This document provides an overview of using an inquiry workshop model to teach comprehension of informational texts. It discusses: 1) The components of an inquiry workshop, which includes modeling strategies, lessons specific to projects, and small and independent group work. 2) How an inquiry workshop aligns with Common Core standards by having students write arguments, explanations, and conduct investigations. 3) A planning process for an inquiry workshop, which involves creating a guiding question, determining final projects, and backwards planning lessons and activities to build students' inquiry skills.

1. As you enter, please jot down 1 or 2
questions you have about inquiry on
the sticky notes
What do you wonder or want to
know about inquiry?

2. CONNECTING CONTENT AND COMPREHENSION:
USING AN INQUIRY WORKSHOP TO EVALUATE AND
ANALYZE INFORMATIONAL TEXTS

3. Who Am I?
Author of Teaching Comprehension with Nonfiction Read Alouds

4. OUTCOMES
By the end of this session, participants will
have:
• learned
a rationale for embedding an inquiry
workshop into the language arts block
• learned the components of an inquiry workshop
• participated in a mini-inquiry workshop

5. BURNING
QUESTIONS
• Discussyour questions with a
partner for 1 minute
• Share thoughts with whole
group

6. "The most recent research in cognition shows
that reading and writing are forms of inquiry,
and are best learned in contexts of
inquiry" (Wilhelm, 2007; Hillocks, 1999, 2002).

7. INQUIRY IS AN INTEGRATED
APPROACH:
Social/Collaborative Skills
Learning how to learn
Kinds of Learning
Satisfy our curiosity

8. INQUIRY IS:
• Shapedby a guiding question (essential question) that leads to an
enduring understanding
• CollaborativeConversations -- conversation between students,
students ask questions, teacher guides and acts as co-collaborator
• Process
of accessing, building, extending, and using
knowledge(Wilhelm, 2007)
"[He] who questions much, shall learn much,
and retain much" - Sir Francis Bacon

9. Traditional
Inquiry Instruction
Instruction
How do humans
Environmental
Topic impact the
Awareness
environment?
Activating make visual connections,
Background None ranking scenarios,
autobiographical writing
Knowledge
Teacher is co-collaborator in
Teacher-led, everyone exploration of various topics, small
Organization does the same thing
groups take ownership of parts of
inquiry, expertise developed
around topic
Scientific or historical
Instructional Lecture, textbook investigations, small-group
discussions, read print and digital
Activities reading, worksheets resources, develop questions
related to aspects of topic
Adapted from Wilhelm, 2007

10. HOW DOES INQUIRY MEET THE
COMMON CORE?
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.1 Write arguments to support
claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid
reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
• Debate
• Editorial
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.2 Write informative/explanatory texts
to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and
accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis
of content.
• Public Service Announcement
• Culture Wheel

11. Picture Pop-UP
What connections can you make
between these pictures?

12. WHAT DO YOU WONDER
ABOUT CHOCOLATE?

13. IS CHOCOLATE NECESSARY?
• Read the article
• Jot
notes in the margins. Ask questions. Make
connections. Make inferences
• Discuss with your group
• Whole group share
• What questions remain?

14. COMPONENTS OF AN
INQUIRY WORKSHOP

15. Begin with the end in mind. . .

16. PLANNING PROCESS
What do I want my students to
know and be able to do?

17. STEP 1: REFRAME YOUR STANDARDS
TO CREATE A GUIDING QUESTION
• Choose one or two focus
areas a year
• Consider tying to content
• Indicator: Recognize and
explain how Earth's natural
resources from the natural
environment are used to Guiding Question: How do
meet human needs. humans impact the environment?

18. STEP 2: DETERMINE YOUR
FINAL PROJECTS
• Tied into reading and/or writing
curriculum
• Informative Writing
Culture Wheel
Public Service Announcement
• Opinion Writing
Debate
Editorial

19. STEP 3: CREATE A BACKWARDS
PLAN
• Final product - Editorial
• How will I get students to be able to write an editorial?
• Brainstormedtwo other project options that would build on
student knowledge
• Brainstormed what students needed to know and be able to do to
get to each project along the way
• Created mini-lessons

20. STEP 4: DETERMINE YOUR
RESOURCES

21. BUILDING THE CAPACITY
TO INQUIRE

22. BUILDING BLOCKS

23. BLOCK 1: PRE-ASSESS/ACTIVATE
BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
"One of the resources readers need in order to
understand [the text] is their own experience and
memory. And the process they must be invited to
engage in is the bringing together, closely, of that
experience and the words on the page" (Beers &
Probst, 2013).

27. BLOCK 2: MODEL
"Immersion in literature is one of the best ways to
encourage students to write in a particular
genre" (Olness, 2005; Routman, 1994)

28. WONDER BOOK, ANCHOR CHART,
WONDER QUESTIONS

29. READ ALOUD TO MODEL STRATEGIES

30. • Making Predictions
• Making Inferences
• Determine Importance
• Evaluate resources for validity
• Asking Questions

31. THICK AND THIN QUESTIONS
Harvey and Goudvis, 2000

32. QUESTIONING SCAFFOLDS
Beers and Probst, 2013

34. LESSONS SPECIFIC TO THE PROJECTS
• Culture Wheel
• Public Service Announcement
• Debate
• Editorial

35. BLOCK 3: SMALL GROUP
"A democracy is not about blindly following but about
questioning, pushing, exploring, and ultimately
knowing for ourselves what we believe is good and
right and just" (Beers & Probst, 2013).

40. BLOCK 4: INDEPENDENT

44. BLOCK 5: EVALUATE AND
REFLECT
• Exit Cards
• Picture Pop UP review and reflection
• Written reflection

45. GRASP THE GRAFFITI
Please take a marker and graffiti
the posters based on the topics.
You may draw or write!

46. Social Media: Find Me Around the Web
DLittle@linkstoliteracy.com
Twitter: @linkstoliteracy
www.linkstoliteracy.com
www.teachingwithpicturebooks.wordpress.com
www.literacytoolbox.com
www.pinterest.com/links2literacy
www.facebook.com/linkstoliteracyllc