good to Great!

Today was such a Great! day in the media center. With all of their belongings in tow, sixth-grade science students headed straight for the media center at the very beginning of each class period. Mrs. Myers and I were ready and waiting (in our matching blue inquiry t-shirts) to guide students from good question writing to developing Great! questions that they will choose from during this collaborative project. After students took Cornell Notes on the definition and examples of inquiry and project requirements and expectations, they dove into brainstorming everything that came to their minds about plate tectonics, earthquakes and volcanoes onto large sheets of paper. These ideas became their guides as they wrote good questions about the topic that most interested them. Allowing students choice in an assignment or project is such a powerful motivation tool!

After writing several questions, Mrs. Myers and I showed several "good" question examples and explored how to make them Great! By the end of the class period, many students had transformed their own good questions into Great! higher-level questions that will challenge them as they research the answers as this project progresses.

I'm eager to read each student's reflection from today's lesson detailing what they learned and what new questions they have. This is a journey not just for these students, but for me as well!

-Ms. Z