Inquiry-Based Lesson

This past week we worked on developing an inquiry-based lesson using the internet. We were first introduced to the concept when we completed our Rock Star inquiry that Dr. B had made for us to work on in groups and present to the rest of the class. The concept itself is simple; a worksheet is created that instructs children to explore the website given below the directions, and find the answers to the questions listed below the link to the website. To complete the inquiry takes no time at all. What is harder is creating the worksheet itself. We had to first select a subject area and a grade level to focus on. From there we had to pick a topic within that subject and follow state standards to help us create our questions. What I found most difficult was locating a website that was trustworthy, easily navigable, and was at a fourth grade level. My questions couldn't be too hard, yet they couldn't be too easy either. After locating two websites and developing six questions, I had to format my page so that it looked appealing and was easy to understand. The directions had to include all possible steps and I had to site what standards I was following. For just one worksheet, there was a lot of preparation and planning required. This however, is a great tool to have students learn by navigating the internet and not just their textbooks. Inquiry-based lessons are easiest to implement with Science and Social Studies in elementary school because they target specific topics within those subjects. Students are required to hunt for the answers themselves instead of just listen to lecture or read their textbook. I found this lesson to be very helpful and useful for the future.

This is the image that I used for my Plant and Animal Cell worksheet.