Celebrating inquiry in every classroom
Teachers across the country shared photos of students in the thick of inquiry — asking questions, testing ideas, and discovering something new. Here are the classrooms that stood out.
Outstanding inquiry across every grade
These classrooms were picked for their creativity, depth of questioning, and student engagement.
The Colonial Era
This end of unit project for the Colonial America unit asks students to explore an important event or aspect of colonial life. Students chose a topic and created an illustration in the medium of their choice. They also wrote a caption that explains the event from the perspectives of the different groups they studied, helping them consider how people experienced the same moment in different ways.
Migration & Movement
After reading about different waves of immigration, third grade students created posters about a specific immigrant group and presented what they learned to the class. The activity sparked discussion about push and pull factors and helped students understand the challenges immigrants faced before and after arriving in the United States.
My Team & Self
In the My Team and Self inquiry unit, students reflected on their own strengths and then identified the strengths of their classmates. They shared and celebrated these qualities as a class while learning how each person contributes to a team. The experience helped students understand the importance of teamwork and appreciating one another.
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Explore examples from the Inquiry Work Gallery.
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My Team and Self
Kindergarten
Final Product
Additional Info
Meghan Meyer from Iowa City Community School District: IA, Kindergarten
Global Connections
3rd Grade
Wall Display
Additional Info
Suzanne Kaplan from Park Ridge School District 64: IL, 3rd Grade
Meeting Needs and Wants
2nd Grade
Final Product
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Additional Info
Piyasuda Cathis from Quality Schools International: IT, 2nd Grade
Inuit shelter (Location is arctic. Blue represents snow. Salt and cotton balls are used for snow also.)
Native America
5th Grade
Final Product
Inuit shelter (Location is arctic. Blue represents snow. Salt and cotton balls are used for snow also.)
Additional Info
Alba Figueroa from Kipp Texas, Inc.: TX, 5th Grade
Detroit Premier Academy's First grade class of Ms. Czarnecki would like to share our students' Unit 1 social studies Inquiry Product.
Families Near and Far
1st Grade
Final Product
Detroit Premier Academy's First grade class of Ms. Czarnecki would like to share our students' Unit 1 social studies Inquiry Product.
Additional Info
MONIQUE CZARNECKI from National Heritage Academies - Parent District: NC, MI, NY, CO, 1st Grade
These mini posters are the application of learning in Module 3 where students identified reasons and evidence for using natural resources responsibly.
Natural Resources of the U.S.
4th Grade
Wall Display
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These mini posters are the application of learning in Module 3 where students identified reasons and evidence for using natural resources responsibly.
Additional Info
Valeria Laitinen from Quality Schools International: IT, 4th Grade
My Team and Self
Kindergarten
Final Product
Additional Info
Patricia User from Flemington-Raritan School District: NJ, Kindergarten
This is from a brand new school with a diverse population. Our class is a multi-age-level class with only two students. The school got involved by letting the main students conduct interviews. It was great.
Families Near and Far
1st Grade
Final Product
This is from a brand new school with a diverse population. Our class is a multi-age-level class with only two students. The school got involved by letting the main students conduct interviews. It was great.
Additional Info
Paula Walker from Quality Schools International: IT, 1st Grade
A 4th grade class made brochures and emailed the school board a letter about it. A small group of students will be speaking at the board meeting next week about sustainability and plastic in school lunch.
Natural Resources of the U.S.
4th Grade
Claim, Evidence and Reasoning
A 4th grade class made brochures and emailed the school board a letter about it. A small group of students will be speaking at the board meeting next week about sustainability and plastic in school lunch.
Additional Info
Allison Slater from Iowa City Community School District: IA, 4th Grade
Our Changing Landscape
1st Grade
Final Product
Additional Info
Paula Walker from Quality Schools International: IT, 1st Grade, 3rd Grade
Students created a graphic novel to educate their reading buddy class to use natural resources in a sustainable way.
Natural Resources of the U.S.
4th Grade
Final Product
Students created a graphic novel to educate their reading buddy class to use natural resources in a sustainable way.
Additional Info
Robbie Pauly from Mason City Community School District: IA, 4th Grade
These are power point presentations each child created for a natural resource of their choice. In their presentation they had to showcase their knowledge of the resource (what is it, where is it found, renewable or nonrenewable), how it is used, and ideas for conserving it locally as well as globally. After student created their presentations they shared them in small groups and used the warm/cool/ suggestion feedback. They continue to give feedback organically in class using these frameworks.
Natural Resources of the U.S.
5th Grade
Final Product
These are power point presentations each child created for a natural resource of their choice. In their presentation they had to showcase their knowledge of the resource (what is it, where is it found, renewable or nonrenewable), how it is used, and ideas for conserving it locally as well as globally. After student created their presentations they shared them in small groups and used the warm/cool/ suggestion feedback. They continue to give feedback organically in class using these frameworks.
Additional Info
Meagan Fleming from Tacoma Public Schools: WA, 5th Grade
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