Scheduling--Making Time for Inquiry

When talking with other teachers about implementing inquiry based learning in my kindergarten classroom, one of the first questions I am asked is, "How will you fit it all in?" In order to answer that, I think it is best to start by sharing a copy of my weekly schedule:

I will give a brief explanation of each part so that you can see how it will all fit together.  This schedule is very similar to the schedule I have used the past two years, so even though I am implementing inquiry based learning, I am confident that this format will work for me.  And if not? Well, I will make changes as I go!  Above all, my guiding thought when planning my days is:

There is never enough time, it seems, so it is imperative to make the most of every minute, focusing on the standards students are expected to master. Not only that, but five and six year olds have limited attention spans, so it is important to keep that in mind when planning as well. That said, here is a breakdown of my day.

Morning Jobs

When the students arrive, they are responsible for hanging up their things in their cubbies, placing their take-home folders in the basket, signing in, exchanging their books in our book checkout, using the bathroom and joining me on the rug for morning meeting.

Morning Meeting

Many of our students ride the bus to school, but others are dropped off by parents. Our official start to the school day is 8:20, however, most of our children arrive by 7:50.  Since we begin to go down for breakfast between 8:10 and 8:15, I like to use this time to hold a brief morning meeting with all the children who have arrived.  We share a message, read a book, sing songs or simply share what is going on in our lives.  It is a time to connect and build community.  After researching calendar time and learning that children at this age are not developmentally ready to completely understand the concept of calendar, I have abandoned that this year.  I will still include the day of the week in my message, and we will talk about the days from time to time, but we will not do a formal calendar time.

Breakfast

Our school district offers free breakfast for all students. In kindergarten, our students go down as a whole class.  This gives the kindergarten teachers the prep time they lose by allowing the children to immediately come into the classroom when exiting the bus (other grade levels keep the students in their discovery areas until 8:20). I use this time to enter attendance and lunch count, review any notes from home and pack take-home folders.

Phonemic Awareness

This year, we are adding something new to our word study curriculum. In addition to the phonics lessons we teach using Fountas and Pinnel's Phonics Lessons for Grade K and the word work included in our Jan Richardson guided reading lessons, we are focusing on phonemic awareness, since it is one of the primary indicators of future reading success.  We have chosen Michael Heggerty's Phonemic Awareness: The Skills They Need to Help Them Succeed. This decision was made after reviewing the results of our spring FAST assessment and realizing that, as a grade level, we needed to strengthen phonemic awareness skills. The nice thing about these lessons is that they take between 10-12 minutes a day and cover a wide variety of skills.

Small Group Literacy/Discovery Time

Since the students will have been sitting on the rug for 10-15 minutes, I will transition right into our small group literacy and discovery time.  During this hour, I will meet with small guided reading groups while the remaining children have discovery time.  During discovery time, the students will choose between provocations and other play-based learning areas. Currently, I have about 13 different areas they can choose from. The key here is choice. At the beginning of the year, I will have the students rotate through these areas to become familiar with them, but after that, they will be able to choose where they would like to spend their time. The students can clean up and move to another area at any time. I have two rules during this time: Use a quiet talking voice and do not interrupt me at the guided reading table unless you are bleeding, sick or had a bathroom accident. Once we have chosen a topic for inquiry, the students will also use this time to work on inquiry based explorations.

Sharing

At the end of small group literacy/discovery time, we will come together to share what we have explored, created and discovered.  The students can share verbally or via the Seesaw app if they have taken pictures or made a recording (video or audio). It is a time to validate their thinking and grow as we learn from one another.

Whole Group Literacy

During this time we will have an interactive read aloud or shared reading lesson, focus on reading strategies or foundational skills or connect to an inquiry project in progress. This might take the form of a nonfiction text about the topic, a visit by an expert on the topic, or an experiment or activity connected to the topic of inquiry.

Specialist Time

Our students participate in the following 30 minute specials (2 per day): Phy-ed, music, art and media literacy.  On Monday, when I only have one specialist time, I will use the remaining 30 minutes to delve into our current topic of inquiry with the whole group.

