Students continued to work on their inquiry posters on November 8, 9, and 10. Three groups presented on Nov. 15 and two groups presented on Nov. 16. Students went to the lab and completed the Survey Monkey on Monday, Nov. 21. My overall impression of the inquiry process is positive. Using exit slips in the form of a rubric helped to keep students focused and learning. Students met on chairs in circles, and that also kept them on topic. The librarian helped to find web sites and books, and other teachers shared web sites, also. The librarian and I talked about how "messy" the research process is. This can be difficult for teachers and students. The reading series set up the inquiry time to be on Fridays, but I've found that students lose momentum and focus if they only meet one day a week. It is also unrealistic for them to have a project idea after the first week of the reading unit. Best would be for students to meet within the Daily 5 rotation. This does not work if the groups are set up with one student from each of the leveled readers. In this next project students will be able to choose their partners based on interest. Students will most likely be able to find a time each day to meet.
The La Crosse Conference was great. I got many ideas from our JAG group. Hudson 2 members shared more community builders and ideas online to implement. Sometimes I wonder how I can keep up on all of the ideas. In reality I can't. But as the third semester comes to a close, I wonder where I will get all the future wonderful ideas I have gained from my community. I really love this program! Without it, I don't think I would be ready for all of the changes that are happening in our district with learning communities, Response to Intervention, and using data to implement changes.
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