The Launch!

We visited 2 spaces on campus to help us launch our next Unit of Inquiry. The first was a Dark Room in the Early Years Centre. The second space was a small room by the previous Primary office. In the dark room, the students noticed an image projected on the wall. The students began to ask questions and react in different ways to and with the projected image. 

In the second room we listened to a short audio recording. 

After visiting each space, each group of students were invited to name the space. The Dark Room was referred to as:

• Group 1 – Shadow Video Room
• Group 2 – Place Machine
• Group 3 – Reflecting Room

The Primary Office room was named:

• Group 1 – Audio Room
• Group 2 – Funny Office
• Group 3 – Sound Effect Guessing Room

Each group explained why they had named the spaces this way. They all had to agree and vote on the names they had chosen.

Next, they reflected on their experience and noted their thinking individually. The following questions prompted their responses:

• How did it make you feel?
• What did it make you think?
• What do you think the unit is about?

None of the groups shared their experience with each other until the final whole class discussion.

Whole Class Discussion:

Each student shared their reflections on the two spaces. We collated our thoughts on large chart paper.

Finally, we watched short videos of the different groups engaging with the images and continued with our discussion. 

How do children share their theories? How might imagination and curiosity spark inquiry? G2 on the lookout for meaningful student-driven projects @NISChina pic.twitter.com/VDZvOiHIH6

— Shemo Gani (@shemogani) October 15, 2021

The two experiences, conversations and wonderings will help us plan our next steps as we learn more about the different ways we express ourselves.

Next, the students were presented with a Chinese character during their Mandarin lesson. They needed to reflect on the following questions:

• What does it make you think?
• How does it make you feel?
• What do you think the unit is about?

Following the lesson, the students shared their thinking and feelings with each other. We documented these ideas on chart paper.

The students are curious about their next Unit of Inquiry!

We wonder where this inquiry might take us…