As you probably have heard, our school district adopted a new reading series this year. The series is inquiry based, meaning it encourages the children to ask questions and research possible answers. In each unit, the children are exposed to a variety of topics in their small reading groups. Each topic is under one main theme. For example, our current main theme is the Earth's natural resources. This week, some reading groups learned about rocks, some about water, some about plants, and others about air. One of the most powerful pieces in this inquiry learning is when the reading groups share with the other groups what they are learning. It is amazing to watch the students ask each other questions and make connections between the different text. One great connection this week was made between water, wind, and rocks. The students during cross text sharing talked about how all three resources can be used to produce energy. Wow!
What the children are learning with this series is pretty incredible. One of the "problems" I have had is the students want to read the books from reading groups other than their own. Ha! What a problem, the students want to read and learn more! Right?! Four units in and I finally found a solution to give students access to all the books. I made a Symbaloo that links to each of the digital copies of the books. The students have already dug in! Another great benefit, now parents can see the books we are reading at school! To get to the books, click on the Lead21 button at the top of the blog! Happy reading!
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