|
Students brainstorm using KWH charts and Inspiration
Last October, Donna Hallís kindergarten classroom was full of scary
things. Bats were flying over desks and under chairs, ghosts were
hovering high above the heads of five year olds, and ghouls were hanging
out near the studentsí cubbies.
By December, the ghosts and goblins had been replaced with trees,
snowflakes, and festively wrapped gifts.
This February, you will find the Florida classroom full of boxes of
candy, diaper-wearing cupids, and lots of red hearts. But don't worry
about the clutter! Mrs. Hall uses Inspiration to introduce topics such
as scary things and holidays to her young students; they use Inspiration
to learn about everything from ghosts to gifts and candy to cupids.
(Story continues below diagram.)
Together, students and teacher use Inspiration - along with a lot of
enthusiasm and energy - to create KWH charts.
A KWH chart is graphical organizer used to illustrate information on
any topic: what we know, what we want to know, and how
to find out. I use KWH charts to brainstorm with my students before we
start just about any unit,î says Mrs. Hall. ìInspiration is a great
tool for creating KWH charts. By printing out the chart, the students
and I can assess our progress daily. Itís also a great way to combine a
lesson on technology and computers with another topic.
Just like she did for ghosts and goblins, Mrs. Hall sits down in front
of the one computer connected to onto a big screen television. They open
up a new Inspiration document and introduce the topic: Valentineís Day.
The group begins to brainstorm, starting with the ìKî in KWH. ìWhat
do you know about Valentineís Day?î Mrs. Hall asks her students. Hands
wave excitedly as students share what they know about the holiday: ìYou
pass cards out to people!î ìWe make things for Mom and Dad!î ìYou
eat heart candy!î ìCupid will put bows and arrows in somebody and they
fall in love with the first person they see!
Using Inspirationís RapidFireô feature, Mrs. Hall quickly puts the
studentsí responses into the diagram under ìWhat do you know?î She
then moves on to the next question, the ìW.î ìWhat do you want to
know?î The students share their questions: ìWhere does Cupid live . .
. and why does he wear a diaper?î ìWhy do we pass out cards?î ìWhy
do we have Valentineís Day?î Again, the questions go into the
Inspiration diagram, this time under the subtopic ìWhat do you want to
know?î And the class moves onto the final category, the ìH.î ìHow
are we going to find out?î Here the brainstorming gets a little bit
harder, as six year olds struggle for ways to answer their questions
about Valentineís Day. Together, though, they come up with some great
ideas.
Over the next two weeks, they plan to ask people questions, use the
computer and the Internet to research, and write a letter to Cupid. The
brainstorm session ends and Mrs. Hall uses Inspiration to customize the
class diagram. She chooses a heart symbol to illustrate the main idea,
and picks pinks and purples to further illustrate with color. When the
diagram is done, she prints it out extra large, mounts it on
construction paper, and posts it at the front of the classroom.
ìWe then refer to the diagram frequently,î says Mrs. Hall. ìWe
keep track of what we are learning by adding a fourth category, ìLî
for ëWhat have we learned.í KWH, or KWHL, charts are great for
illustrating to students what they know, what they want to know, and
what they have learned. And for kindergartners, tackling the ëHow are
we going to find out?í is a great lesson for developing critical
thinking and research skills.
One can only imagine what will take cupidís place when he disappers
from the classroom. You never know what visitors Mrs. Hall is going to
have, but you know she will be using KWHL charts and Inspiration!
|