WIN Time

This is new for us this year and stands for What I Need Time.  It will be a time for special education teachers and Title I interventionists to pull students to work in small groups while the other kindergarten teachers and I work with the remaining students on remediation or extension activities.

Lunch/Recess

At our school, we have a duty free lunch and recess.  Once I finish my lunch I will use the remaining time to prepare for the afternoon's activities.

Quiet Story Time

The children can sit or lie down while I read aloud to them.  In order to maximize time, this will often be the story that goes with our writing workshop lesson.

Writing Workshop

Our kindergarten uses the Being a Writer curriculum, which includes a mini lesson and time for independent writing.  I will sometimes pull guided writing groups during this time, if needed.

Whole Group Math

During this time I use Deanna Jump's Guiding Kinders math curriculum. It begins with the modeling of a concept and shifts into practicing the concept with a partner via a game or shared activity. It ends with independent practice of the concept.

Small Group Math or Inquiry/Discovery Time

Depending on the needs of my students and where we are in the inquiry process, I will use this time in one of three ways: One, I will meet with a small group to solidify math concepts. Two, I will work with a small group on an aspect of our current inquiry project. Three, I will rotate around during discovery time, engaging with students as they work at their chosen areas. This will also be a time to gather pedagogical documentation using the Seesaw app and a digital audio recorder, which I can transcribe at a later time.

Sharing

This is a repeat of our morning sharing time.

A Note About Snack

You may have noticed that there is not a snack time in my schedule.  The students will be allowed to choose a self-selected snack time during morning or afternoon discovery time. This will allow us to have additional learning time and will also allow students to regulate their own bodies by eating when they are truly hungry.

Hopefully, this gives you a sense of how inquiry will fit into our day/week. Again, my objective is to be intentional with all I do. I will embed standards into inquiry projects where they fit and follow the lead of my students whenever possible because I believe this is best practice.

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The Importance of Play in Kindergarten

There is much debate in the world of education regarding play. Some schools have abandoned play-based learning experiences in favor of teacher-led direct instruction--even at the kindergarten level. 

Driven by a fear that American children are not succeeding at the same rate as children from other countries, academics have been pushed further and further down so that, now, children are beginning their formal academic schooling at age 5, or even younger. The problem...research does not support this theory. There is little evidence that this approach improves long-term achievement. In fact, it may have the opposite effect. By limiting play-based experiences, we are depriving children of the opportunity to learn important developmental skills, such as the ability to persevere, control attention and manage their emotions. These are life skills which can influence how a child will succeed in school. In addition, play allows children to learn how to negotiate with others, work as a team, solve problems, think critically, create, wonder and explore.

Not only is play important in the development of 21st century skills such as those listed above, it is developmentally appropriate for kindergarten children. Google the topic of play-based learning and you will find article after article supporting the importance of play.  The thing to remember is that it doesn't have to be a matter of choosing play over academics or vice versa. In my classroom, I balance large and small group teacher-led experiences and student-led, play-based experiences. In addition, this year I will be adding student- and teacher-led inquiry based learning experiences to the mix. I am confident that my students will receive the academic knowledge our district and state require while getting the developmentally appropriate experiences they need.

To give you a sense of why play is important in kindergarten, I have prepared a list of skills that children acquire (many of which are state standards) while playing in common play-based learning areas.

Construction/Blocks

• Enables children to share and cooperate with others

• Teaches children to solve problems (How can we build a bridge?)

• Helps children develop a sense of cause and effect (How many blocks can we stack before the tower falls over?)

• Fosters spatial awareness as students work with size, shape, height, length, width, area, etc.

• Enables children to experience sequencing

• Provides children with experiences in classifying and sorting

• Fosters the development of mathematical concepts such as addition, subtraction, patterning, fractions, counting, sorting, comparing and ordering

• Teaches children to persevere when encountering failure 

Dramatic Play

• Helps children develop solutions to problems that arise during play (We are out of food, let's go to the store...)

• Encourages children to draw on past experiences (schema) in order to solve problems (The baby is sick, I will take it to the doctor to get medicine.)

