Documenting Thinking

Spring has sprung and many classes in our school have begun to dig into different scientific inquiries.

In second grade, students are busy constructing an understanding of the big idea that survival depends on the relationship between living things and their environment. To begin, students formulate questions on the inside of their plant journals that guide their inquiry. These questions are the starting point for their own inquiries and research.

Students are required to write at least one question, but they can write more if they have more questions. They share their questions out loud to generate more questions and ideas. Then they write the questions on cards and post them on the wall. Students can continue to keep adding questions to the wall and to their lists throughout the unit.

After formulating and recording their questions, students are ready to research. Specifically, students are learning about how plants survive, the life cycle of plants, the relationship between plants and their environment and about how human actions/choices/decisions can impact the environment.

Students are encouraged to title the pages of their journals with the questions they've previously formulated and then write what they've learned with words, illustrations, diagrams, labels, and captions. Here are some examples of G2 plant journals.

 

  

 

To be able to give students feedback on their progress, some teachers have used this rubric. The descriptors were whited out for copyright purposes. You can fill them in with your students or buy the text the rubric came from: Differentiating Instruction with Menus, Language Arts (K-2) from Prufrock Press Inc.

Meanwhile, in first grade, students are constructing an understanding of the idea that making observations leads to discoveries. To document their thinking, G1 students are also using science notebooks.

  

After seeing how these G1 and G2 students use journals to document thinking as they construct understanding of timeless, abstract, universal, and transferable concepts, how could you or have you use inquiry journals/notebooks with your students?

Parts, Purposes, and Complexities

Various researchers working at Project Zero (PZ) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) have been working to make Thinking Visible. Their work has resulted in thinking routines which are tools, structures, and patterns of behavior that give thinkers the ability to make sense of abstract ideas.

Researchers involved with Agency by Design are working to investigate the promises, practices, and pedagogies of maker-centered learning. They too have created thinking routines that help thinkers slow down and look carefully.

Currently, the first graders at our school have just started their unit of inquiry during which they are exploring how making careful and close observations leads to discoveries. One way G1 students are constructing understanding of this abstract concept is by investigating rocks.

During the unit, they have a rock kit that is organized in the same way that the rock layers are situated underneath the grass in our neck of the woods (to learn more about this kit, visit this website: Understanding Rocks: What's Under the Grass?) To introduce the students to the rock kit, I led them through the thinking routine Parts, Purposes, & Complexities developed by the researchers at Agency by Design.

First, I set the rock kit in the middle of the students and gave them a couple of moments to observe the entire kit.

Next, I gave the G1 students a chance to see the separate containers, so they could get a better look at the parts of the kit.

Then I asked, "What are the different parts that you see?"

As students responded, I asked them what they thought each of those parts did by asking, "What is its purpose?"

Below is the recording sheet we used to document the students' thinking.

To examine the complexities, I asked the students how the parts were connected. One student responded with:

Since we understood that the containers were there to help us organize the rocks and the papers and that the rocks and the papers were there to help us learn, we agreed it made sense to keep the rocks and the papers with their original containers as we began exploring each individual container.

Introducing the rock kit to the G1 students with this thinking routine gave them the opportunity to explore how the kit worked, gave them the chance to set up expectations about how they'd use the kit, and really got them excited about exploring the rocks further. As they were considering the parts of the kit and what purpose they had, they wanted to touch, explore, look closer, and ask questions. It was a wonderful way to start using the kit, as it really captured their minds, hearts, and attention.

After reading about how G1 students used this routine to slow down their thinking to make careful observations of a system, how could you use this routine to explore an object or a system with your students?

Zoom In

Last year, the G1 teachers with whom I work conceptually reviewed a unit of inquiry that is largely based on Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards in Science. In the unit, the teachers want students:

• to know the different attributes used to describe rocks (knowledge-based benchmark),
• to be able to group and classify rocks by those attributes (skill-based benchmark),
• to be able to identify similarities and differences between soil and rocks (skill-based benchmark), and
• to be able to identify and describe large and small objects made of Earth Materials (skill-based benchmark).

As part of the review process, the teachers identified the big ideas (called concepts) that they want their students to understand:

• Form
• Change
• Causation
• Observation
• Description
• Comparison
• Classification
• Material

Ultimately, the teachers want their students to understand that "observing the environment leads to discoveries." By wording this enduring understanding in this way, teachers can easily transfer this idea to other areas of the content, not just science.

To kick off this unit, I was invited to lead a class of G1 students through a provocation.

While planning for this provocation, I used similar steps I have used previously to teach conceptually (until it becomes more natural for me to teach with these BIG IDEAS in mind). However, I've recently seen a need to make a couple of changes:

1. Start with a concept.
2. Pick a specific, concrete example of a person, place, situation, or thing that illustrates that concept and 3. create an opportunity for students to explore that concrete example. 
4. 3. Check for understanding by having them write a concept statement.

5. 4. Reflect on their thinking and decide next steps.

1. Start with a concept.

I want the G1 students to understand that you have to make careful and close observations to really learn about something.

2. Pick a specific, concrete example of a person, place, situation, or thing that illustrates that concept and create an opportunity for students to explore that concrete example.

To give students the opportunity to think about observing carefully and closely in order to really learn about something, I decided to use the thinking routine "Zoom In" from Making Thinking Visible by Ritchhart, Church, & Morrison.

