Playground+Inquiry

=An Inquiry Awareness Week=
 * Playground Inquiry** is a joint project between the teacher-librarians of Bready School and Connaught Community School in North[[image:slide.jpg width="193" height="296" align="right" caption="Photo by by cryptic_star" link="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cryptic_star/3713691780/sizes/l/"]] Battleford, Saskatchewan. The purpose of the project is to create an awareness of the inquiry process amongst the teachers and the students by researching a topic that is meaningful to all stakeholders - what would the ideal playground look like for our school.

The process is divided into five days and is not meant to be intensive but rather to develop an understanding about the inquiry process. The teacher-librarians wanted to ensure that the following criteria were met:


 * 1) the inquiry is authentic and meaningful to all stakeholders
 * 2) the process is visible throughout the school
 * 3) teachers are equally involved as inquirers and learners
 * 4) sharing and celebrating is a part of the process

Opening Day Assembly: Exercise and play improve our learning
Begin with a school-wide opening assembly - Inform students and teachers that exercise and play improve our learning. We are going to inquire into our playground and while no promises are made what students learn about playgrounds and subsequently recommend about playgrounds will be used in making decisions about our school playground.

An interactive research model for primary students,[| How To Research]

Hearing our Voices: First Graders Capture their Smart Thinking media type="youtube" key="xTGugNPPXoA" height="390" width="480"

Collaborative Learning: Connecting ideas creates innovation
Steve Johnson - TED Talk //Where Good Ideas Come From// //"Chance Favours the Connected Mind"// media type="youtube" key="NugRZGDbPFU" height="390" width="640"

Day 1: Background Knowledge