Writing to Learn at the Hutchinson Staff Meeting

September 11, 2013

The inquiry notebooking team met with the Hutchinson staff Wednesday morning.

We began our meeting looking at how they have begun to build a foundation for their inquiry classroom.  We did this through a Schoology discussion.  Check out the conversation here.

We moved into thinking about how Writing to Learn can be used a foundation for using science and social studies notebooks effectively.  We looked at some resources from the CALI and support documents. You can find them under the Notebook resources in our Schoology group.

Next, grade-level teams and bands met together to answer some questions about Writing to Learn.  Here are the charts that were developed:

Kindergarten and First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Fifth and Sixth Grades

Teachers determined next steps and made a plan on a sticky note.  Here is a collection of the words teachers used:

Thank you Hutchinson teachers for the thoughtful conversations.  

We look forward to our continued partnership!

Comparing and Contrasting, Using Oral Language, and Writing to Learn

September 10, 2013

Today, the first graders at Van Arsdale continued their exploration of the characteristics of living things by thinking about how animal offspring have characteristics that are similar to but not exactly like their parents' characteristics.

Leslie and DeAnna structured this activity to follow student-created prediction and a plan in their science notebooks. The first graders use a science notebook that is created by their teachers.  It includes scaffolds for students, including sentence stems and blank data tables.  The teachers staple one together for every student.

First Grader's prediction in their science notebook

The learning task students completed today included using photographs of animal parents and their offspring to look for similarities and differences between physical characteristics.

The first graders in this clip noticed how the tusks of the elephant were different sizes. They used language to process the photo evidence and to help others understand their thinking.

The teachers then used additional photos in small groups to help students connect with human parents and offspring as well.

Here you will see Leslie Spencer bringing the whole class together to build a common vocabulary around "characteristics." This helps them categorize the words they've been using.

After the verbal processing, students were ready to utilize Writing to Learn. Leslie modeled how to create a T-Chart for students to record how they saw animal parents and offspring were alike and different. Students created a similar table in their science notebooks.

Thanks to the teachers at Van Arsdale for creating this rich learning experience for students!

Hutchinson: Who are we? Where are we starting?

Welcome to the beginning of our Inquiry Notebooking project.  Since teachers from Van Arsdale and Hutchinson will be working on this project and sharing ideas throughout the year, it makes sense that you should know each other and each other's work.

Hutchinson First Grade Team
Robin Willis (left)
Kellie Swaim (right)

Robin and Kellie have both taught primary grades at Hutchinson for many years.  They are comfortable with an inquiry lens and have used folders in the past in science and social studies.  They are looking forward looking forward to seeing how the project will play out.  

schedule coming soon

Focus for Inquiry Cycle One

The first grade team wants to think about using an inquiry-based approach in social studies.  

Van Arsdale: Who are we? Where are we starting?

Welcome to the beginning of our Inquiry Notebooking project.  Since teachers from Van Arsdale and Hutchinson will be working on this project and sharing ideas throughout the year, it makes sense that you should know each other and each other's work.

Van Arsdale 1st Grade Team
Leslie Spencer (left)
DeAnna Nunley (right)

 The first grade team at Van Arsdale have used notebooking in science and explored using them in social studies as well.  They are more comfortable with using an inquiry-based approach in science. 

At this time, this is their schedule:

9-10:30- Reading Workshop

10:30-10:45- Recess

10:45-11:35- Sci. /SS

11:35-12:15- Lunch/Recess

12:15-12:50- Read aloud/intervention

12:50-1:35- Specials/Planning

1:35-2:35- Math

2:35-3:30- Writers’ Workshop

Focus for Inquiry Cycle One

The first grade team wants to think about using inquiry-based questioning to help students go deeper in their learning.  Also, how can the notebooks be used for the benefit of students?

Chalk Talk: "Why use notebooks?"

As we begin this year's project (Inquiry Notebooking in Science and Social Studies), we're starting to explore the tool that will be used to capture thinking and work of students.  The tool (the notebook) can be used in a variety of ways to support student learning.  Consider taking a look at the charts created during Van Arsdale's chalk talk. It reveals their thinking about the question, "Why use notebooks?"  Feel free to add additional thoughts, now and in the future, in the comment space below this blog post.  Let's see how our understanding and ideas grow throughout the year as we examine the notebook as a tool for learning.