Grade+04

Grade 4: Inquiring Minds Want to Know  __Inquiry Task #1__: For your grade / course, identify the "generic" inquiry-based skills you currently employ with your students. **In fourth grade, most of our science inquiry aligns with the Level 1 type. Many of our experiments/activities are directed and guided, as we are illustrating a particular fact or teaching a specific skill.** Level 1 - Provide "Recipe" and kids follow, observe, etc. Level 2 - Design a ___________ (goal given, come up; with the "how") Level 3 - Completely open-ended - chose question, design experiment, conduct etc.

 __Inquiry Task #2__: List the units that currently are taught in which inquiry skills appear.

Flora and Fauna: human digestion, photosynthesis For Granite's Sake: erosion, weathering, water cycle, natural resources, weather studies
 * Soil and Wheat Grass Experiment - Formulating Questions and Predicting, Planning and Critiquing of Investigations, Conducting Investigations, Developing and Evaluating Explanations, Identifying Errors
 * Bean Experiment - Making a Prediction, Conducting Investigations
 * Digestion - Chew-Chew Experiment: Making a Prediction, Conducting Investigations
 * Erosion and Weathering - Formulate questions and Predicting, Conducting Investigations, a bit of Developing and Evaluating Explanations
 * Water Cycle - none (as a unit) although some teachers have students conduct experiments and make predictions re: evaporation and condensation, in addition to conducting investigations and evaluating explanations (example: make your own barometer).
 * Weather Studies - Formulate and Question, Predicting, Conducting Investigations

Simple Machines: Primarily teacher - directed learning, whole class instruction
 * Lego Day - Making Predictions, Evaluating results, Revising predictions and testing

Zap: Magnetism, static electricity, and series circuit
 * Magnetism - Formulating Questions and Predicting, Planning and Critiquing of Investigations, Conducting Investigations, Identifying Errors

Simple Machines and Force - "work", identifying simple machines (much teacher-directed, whole class investigation)
 * Authentic Assessment: Design/Conduct Experiments, Observe Results/Collect Data, Analyze Results

 __Inquiry Task #3__: Brain-storm ideas for how your current units or activities can be made more inquiry-based and contain an engineering focus.

In all areas of science, we need to find more ways to "extend" and "apply" (develop and evaluate explanations) our learning. As a whole, we need to find ways to provide more inquiry-based opportunities.

Take a look at the following websites: Exploratorium [|Inquiry Site]