Room 7

Our Inquiry unit has been very challenging this term. We found the context fairly difficult to find information on. We have followed our school's inquiry process and have begun to use different thinking tools. We used a define map to define what a value was. We then used SOLO to rate our thinking and to see if we could improve. Unfortunately I got the kids to rate themselves without any consultation with their peers, therefore some children rated themselves higher than where their thinking was at. Next time I think, as a class, we would discuss and rate everyone's thinking, using SOLO, together. I would expect the children to be able to justify themselves and why they put themselves on SOLO. Although this was not a wasted activity, the children were able to talk about how they could increase their thinking and what they needed to do to do this. We also started using a describe map. At the finding stage of our inquiry, the children found it very difficult to access appropriate information for their group questions. We used google search engines and books to get the information. We also used Survey Monkey to create our own surveys to get more information. Unfortunately there were very few people who participated in the survey. Therefore we were unable to analyse much information received from this. Next time I used this with my class, i think i would send a note home for parents to inform them of what we were trying to achieve. During the presentation stage I felt that the children became quite confident at using both the digital camera and using Comic Life to present their questions and answers. I think that the next step for us in Room 7 would be to look at finding information and understanding it better. The children are great at getting answers but often, cannot explain what they have found in their own words. We are really looking forward to achieving even better results in next terms inquiry.