Wow! Students have been hard at work this week planning and building their inquiry projects. Ms. Dierbeck, Mr. Kallie, and I have met with groups to discuss their progress. Many students discovered that while they had relevant facts and details, they don't have enough to put together a full scale project. We would like students to provide more than a list of facts. They should find some facts that can be developed with more information.
This is where you will be a valuable resource. Ask your child to share the following with you:
- their thick question
- what they plan to present to answer their thick question
Since you haven't been a part of the unit, you will be their first audience. What questions do you have based on what they presented? Many students have interesting facts, but they lack the detail that people will want to know when they hear the facts. Identify those questions for your child and have them continue their research to fill those gaps. Moodle is a great resource for students to check out. While they have spent a lot of time there, they may have passed over some details that they previously thought were not important. If Moodle is not enough, it's okay for students to search the web - with your permission. A trip to the library may also be needed.
Students do not need to begin any posters or projects of any kind. We will do that after break. What students can do is plan what they will write on those posters. If they are doing iMovie, they should plan their slides out. The expectation is not built around a number of slides but total speaking time. We are looking for 1-2 minutes of speaking time. This will help students gauge whether they have enough information. Students can also plan for the type of photos they'd like to find for their poster or iMovie presentation.
We want to get the word out early so students can properly space out their work. In most cases, if time was used wisely, this shouldn't be an overbearing assignment. Students have been working for three weeks to gather information and plan. Thank you for your help!
