Momentum is Strong for Inquiry Based Learning!

Teachers are actively moving forward with planning their Inquiry Based Learning. Grade 1 teachers are working on the enduring understanding that "Rules create safety, order, and a peaceful society". Students are using emerging math skills of shapes and student conversations about safety to move toward a campaign for school safety. So far a year-long project is being planned in fourth grade to incorporate social studies (New York State), science, math, and ELA. Teachers are collaborating to develop lessons that help students to engage in deeper understandings with the guiding essential questions of "How has New York State changed?" and "How can we affect change in our community?". Supporting activities of a research paper on regions of New York State (using library and computer lab), salt maps (geography and topography), develop maps of New York State which will include elements from their research papers, and recipe books. Although still in the development stages, the ultimate goal is to create a book that uses refined student work (through critique and revisions) that will propose answers to the essential questions.