14: A Look Back

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”

-Robert Brault

Each day consists of tiny moments that may seem inconsequential at the time when they happen, but when we look back we realize that they play a big part in shaping who we are.

The cycle of inquiry begins by activating a child’s curiosity through provocations and by giving opportunities for their wonderings to shine. It continues through investigation, exploration, and hands-on experiences, which are all focused on finding the answers to the children's questions. Throughout the process of learning, children are encouraged to reflect on what they’ve learned, how they have learned them, and what has changed in them — whether it’s through the new knowledge they acquired, skills they honed, or values they believe in. At the end of an inquiry, deeper learning is evidenced through the actions that the children will choose to do with what they have learned.

https://traintheteacher.me/2015/07/26/what-does-inquiry-look-like-2/

As we say goodbye to our unit on transportation, let’s revisit the little moments in the kindergarteners' inquiry that made them grow in big and meaningful ways.

TUNING IN
The start of an inquiry is designed to engage the students in the unit concepts, and to find out what they're interested in learning about. This is where their natural curiosities and wonderings take center stage. Apart from this, Tuning In provides teachers the opportunity to understand the children's misconceptions about a topic, what they value, and their prior knowledge. Have a look at how the kindergarteners tuned in to our unit:

FINDING OUT
To dig deeper into an inquiry, the students are given opportunities to engage in their learning by finding out the answers to their wonderings. The Finding Out stage enables the children to use their skills and knowledge to gather new information, and to challenge their ideas, beliefs, and values. Have a look at the engaging learning experiences that the kindergarteners had as they explored, investigated, and experimented on the different forms of transportation:

SORTING OUT
The Sorting Out stage is essential to help learners make sense of the information they gathered throughout the Finding Out stage. This allows the children to organize the new knowledge that they acquired so that they can process, retain, and appreciate the significance of what they have learned. Have a look at how the children sorted out the nuggets of information that we learned in this unit:

GOING FURTHER
Concepts are big ideas that have a broad scope. In an inquiry, the Going Further stage gives the children an opportunity to deepen their understanding of a concept and to investigate other areas of personal interest. This stage allows for the learners to engage with the concept from a different lens or perspective, which also adds a deeper dimension to the learning. Have a look at the ways the Kindergarteners went further and deepened their understanding of the different forms of transportation:

MAKING CONNECTIONS
Sometimes, the most essential part of the learning process takes place when we pause and reflect on our experiences and freshly acquired information. Making Connections (sometimes called Making Conclusions) allows for the children to revisit how they learned, what they learned, and why they needed to learn them. It's an opportunity to slow down and pinpoint the changes in our skills, knowledge, and values from the time we started with the unit. Have a look at how the children reflected and made connections:

TAKING ACTION
Student agency is at the core of inquiry-based learning. Giving the children opportunities to have a voice, choice, and to take ownership of their learning are essential elements that make an inquiry work. Taking action and applying the ideas that they have developed throughout the unit is evidence of deeper learning. Connecting the concepts with real-life situations and making a choice to impact the status quo create a more meaningful inquiry. Have a look at the ways the Kindergarteners took action:

A part of taking action is also showing gratitude for what we already have. The children showed their appreciation to the inventors who created the different transportations that we use through letters that they wrote in our Story Workshop:

Dear Inventor,
Thank you for inventing the car. I love the car because I went to my grandma's home with it. I celebrated my sister's 8th birthday. I love my grandma and my car because I can travel to other places, like the beach. Thank you, car. I love my car.
Love, Zoey

Dear Inventor,
Thank you for inventing the taxi. I love the taxi because I can use it when I go to Australia. The taxi driver gave me a toy. I like taxis when I go to the beach and zoo. Thank you for the taxi.
Love, Emma I.

Dear Inventor,
Thank you for inventing the car. With the car, I can go to the duck place together Mommy and Daddy. I can also o to the hotel with the roosters. In the morning, the roosters wake me up with their sound. I also went to a place with diamonds in my car. I found lots of diamonds and I put them in the car. My car takes me to my friends house. I love the sights on the way. Thank you, car.
Love, Tamaki

Dear Inventors,
Thank you for inventing the airplane and car. I went to Okinawa in an airplane. When I was in Okinawa, I rode a car with my family. My mommy had snacks in her bag. I ate them. I had fun with my family in Okinawa. I saw Okinawa because of airplanes and cars. Thank you.
Love, Haruto

Dear Inventor,
Thank you for inventing the hot air balloon. I can see mountains, trees, and animals that are eating when I ride one. I love balloons. It's nice to ride in one. I can also take my cat in the balloon. The balloon is big and it won't pop. The balloon can also take me to far places.
Love, Kanato

Dear Inventor,
Thank you for inventing the helicopter. Because of the helicopter, I can see mountains, the moon, and the zoo. Since it's at night, everybody's asleep. I can also see my house from the helicopter. I can also see my friend's house. I can see many things above. Thank you for the helicopter.
Love, Koh

Dear Inventor,
Thank you for inventing the airplane. I love the airplane because I can ride it to go to Australia and back to Japan. I can take my cat Mudsy in the airplane, too. Thank you, airplane.
Love, Emma C.

Dear Inventor,
Thank you for inventing the submarine. I can see fish under the water because of the submarine. Without submarines, I can only see my house, trees, birds, clouds, and the sun. They are all on land. I want to see more animals under water, like Nemo.
Love, Chanin

Dear Inventor,
Thank you for inventing the airplane. I want to ride on the airplane sometimes to go to different places. I can go to far places because of the airplane. Thank you for the airplane.
Love, Sarah

Dear Inventor,

Thank you for inventing the bicycle. I can ride the bike going to school. I learned how to ride the bike. My dad and my mom taught me. I practiced for 4 days -- or maybe 5 days. My bike is my favorite transportation. Thank you for the bike.
Love, Kallea

Dear Inventor,
Thank you for inventing the boat. I can go to to ocean on the boat. I love going to the ocean. I like swimming. I like seeing fish swim. I can go to far places on a boat, like a beach. Thank you for the boat.
Love, Yorinobu

14 weeks of learning have passed since we started our inquiry on transportation. This week, we ended the unit with a grateful heart. It is timely, too, as different parts of the world celebrated Thanksgiving. There were so many things to be thankful for: the fun experiences, the meaningful lessons, and the relationship that we've built as a class in our first inquiry together. We shared what we are thankful for in our ever growing Gratitude Tree. It's a visual reminder of how blessed we are for all the amazing things, experiences, and people that come our way.