Throughout each of these inquiry units I integrated a variety of thinking strategies. Each of these strategies encourages students to think deeper and freely share their ideas on the topic.
Thinking Routines
I See, I Think, I Wonder
The See, Think, Wonder thinking routine was the first one that I tested out in the classroom. It was very simple and the students were so excited to be involved that we often ran out time due to their abundance of ideas that they wanted to share. We would start of this activity by talking about things that we can see in the picture. For this picture students said that they saw snow, a wolf, trees/forest, a dog, shadows and footprints. We then moved onto what they think about the picture. During this time students shared how they thought that their was a house nearby that the owner of the dog lived in, they even described what they believed the house would look like. However, other students thought that it was a wolf and that the wolf was looking at an animal that it wanted to catch and eat. Lastly, we discussed the wonderings that students had about this picture. Some of these wonderings included where the dog or wolf's family was, whether the footprints in the background belonged to the animal in the picture as well as where the picture was taken. When we first started this activity I often had to help students understand the differences between the three different areas which required them to participate in metacognition as the examined their own thinking.
Zoom In
I started our playground inquiry unit with a zoom in activity. At this point students didn't know that we would be discussing playgrounds, which made it the perfect opportunity to participate in an effective zoom In activity. To begin this activity students are shown a picture that has been completely covered except for one section. They are then asked to share what they see and make predictions of what is going to be in the whole picture. After students have shared their thoughts another piece of the picture is revealed and students are asked to share how their thinking has changed. This pattern is continued until the entire picture has been revealed. When I did this activity with the students, at the beginning many of them believed that the picture was taken at a construction site because of the people they saw on ladders. However, as we progressed through the activity students thinking began to change and they started to realize that the picture was showing children were playing at what they called a "dangerous playground". Throughout this activity I was able to talk to the students about how their thinking had changed as pieces were removed which allowed me to see their visible thinking skills in action.
Compare and Contrast
Throughout our investigation of playgrounds I provided the students with several opportunities to compare and contrast different structures. We explored playgrounds in Lethbridge as well as several found around the world. We also compared two different playgrounds from the past and talked about how playgrounds have changed over time. As we discussed each of these different structures we talked about what they had in common as well as how they differed. Throughout this process we also considered the pros and cons of different familiar playgrounds.
Think, Pair, Share
This is an activity that can be easily integrated into any lesson and can take up as much time as you want. I implemented this routine several times throughout our playground inquiry unit as I asked students to decide on which playground was "the best". In these lessons I would show students pictures of two to three different playgrounds and would give them a minute to think to themselves about which playground was the best. I then gave them two minutes to talk to one of their peers about their ideas. After which I invited to students to share their thoughts with the whole class. I found that when I implemented this thinking routine students were able to give more reasons of why they chose the playground that they did after they had talked to their peer about it.
What Makes You Say That?
This is a very simple thinking routine that I implemented alongside each of the other routines. As students offered their ideas about the topic being discussed during the thinking routine I would ask them to expand on their idea and give me reasons why they had that specific thought. This strategy helps students to think about and analyze their own thinking as they defend their claims.