Writing to Learn at the Hutchinson Staff Meeting

September 11, 2013

The inquiry notebooking team met with the Hutchinson staff Wednesday morning.

We began our meeting looking at how they have begun to build a foundation for their inquiry classroom.  We did this through a Schoology discussion.  Check out the conversation here.

We moved into thinking about how Writing to Learn can be used a foundation for using science and social studies notebooks effectively.  We looked at some resources from the CALI and support documents. You can find them under the Notebook resources in our Schoology group.

Next, grade-level teams and bands met together to answer some questions about Writing to Learn.  Here are the charts that were developed:

Kindergarten and First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Fifth and Sixth Grades

Teachers determined next steps and made a plan on a sticky note.  Here is a collection of the words teachers used:

Thank you Hutchinson teachers for the thoughtful conversations.  

We look forward to our continued partnership!

Hutchinson: Who are we? Where are we starting?

Welcome to the beginning of our Inquiry Notebooking project.  Because teachers from Van Arsdale and Hutchinson will be working on this project and sharing ideas throughout the year, it makes sense that you should know each other and each other's work.

Hutchinson Second GradeTeam

Sandie Thurston
Candy Morrell

Trish Little

The second grade team found and quick and easy bond with each other. They have a good dynamic together. This is Trish's second year teaching 2nd grade, after moving from Kindergarten. Candy has taught primary grades at Hutchinson for 11 years. This is Sandie's third year teaching at Hutchinson. The team has not used science notebooks in the past and are looking forward to this learning opportunity.

schedule not available at this time

Focus for Inquiry Cycle One

The second grade team has already begun utilizing some structures and strategies from across their day into their social studies time (such as mini-lessons). They are moving towards more student talk and students thinking at a deeper level. They are planning to use components of inquiry notebook in their first science unit of the year.

Van Arsdale: Who are we? Where are we starting?

Welcome to the beginning of our Inquiry Notebooking project.  Since teachers from Van Arsdale and Hutchinson will be working on this project and sharing ideas throughout the year, it makes sense that you should know each other and each other's work.

Van Arsdale Second Grade
Ashlee Carvalho
Rocky the Mountaineer
Adam Roon
Sherri Richardson

This is Adam's first year in Jeffco after teaching in Aurora for several years. Sherri is in her second year at Van Arsdale after her time as an instructional coach.   Ashlee is a second year teacher and has significant substitute experience.  
At this time, here's their daily schedule:

8:50-9:00- Opening

9:00-9:15-Whole/Shared reading

9:15-10:45-Guided reading/Daily 5

10:45-11:00- Word Work

11:00-11:30- Writing

11:30-12:10- Recess/Lunch

12:10-12:40- Writing

12:40-1:50- Math

1:50-2:35- AMP/Planning

2:40-3:20- Science/Social Studies

3:30- Dismiss

Focus for Inquiry Cycle One

The team would like to focus on how to incorporate more inquiry into social studies using existing structures within the classroom. They want to deepen student learning and engagement through purposeful use of the Inquiry Notebook.

Chalk Talk: "Why use notebooks?"

As we begin this year's project (Inquiry Notebooking in Science and Social Studies), we're starting to explore the tool that will be used to capture thinking and work of students.  The tool (the notebook) can be used in a variety of ways to support student learning.  Consider taking a look at the charts created during Van Arsdale's chalk talk. It reveals their thinking about the question, "Why use notebooks?"  Feel free to add additional thoughts, now and in the future, in the comment space below this blog post.  Let's see how our understanding and ideas grow throughout the year as we examine the notebook as a tool for learning.