#guided inquiry

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Non-fiction texts are genuinely interesting and you can get washed away in the sea of ‘interesting-ness.’ The challenge for inquirers is to find exactly the information you are looking for… In Grade 2, students were learning to do just that. I worked collaboratively with the teachers to determine the learning we were looking for (compare and contrast production processes) and developed this thinking skill both in the library with familiar texts like “Town Mouse and Country Mouse” by Janet Stevens and in classroom inquiry circles with non-fiction texts about food production. Using a Venn diagram to organise information was a mindful choice as it was already familiar to the students and clearly shows comparisons and contrasts. Although it had not been the intention of the lesson, a genuine need to support students as they synthesized and recorded information arose. Knowing when to use the text to 'copy’ inquiry specific language and knowing when to put the text into 'my own’ words was challenging for students. I believe that encouraging fair use of information practices from an early age is part of the role of all teachers, but in particular a Teacher Librarian. Never underestimate the role of guided inquiry in your classroom. This structured modeling of being an inquirer is what will give students a mindset of confidence and independence to say to themselves 'I know how to do that by myself now.’

How do we educate our students to meet the demands for high levels of literacy in the technological workplace? -Guided Inquiry by Carol C Kuhlthau, Leslie K Maniotes, and Ann K Caspari