• Allows children to recreate authentic life experiences (making dinner, changing the baby's clothes, etc.)

• Enables children to use symbols and objects to represent real-world objects (using a block for a telephone)

• Strengthens fine motor development (buttoning, zipping, etc.)

• Encourages cooperation between children

• Provides opportunities for children to see another's point of view

Arts and Crafts

• Allows children to express their individuality

• Assists children to express feelings through their work

• Provides opportunities to explore color, texture and spatial awareness

• Encourages children to make a plan and follow through with it

• Fosters creativity

• Builds fine motor skills

• Enables children to solve problems (How can I make that stand up?, What colors do I mix together to make the shade I need?)

Sensory Table

• Encourages problem solving skills (How to build a tunnel in the sand that won't collapse)

• Provides opportunities to socialize with others and to take turns, share ideas and co-create

• Fosters scientific concepts (sink/float, bridge building, etc.)

• Teachers cause and effect (If I add too much water to the sand, the castle will collapse)

• Allows children to express their concerns with others (Please don't knock down my castle.)

• Builds eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills

Quiet Reading Area

• Encourages storytelling/retelling

• Provides opportunities to develop concepts of print

• Allows children to understand sequence (turning pages in order from front to back)

• Promotes vocabulary development

• Encourages children to ask questions about what they see/read

• Exposes children to a variety of genres

• Promotes listening skills (books on CD)

• Allows children to hold a conversation with one another about a specific book or topic

Trampoline 

• Helps children develop gross motor skills

• Allows children to develop spatial awareness

• Promotes academic skills such as alphabet/sound recognition or counting (children practice these skills as they jump)

• Develops children's balance

• Teaches children to take turns and play cooperatively

Light Table

• Encourages fine motor development

• Fosters pre-writing skills

• Increases eye-hand coordination

• Allows children to experience shadows, light, transparency, opaqueness, colors, etc.

• Encourages creative expression

Take-Apart Station

• Fosters problem solving skills

• Encourages critical thinking

• Allows children to find answers to their questions

• Builds perseverance

• Encourages a sense of wonder

In addition to the play-based areas listed above, I have math, science and writing areas where the children can develop and practice skills or explore provocations I have set out for them.  

In future blog posts, I will share examples of students engaging in play-based learning experiences.

Inspiration--Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

When I reflect on my career in education, I can identify a constant theme: The need to be better. It drives every step I take and every decision I make. It is not a solitary journey, however. It is a journey made by "standing on the shoulders of giants." Sometimes, those giants are my colleagues; sometimes, teachers from across the globe whose work I follow; sometimes, authors of the professional texts I read; and sometimes, philosophers, social scientists and psychologists.

This year, I am embarking on a full-fledged journey into inquiry based learning. I stand upon many shoulders as I move forward. A few years ago, when I was moving back to kindergarten after years teaching other grade levels, my new principal recommended a book to me called The Literate Kindergarten by Susan Kempton. I enjoyed it, but was even more transfixed by another of Susan Kempton's books:

Talk about a giant! Here was a teacher working in an inner-city school in Denver doing amazing things with young learners. How? She invited them to inquire. She believed them capable. She allowed them to wonder. On her shoulders, I dared to try something new. I dabbled with inviting inquiry into our morning meeting and the payoff was huge! I was so inspired, I encouraged others to join with me in a book study of Let's Find Out and by doing so I stood higher still, thanks to their insights and reflections.

Along the way, I have been encouraged and championed by our school's occupational therapist, who believes in the path I have chosen and the methods I am using to get there. Standing on his shoulders, I see further.

In my desire to learn more, I began to Google the topic of inquiry based learning and that led me to another giant: Darla Myers from Inquiring Minds: Mrs. Myers' Kindergarten. Reading through her blog posts ignited a fire within me and I knew this was the direction I needed to go. Other giants were to follow.  I discovered the link between inquiry and Reggio inspired teaching by following Joanne Babalis from Transform Ed, which in turn led me to purchase and read books about emergent curriculum and the schools of Reggio Emilia. In the book Authentic Childhood by Susan Fraser I was educated on the discoveries made in behavioral psychology which support the need for an inquiry based approach to learning which emphasizes learning through play.

