Getting Started with Inquiry
Course
Collaborative Classroom Connections [4:16]
There are many ways to connect to ELA or connect to history or connect to science. If you look at what's being read in the classroom and make a connection there, you'll likely come up with many ways.
We'd like to consider those as a seed text. If you can get your teachers to view the close reading activities as a seed text and not the end in itself, you have built a bridge for them to suddenly bring their students to you for further information. Let's give an example. Instead of reading two documents on emancipation of slaves, only read one. Or instead of reading four, read two. Ask the students, "What else do you want to know on this?" Or, "Does it seem likely that this man is wrong?" Maybe you give them a biased opinion, only one piece and you say, "What's wrong with this?" Instead of the teacher giving both sides of the coin, they have to come to the library for the flipside.
We call that a seed text model where you're jumpstarting their thoughts. Yes, they do the close reading, yes, they may have text dependent questions, but it is not an end in itself for instructions and they have an essential question then that they need more evidence, more to support their claim or their discussion and debate. For instance, in our Westward Expansion model, a teacher may only provide the one viewpoint. Then they might say, "What else is missing here?" After reading that one piece, the students could get into inquiry by asking, "Well, suppose I was a Native American, would I have been -- suppose I was a child in Maine, suppose you were already West when you were a child, where is West?" You get into this bigger discussion that requires additional information.
It's all within the new standards. We're just asking you to brainstorm with your classroom teachers. Ask them what they're doing now in the classroom, when they're doing a close reading activity. Asking text dependent questions, "How can I connect with you and give deeper value added to this endeavor by attaching a short term research assignment in what you're doing?"
Now that's for close reading. Another thing, let's say the ELA teachers are reading a core novel. You could look at the focus of that book. What is it about? Say, "Hey, can we extend your learning on this ELA novel? What is it about? Is it a historical book?" Put that book on trial and say, "Can we have the kids come into the library and do a book trial? Did the author correctly portray history in your book?" Or you ask an essential question, "How do ELA novels reflect real life issues?" Students have to then come in and investigate, pick an issue out of the book and investigate the issue in real life and see if the author handled the issue correctly in the book. There are many ways to connect to ELA or connect to history or connect to science. Definitely, if you look at what's being read in the classroom and make a connection there, you'll likely come up with many ways.
We hope that we have equipped you to really collaborate with classroom teachers, short term assignments or longer research assignments. We hope we've given you an overview of inquiry and we wish you success and we wish you colleagues that will really partner with you to increase student engagement and increase academic achievement through deep discovery. Thank you.
In English Language Arts and content areas, especially social studies, academic standards emphasize close reading and responding to text-dependent (or evidence-based) questions. Jaeger encourages school librarians to work with classroom teachers to introduce inquiry into reading by reducing the number of assigned texts and opening up the learning to some student-selected texts. In this scenario, students first work with one or two common texts or selections as "seed texts." These assigned texts, accompanied by guiding questions then drive their selection of subsequent readings to discover alternative points of view or answer questions.
To understand close reading goals and instructional practices more deeply, read the article by Paige Jaeger, "Close Encounters of the Complex Kind," provided in the Resources below.
The example in the article features the poem, "The Mummy," also referenced in Lesson 6. Read the article and follow the steps to develop a "one period" close reading exercise.
MLA Citation
Morris, Rebecca J. "Getting Started with Inquiry: Dig into Close Reading." School Library Connection, October 2024, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/1988322?learningModuleId=1988313&topicCenterId=0.
Entry ID: 2122842
Additional Resources
About the Author
MLA Citation
Jaeger, Paige. "Getting Started with Inquiry. Collaborative Classroom Connections [4:16]." School Library Connection, ABC-CLIO, November 2015, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/1988322?learningModuleId=1988313&topicCenterId=0.
https://schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/1988322?learningModuleId=1988313&topicCenterId=0
Entry ID: 1988322