Comprehension+&+Collaboration+Conference

This page will have information and videos from the Stephanie Harvey & Harvey Daniels conference, __Comprehension & Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action__. Kim, Karen and I are enjoying the conference tremendously and are trying to absorb as much as possible to share with you! Today we actually witnessed a live inquiry circle in action! Stephanie and Smokey brought in a group of 4 kids who have been learning through the inquiry model for a couple of years now and they demonstrated for us the process with their co-teachers who taught them the big idea of "Child Labor". The kids explained their metacognitive process (their word, I swear!) and showed us how they identified their questions, commonly referred to as their "Wonderings".

First, they started with an image of a child engaged in some type of labor (first this was done as a whole group modeling exercise for our benefit and would be initially for our classes). Students were asked to share what they noticed about the image in a T chart format:


 * **What I focused on in the picture...** || **My Thinking...** ||
 * ex. girls is carrying bricks || * maybe she does it a lot,
 * her shirt is tiny! ||
 * girl's eyes are closed || * is that an expression or is she imagining a different life?
 * is she thinking about something else?
 * maybe she's blind & has the trail memorized b/c she has walked it so often ||
 * boy and a girl || * how did they get there?
 * were they kidnapped?
 * are they indentured, working to pay off a family member's debt? ||
 * tent in the background || * do they live there? ||
 * walking along railroad tracks || * where are they?
 * can they run away?
 * could they survive if they did ||

Did I mention that these kids were GOING INTO sixth grade? This was a big idea they had studied in fourth grade. We were impressed. Some of the main points from today (7/13/09) that I came away with, were; ** Home Court Advantage ** (This is often used as “maintenance work” at the beginning of a class period.) - Statistically, sports teams win more games at home rather than away – why? We can count on the fans for support & we know what to expect from our own field/ court/ space. CLASSROOM RULE: WE SUPPORT EACH OTHER HERE!!! Students have a “Membership question”. This can be a personal question or a content question to discuss in small groups of four. Each member shares their opinion/response to the question, during which others jot down questions/wonderings to clarify or expand upon. Students take turns speaking and listening. This exercise takes about 5 minutes in groups of four students (ideal size, don't go larger!), but is invaluable in building relationships and getting to know each other.
 * **Model, Model, Model!** //Stephanie Harvey mentioned the "catch and release" concept as it pertains to modeling. Too often we moodel for too long, and by the time the kids get to practice the idea, they're bored or have forgotten what they are supposed to do. She stressed to us that we should show the kids quickly, and then let them try!//
 * **Move kids to action!** //There was repeated reference to the comprehension continuum today (quick reference guide on the inside back cover of our book. Ask them, "what do you want to do about that? Is there a way you can get involved?" etc. Foe the above mentioned exercise, the kids ended up making quilts for [|www.morethanwarmth.com]. Some other things that kids can do is write letters to congressmen, walk around the playground with a sandwich board that reads a provocative question (picture inside front cover), etc.//
 * **Maintenance work vs. Task work -** //This is referenced on p. 50. Think about what is the first thing **__we__** do at a meeting. Did you think of the chit chat that occurs? "How are you doing? Have you been enjoying your summer? Are you planning on any trips? How's your daughter? Is your dad feeling better? By the way, how did your mom make out with her wrist injury?" This is all typical conversation related to Maintenence work. We can't work together as a collaborative team if we don't know each other! Likewise, we can't expect our students to be effective as a collaborative groupif they don't know each other, either! Talk about a "no, duh!" moment! It's not fair of us to ask our students to do something we don't do ourselves, is it? We need to build in time for them get to know each other! There's a great lesson on "Home Court Advantage" (p.127). We can steer the maintenence work by posing a thought provoking question related to our content area Big Ideas.//