We will be meeting on February 29th. Here are the guiding questions for Chapter 8:
1. How and why do authentic questions create engagement and foster motivation in kids?
2. What advantages do you see in question-driven teaching? How does it reflect and translate to the "real-world?"
3. Talk about some of the potential advantages of mini-inquiries. How would you use them in your classroom?
Use the lessons in Chapter 7 as well as the classroom accounts to support your planning and working with kids.

Comprehension & Collaboration, Inquiry Circles in Action - Stephanie Harvey, Harvey Daniels - Study

This chapter reminds us of the importance of teacher modeling. It also explains the instructional strategy known as the Gradual Release of Responsibility. The authors use a sport example that makes it easy for us to see the benefits of this strategy for student learning. This chapter contains 27 key lessons which, we have been working through. Anne worked on the lesson called "Ask Questions and Wonder About Information" (page 121). A video clip has been posted in the previous blog post about this lesson.
A concern raised was finding TIME to allow our students to dig deeper! Jessica is a half-time teacher and with her schedule is finding it challenging to set-up inquiry learning. Anne talked about how she was able to integrate the inquiry into her writing workshop. We all agreed that inquiry teaching is worth the effort and we will continue to work on key lessons from the book. Next meeting is February 29th @ 2:20.

Great meeting today! Our learning and sharing is growing. We shared slides & videos of lessons. Inquiry and learning from teachers and students is quite evident.

In Chapter Seven we are to look over the twenty-seven key lessons included in this chapter. Please select one of the lessons that fit into your teaching this month, and try it our with your kids. On February 2nd, come prepared to report back to the study group, bringing stories, sample of kids' work, or classroom videos to share. If you need help with collecting information or getting started, please let me (or Pete) know. Looking forward to hearing about your experience.

Thanks Danielle for the snacks and for facilitating our talk. We had a great discussion but once again ran out of time.
Highlights from the Meeting:
- Everyone enjoyed reading Chapter 5 - Preparing Your Active Learning Classroom- The ten key elements had practical ideas that could be implemented right away.
- Anne liked the quote from David Perkins (p. 75) 'Far from thinking coming after knowledge, knowledge comes on the coattails of thinking.' 'Learning floats on a sea of talk' is another quote that reminds us of what our classroom should sound like and feel like...interaction is central to inquiry-based learning.
- We discussed the importance of having short non-fiction text available in the classroom but it was noted that many of our classrooms are in desperate need of this resource - (talked about asking parents to donate magazines)
- Danielle started an inquiry-learning project on hibernation with her grade ones, she used a few codes from p. 93 to start her exploration
-The computers were available for us to investigate the websites listed in chapter six. The idea was for each of us to look at a few websites to explore then report to the group. We're hoping that you will share the sites you investigated from this chapter here and that you will share your favourite sites that you visit frequently, too

Discussion around chapter 5 - Preparing Your Active Learning Classroom & chapter 6 Surfing and Searching: Internet Research in School. In chapter 6 there is a plethora of websites to discover. Danielle and I were thinking we could have computers at our meeting so that we can each take a few sites to explore.

For our next meeting we will work on chapter 7. We will select one of the 27 lessons that fits into our teaching for January, and try it out with our kids.

Be prepared to report back to the group, bringing stories, samples of kids' work or classroom videos to share.

Thanks for a great chat on November 24th. Highlights from meeting:
1)    Irene thought that the chart on page 46 & 47 would be an area that she could start working on with her JK/SK. The team agreed that consistent/common language and expectation throughout the school is beneficial.
2)    Pete talked about the chart on page 61 – The Steps and Stages of Inquiry. He has been using this model in his classroom and photocopied the pages to remind him of the process.
3)    Check out the [ http://www.bie.com ]www.bie.com website for more information on project based learning.
4)    A template is attached to assist you in planning a lesson.
5)    Danielle will investigate the possibility of ordering the book “The Conversation Club by Diane Stanley. It is out of print but can be purchased on eBay.
Thanks Pete for facilitating the discussion. Our next meeting is December 15th at 2:20 on chapter 5 & 6, with Danielle as facilitator. Thanks

Turns out that reading 4 chapters for a book club discussion is too many! As a result, at our next meeting we will discuss chapter 3 & 4. We will also watch the video clips that are connected to the chapters. Everyone is very interested and excited about continuing the discussion and learning. One important note of discussion was the piece about what research is telling us about teacher talk....American fifth graders are spending 91% of their day either listening to teacher talk OR working alone. One of our participants talked about purchasing a timer to keep herself on track with time. Also, the comprehension continuum chart (p.30) with specific language teachers can use when questioning students was highlighted. We will photocopy the chart for teachers so that they can have it at their fingertips. Our next meeting is on November 24th. It was agreed that we would meet at 2:20. Thanks