Wednesday, 19 February 2014

Inquiry: Going for Gold


We continue to work through our inquiry - "How do we achieve our dreams?" One of the qualities that people need is courage. The story of one of our Canadian Olympians,  Joannie Rochette, exemplifies courage. Students read the story with a partner and then marked their thinking using post-it notes.


Some of their thoughts are recorded below:
  • No one can make your dreams come true but you. You have to be courageous and show who you are.
  • She had to focus on her dream, even though her mother passed away. That takes courage.
  • It takes courage to stay fit while your friends are having fun.
  • It takes courage to perform on the ice with the pressure of everyone watching.
Afterwards, students worked in small groups, going back through the article for a second time noting all of the ways Joannie made her dream come true. Students shared their ideas at the carpet and then we made a class list as a whole group. Here is a sample from a student's notebook:



Students will continue to act like "text detectives" - sifting through information and pulling out ideas that apply to our inquiry. Although we are focusing on Canadian Olympians, it is my hope that students will be able to apply these qualities to their own lives.

 

Students will start thinking about their dreams and the qualities they will need to make them come true. I want them to be able to write about their dreams and explain how they plan to achieve them. There is so much frontloading needed before we can expect students to write with quality. Stay tuned!

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