Oceans of Inquiry -- Part 2

Using our Resources
First graders have been using IPads, laptops, books and articles as resources in the research of their ocean animals.  

Using the laptops to check out the PebbleGo website  

Using the IPads to check out videos about our ocean animals

Recording our findings on our chart

Lastly, we've been reading books to research our ocean animals.  

We look forward to sharing our learning with you soon! 

Oceans of Inquiry -- Part 1

And now presenting some long-awaited details on more first grade happenings...

Questioning
Room 224 first graders are inquisitive!  We've been using our questioning skills for weeks and weeks.  When we ask questions about our reading, we help improve our comprehension.  Check out some screen chomps we created on the IPads to flex our questioning skills. These were all created last month when we were knee-deep in space exploration.

http://www.screenchomp.com/t/SU793wsNPbp

http://www.screenchomp.com/t/99BRWngUEo6U

http://www.screenchomp.com/t/sfn9taMu

http://www.screenchomp.com/t/ZpXN0c9qZ

We've also been busy at work in our guided reading groups using Ipad apps/web sites like "Today's Meet" and "Drawing Pad" to practice questioning about our reading.   




Two groups who read different books about the astronaut Sally Ride were able to compare their questions and answers using 
the web site called "TodaysMeet." 




Teaching Books and Chapter Books
First graders know a lot!   They have been choosing their areas of expertise in writing as they write teaching books.  Many of the teaching books our first graders have written, came home in report cards a couple of weeks ago.  Since then we have been writing chapter books, learning how to make a table of contents, and labeling each chapter with a heading.   We are also using some nonfiction conventions like:  comparisons, labels, and fun facts.   We are wrapping up one chapter book that we hope to share with you at Open House this Thursday.   Soon after, we plan to start a new chapter book about our ocean animal (more to come on that down below).   

Check out some of the posters we've been using to help us organize our thoughts as we write, and as we work together with our "think-and-share" partners to revise our teaching books.   





Oceans
Does saltwater taste good?  The answer was a resounding "No" in room 224, as first graders took a tiny sip of "ocean" water.   We created a diagram of the major bodies of water to compare their size and discuss the differences between freshwater and saltwater.  

Inquiry Circles

Currently we are immersed in our study of oceans.  We are learning about the different layers of the ocean:  tide pool, ocean surface/ open ocean, ocean floor, and the abyss.  

We are also trying something new this year with our ocean studies. We are collaborating in small research groups, or inquiry circles, to investigate our ocean animals together.   The class animal that I have been using to help model our unit is the great white shark. The animals chosen by the students for our research study are:  sea anemones, dolphins, killer whales, hermit crabs, coelacanths, and stingrays.  We began by wondering about our animals, and writing down anything we knew or wanted to know about the animals. Each group of four students has been researching their animal using different resources like: Pebblego, books, and videos.  Tomorrow we will read articles about the animals to learn more information for our study.   We work as a group to figure out what information is important and add it to our charts.  The categories in our chart include:  body, habitat, food, life cycle, and fun facts.   When we get done reviewing our sources, we will synthesize our information and use it to help us write teaching books about our animals.   Look for these research charts hanging up at Thursday's Open House.       

Teamwork in Action!

After wondering, we went back and read through our questions to code our thinking (i.e., was the information we wrote down a question, new learning, something we already knew, or something surprising...)