Guided Inquiry Overview

Check out Carol Kuhlthau's overview of Guided Inquiry with process steps and tips for classroom facilitation. https://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~kuhlthau/guided_inquiry_design.htm

Developing Guided Inquiry

Great article exploring implementation of guided inquiry. http://mcrompton.ca/wordpress/adventures/2015/03/08/boston-guided-inquiry-reflections/

Projects

I've been visiting a lot of schools lately. I'm wondering...how do teachers successfully lead inquiry and exploration for students who are acquiring a new language? In dual-language classes I'm seeing a lot of very traditional didactic, whole group read and think alouds or small group literacy instruction but what I'm not seeing is time for students to explore, design  and create. 

I've also been visiting a lot of what I'll call progressive classrooms and there I'm seeing more open-ended inquiry and self-directed exploration, expression, and product design, but little or no focus on world language development. 

I'm curious if there are some models that are being implemented that include both. Developing high-level thinking skills and creativity should be developed as well as opportunities to acquire languages in order to live a balanced, educated life, understand ourselves and appreciate others, as well as be prepared to communicate and contribute in play, sport, family/friends, college and career.  Please share your ideas, resources and schools, or organizations who do this well. 

Apps for Global Learners

Check out these top picks from Graphite https://www.graphite.org/top-picks/top-picks-for-gaining-global-perspective.

Assessment resource

Thank goodness for Jury Duty...finally have a couple minutes to post. Want to learn more about assessment? Check out "Assessment for Learning" presentation adapted from Georgia Department of Education at teachingwithpurpose.com

Global Issues

Check-out Nobelityinschools.org for lessons and inspirational free DVD's and videolinks to Building Hope video. 

IB MYP Reads

Here are some of my favorites for IB MYP book titles about characters whose lives represent the intersection of labor, politics, rights and youth. Excerpts or whole novel can be used as text for inquiring into perspective as a concept or the global context of Fairness and Development. As most high-quality lit, they can represent and can be accessed through many other concepts and contexts, and are applicable across content areas. 

For younger readers, I like the historical fiction novel, Journey to Joberg, set in South Africa during Apartheid. I like Peet's The Keeper, a fantastic novel a about a journalist interviewing the goalie named El Gato. The Heavan Shop is about a girl's life as she lives and works, while affected by HIV, in Malawi - by Deborah Ellis. The Queen of Water by Laura Resau, is about class, workers' rights, and poverty, - about a young girl who is sent to work as a domestic servant in Ecuador. The House of the Scorpion is an award-winning novel, with a ton of positive reviews. It's set at U.S./Mexico border and is a sci-fi adventure story about worker drones harvesting poppy fields for the opium trade. Being from San Diego and having worked with a non-profit in TJ, I love border literature. This novel is definitely a unique perspective on the future of the border and the drug trade. For older or mature readers, my all time favorite novel is Devil's Highway by Urrea. Awesome border lit based on a true story about a group of immigrants who died when their Coyotes left them in the middle if the desert between Yuma and San Diego. 

What are your favorite reads for IB MYP students?