If you give a child the chance to inquire, explore, and collaborate, amazing things happen in the classroom. The fourth grade has spent an hour each week doing just that. Our first Investigation project was “Where do big ideas come from?”. First, we inquired about our everyday lives looking for problems that would lead us to a “big idea”. We found many good ones: toothbrush, glasses, jokes, alarm clocks, Jonas Salk, and Backpack Crew.

Then, students chose the topic that interested them the most to research with a partner. Working with a partner was challenging at first. Students learned to be flexible and respectful to other people’s opinions as well as try to find important information about their topic. Many research skills were learned such as creating a search, determining what is important information, and navigating the keyboard. Our expectations are for students to apply these skills to projects in future grades. Students presented their projects to parents and administration for a fun afternoon had by all!

Here are some photos from the Investigation Day.

~Mrs. Elizabeth Forsyth