Inquiry StationsStudent inquiry

to deepen engagement and understanding

Inquiry Station ActivityThe Six ShiftsSpeaking and ListeningText Complexity Informational TextWriting Arguments Writing to Learn Integration of Media Sources

This activity has students use skills from each shift and sometimes all six in one 10 minute activity.

Inquiry Stations Students rotate to stations and complete the

activities to deepen their understanding of a unit of study

Students are engaged in inquiry around a topic – the teacher has moved from presenting information to facilitating inquiry

Students build a deeper understanding of the subject as they make their own observations and interactions with content in a variety of stations

Knowledge is broadened and reinforced

Content matches the unit of study Instructor sets up the centers (or for more advanced

classes, students work in groups to set up content for the stations)

Instructor determines means to hold students accountable - notebooks, reflection, discussion, etc.

Students are broken into groups to rotate to the inquiry stations

Students spend a set amount of time at each station. Rotation can be within one time period or over several days throughout a unit of study

Can be used to introduce a unit of study, give historical context for literature, connect literature to other content areas, etc.

Film Center

Watch video clips on computer or iPad – discuss and write

Prompts: I first noticed… because… I am learning that…. This adds to

what I already know by showing me…..

One message the film is conveying to me is…. My evidence is…..

Independent Reading Center

Browse books – write and discuss

Prompts: ___ and ___ are similar

because…. ____ and ___ are different

because… Unlike the other….

Paired Text CenterRead/view two texts – write and

discuss the two

Prompts: ___ and ___ are similar

because…. ____ and ___ are different

because… Unlike the other….

Photography Center

Look at the photographs – write and discuss

Questions: Is this image like anything else

you’ve seen?What did you notice first?What can you learn from

examining this image?

Poetry Center

Read poems – write and discuss responses

Prompts: ___ and ___ are similar

because…. ____ and ___ are different

because… Unlike the other….

Statistics Center

Look at data – analyze and discuss

Prompts: I was surprised that…. I never knew….

Write Around Center

Read primary source, write a response, pass around and respond to each other

Prompts: I first noticed ___ because…. I am learning that…. I am also

learning that….. I felt a strong reaction to……