, we use the Smartboard to compose questions that we would want to know about others' backgrounds. It helps the students focus on what to research, Then, the students do research on their own at home. Finally, we have Cultural Day in our classroom which the students look forward to. Each student provides their poster and descibe what their background is al about. Where their country is located...What types of foods or items come from that country...Famous people...type of government, etc. At the end of the session, we enjoy one food item that each student brings in to share for an International Buffet. I even participate with my own background. It sparks interesting questions from other students and students show great pride in their own countries! Just make sure that the students do not have any dietary restrictions!!

The last part of the lesson is where I post their presentations on the bulletin board. I also like to videotape their presentations so they can see how well they are able to present to others!

Stacie Holzinger

2014-12-09 15:08:18 UTC

This can be one of the more challenging types of instruction for the younger grades (mostly due to time restrictions) but can also be the most rewarding. For me, I see this as more of the project approach where students drive the learning. To combat the major time restrictions that we have, I will often set up these "projects" or inquiry based assignments so that they take place over a period of time. I sometimes set them up as centers so that they are easier to maintain over the long period of time that we are working on them. One such project I often do is a "create a country" project. Here students have a menu of activities they can choose from or they can come up with their own - all while having to research the many aspects of what makes up a country (designing clothes, creating a flag and a pledge, creating a brief history, making landform maps, etc.)