Although it has nothing to do with rocks (or perhaps because it has nothing to do with rocks) I wanted to use an image from a book by Carmen Lomas Garza, "a Chicana narrative artist who creates images about the everyday events in the lives of Mexican Americans based on her memories and experiences in Texas and California," (from Garza's website). The specific image I used was from the story "Birthday Party" from the book Family Pictures / Cuadros de Familia.

At first, I showed the students a small bit of the image and asked them, "What do you observe?" and "What is your hypothesis of what is happening?" Students recorded their observations and hypotheses on a blank sheet of paper (samples of these observation recording sheets follow).

Students observed leaves, a tree, branches, and sky but they weren't really able to form a hypothesis of what was happening. We discussed that is the case because they didn't have a lot of information, so I revealed a bit more of the image.

With this new revelation, I asked them, "What new things do you observe?" and "How has your hypothesis of what is happening changed?"

Students noticed the flowers, the fence, and the woman with the crutches. They thought she might be planting a garden, but still weren't very sure what was happening because how can a woman with crutches successfully plant a garden? I pointed out to the students that their observations were actually leading to more questions.

We repeated this process three more times.

Students observed the woman's friend and thought she had invited her over for lunch.

Students observed more people and the man with the piñata. They then hypothesized that they were at a birthday party, which I challenged them on. I asked, "what is typically at a birthday party?" to which they responded "cake and presents." Because they didn't see any of that in the image, we re-hypothesized that this was an image of a party, but that we couldn't confirm what kind of party it was.

After revealing the entire image to the kids, they did observe the cake and the presents and therefore were able to confirm their original hypothesis that this was indeed a birthday party.

Next, in the routine I asked the students if they had any lingering questions. Some asked:

• How old is the girl?
• Why are there so many people there? Babies, children, and adults all at the same party?!
• Are her cousins there?
• Is the girl hitting the piñata the birthday girl?
• What game are they playing in the corner?

Below, are some samples of the students' observation recording sheets.

I observe a leaf and tree branches and sky. The new observation: a person with a crutch. The new observation: She invited her sister. She had a party for her grandson as a fiesta. Its called a fiesta. She had a big big big big fiesta party.

I observe I see leaves and sky. There is a lady and a fence and she broke her leg. Her friend is visiting her. They are having a party. A girl is hitting the piñanta and there are cake and presents.

I observe a little of a tree branch and the tree is a sky. A fence and a lady in crutches and a flower in a garden. I think she's reaching for something. There's her sister, I think. A piñata I think and kids and more people and I think a dog and it might be a party and it might be a birthday. I see a cake and presents and even more people and a girl with a stick and blindfold.

Its getting dark. Sky. I think that someone is under playing. A women is under the tree right behind the fence and she has a broken leg? There's a little grass. I think she's looking for something. I think she is talking to someone and she doesn't like it and she is told her, "Would you like some pie?" They're having a party and I see someone doing something. I think the lady is setting up the piñata. They're gathering around the girl because she is going to hit that piñata first. See someone saying look she is going to hit the piñata and they are watching that girl hit the piñata.

leaves. branch. I wonder what the person is doing. cups. bag. having a dinner. a drink. flowers. ropes. presents. cake. sky. fence. nest. plants. adults. person. piñata. cat or a dog. birthday party. kids.

I observe smiling (?) Sky! I observe that it is a party. I observe planting. I observe her mom is helping. Maybe they're having a party.

Leaves branches sky. Girl little grass someone hurt flowers fence crutch. Girl carrying a bag. Kids kids talking adults adults talking kids playing. a lot of people piñata cups cake presents.

A tree and sky. they're going to cut down a tree. A girl broke her arm and forest. Her mom is probably mad? A lot of kids! And a piñata. A cake and drinks and presents.

3. Check for understanding.

Next, I told the students to forget about the specific picture and think about the BIG IDEA of observation. I asked them to finish the phrase, "I have to make careful and close observations because ..."

Below are some representative samples of the students' thinking.

This student understands the basic idea: that we must make careful and close observations so we can learn.

During the lesson, I asked students who needs to look carefully and closely and students responded with dectectives, spies, and scientists. This student's response shows that she understands this BIG IDEA (concept) also transfers to artists.

This student knows that careful and close observations help us learn more things, but I really like that this student is also including that when we take more time and look closely, we "have more thinking".

Next, I had all the students read their responses to the class. If someone read a new idea, we added it to the class's concept statement (using a different colored marker to graphically show how much the statement changed with the addition of new ideas.

Finally, we rewrote the statement to which they can refer throughout the entire unit.

4. Reflect on their thinking and decide next steps.

I was impressed by the first graders' keen eye during the Zoom In routine, but I was more impressed by their ability to write down all their observations. Having every child write down their observations during the thinking routine assured that everyone was engaged and also gave them an authentic reason to write. The teacher could review their observation sheets and give mini-lessons on a number of things related to writing: spelling patterns, punctuation, spacing, capitalization, question formation, etc.

The students' concept statement right now includes some ideas that are not always true; for instance, we don't always have fun when we look carefully and closely. Moving forward, I would suggest to this teacher that she set up opportunities for looking closely and carefully that aren't necessarily fun (looking through the lost and found, for example). As the students explore more concrete examples where they must observe, describe, classify, hypothesize, and draw conclusions, I would recommend that they continually revisit this concept statement and make changes as necessary.

After reading about how I used the thinking routine Zoom In to get students to develop an understanding of the importance of observing carefully and closely, how could you or have you used thinking routines to develop students' understanding of life's BIG IDEAS?