Just last week, I attended an educational summit which underscored the importance of teaching children the 21st century skills they will need to be successful in the world--a world that is changing at a phenomenal rate. Those skills cannot be taught through traditional methods of teaching. Armed with this information, I began to see further. It strengthened my resolve to find a better way.

Most recently, I had the honor of standing on the shoulders of another giant, Suzanne Axelsson, an educator from Sweden who writes the blog Interaction Imagination. In her latest post, she introduced me to Frances and David Hawkins and their philosophy of I, Thou, and It, which you can read about here. Talk about something that hits you hard! I found myself reading this page over and over, trying to memorize the message.

Where my journey takes me this year time will only tell. I hope that you will follow along, however, so that we can grow together. I will end with another quote which speaks volumes to me. I believe it was first written by Jose Popoff:

Online Portfolio Documentation

I have created student portfolios with for my students in the past and have a love-hate relationship with them. I love the fact that they have the ability to show what a child knows in an authentic way. After all, we all know there are multiple ways to demonstrate understanding. Not only that, but they provide a permanent place to keep those special pieces of documentation. I hate the amount of time and effort they take to create. Because, let's be honest, the work falls almost entirely on the teacher--especially at the primary level and especially, especially at the kindergarten level.

Imagine my excitement, then, when I learned about a free app called Seesaw. This app allows students of any age to create an online learning journal that can be shared with other students, the teacher and parents. You can also choose to have your class connect globally with other classes.

For students in the primary grades, utilizing Seesaw is as simple as scanning a classroom QR code with an iPad and then choosing the student's name, or icon, which has been entered by the classroom teacher. From there, a student can take a picture of an art project, mathematical representation, Lego structure, piece of writing, etc. Other options include adding an audio explanation about the photo, using the drawing tool to show their understanding of something in the photo, or making a video.  In addition. students can type journal entries and the teacher can create a classroom blog.

The teacher has control over what is added to a student's portfolio and what is shared with parents, which prevents a student from adding picture after picture of random items. Also, students and parents only have access to their own portfolio.

The Seesaw app intrigues me for many reasons. One, it is FREE! Two, it allows the student to become an active partner in the creation of the portfolio. Three, it offers many possibilities for connecting with families. Four, it doesn't require me to stuff stubborn page protectors over and over and over again. Five, Seesaw offers online training sessions, tips, and examples of ways other teachers are using the app.  Just the other day, in fact, I received an email from someone from Seesaw asking if I had any questions or if I needed help with anything. How cool is that?!

Like many other things, this is new to me this year.  It is exciting to know that even after 17 years of teaching there are still so many things to learn and explore! Check back to see how it is going and to see if I am still excited about using Seesaw in May!  

The Third Teacher: The Big Reveal

I am extremely excited about my classroom makeover!  Using what I have learned from research (see "Inspiration" post here) and from reading the blog posts of other teachers who believe the classroom can function as the third teacher, I have come up with a design I am excited to share.  In my very first blog post (see "The Third Teacher" post here), I posted pictures of my what my classroom looked like midway through last year.  If you look back at those pictures and then at the pictures below, you will see the transformation.  

My goal was to create a calm, homey setting that invites students to wonder, discover, learn and explore.  I can't wait for the students to arrive (a month away yet, unfortunately) and for us to share this space together!

view as you enter the classroom

cupboards in cubby area where children's family pictures will hang

large group learning area

science table with color provocation

part of construction area

second part of construction area and documentation bulletin board

armoire (filled with books)

freshly painted wall and shelf storage area

sand and water table

art area with self portrait provocation

art easels

mirror and plant

take apart area and weaving loom

hanging branch

self-selected snack area

part of writing area and light tablets (on left)

second part of writing area

quiet reading area

student cubby area

bamboo door curtain (one of my favorite new things)

student browsing boxes with fountain

quiet reading area

quiet reading area

quiet reading area

Looking out from quiet reading area

teacher table 

math provocation area

bathroom

bathroom

view from art area

view into room from discovery area

dramatic play area