So, besides Socratic Seminar, I've also been trying to leverage the questioning protocol into the work of some guided reading groups. I first began trying it with my highest guided reading group because I've felt some apathy in their reading of the last few guided reading books. Right now we're reading Hatchet, which I chose specifically because I thought it would be a high interest book for my boys, but they never seem to want to read it on their own during independent reading, and I haven't found their conversations of the book during guided reading to be very comprehensive, insightful, or exciting at all.
So, at the beginning of this week we generated, categorized, and prioritized questions. They were able to go through this process quickly and succinctly. They ended up choosing a question about how Brian was able to survive for 3 days without food. I was pleased about how smoothly the process went and optimistic that when the group met again with me the following day, they would have excellent, insightful, well-researched answers to the question. Logistics were not in my favor however, because the next day I had to give a practice reading extended response, and the day after, I decided to pull my lowest guided reading group. I probably should have briefly met with the high guided reading group just to check in with them about their answers to the question and any further reading/questions they had done. I will meet with them this Monday. I do have a very good idea about 2 students' (Alex and Zeke's) answers because they stay with me after school a lot and I worked on their answers with them. At first they turned in very barebones answers. I think maybe partly because even though the questions are coming from them, since I'm telling them they have to answer the questions, it still feels like an assignment to them. Ideally I should just model for them how I research questions that arise as I read. I think I'm still too outcome-oriented, and this may strangle the life out of their inquiry before it even has a chance to sprout. I do need to change this approach I think. Anyhow, I pushed Alex and Zeke to find more specific, real world details about wilderness survival. They got more engaged when they realized they could use the internet to do research. The next day, I noticed that they went right to the computers during independent reading. Alex went to the book's website to look at extra features/information about the book. He also looked into ways that people can get their own food in the wilderness. He reported out at the end of independent reading about how people can fashion a fishing spear. Zeke researched where Hatchet takes place, learning facts about the Canadian wilderness. Both of them lingered by the computer table, continuing to research while we lined up, until I reminded them that they would be able to continue their research the following day. So it is possible to get them engaged in this inquiry/research process, I think I just need to scaffold it by pushing their focus into deeper and more interesting places to research, and modeling this process of questioning and research more consistently. This questioning protocol and the inquiry it begets really is a framework, a way of thinking, that I want to do a better job of fostering, it just takes restraint that I'm not used to exercising as the uber-controlling teacher I know I am sometimes.
I also wanted to reflect on how my lowest guided reading group reacted to the questioning protocol. As mentioned in earlier entries, it seems like the protocol has really excited them during whole class discussions. This excitement extended into their work with the guided reading book about space. They were eager to ask questions, and they came up with some great ones after we had only read a few pages:
My model: Why were they circling the moon for 24 hours?
Deavion: I wonder why the sky is blue on land but black in space? (question from visual of picture)
Donte: Why when you're on the moon it looks like half-earth? (question from visual of picture)
Deavion: Why does gas go in cars and fuel goes in spaceships? (semantics question)
Kayla: Why do astronauts have to wear helmets? (content question)
Jaymon: Why is Sputnik big like a basketball? (visual question)
Kayla: How many people can fit in Sputnik?
I find that a lot of these pictures are a lot deeper than the ones that my high guided reading group asked! Maybe this has to do with the genre of their book (science non-fiction) lending itself to deep questions, or at least a different sort of question than a realistic fiction book. I wonder how the types of questions, projects, and inquiry will vary depending on the book?
They were so excited to answer the questions, they kept having to remind themselves of the rule about no judging or discussing questions during the generating process. I told them they could answer the questions on their own when they left the guided reading table. In the hallway Kayla said, "I already answered all the questions, it was so easy." Now, I'm pleased with the enthusiasm and initiative. I'm guessing the quality of the answers will be lacking in much the same way as the higher group, and I'll need to model for them how use research tools like books and the internet to improve the quality of inquiry. We shall see...
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