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Dear Parents,

We are beginning an inquiry unit related to our grade 8 Social Studies unit //Worldviews In Conflict//. Students are exploring how contact with new ways of life can impact our identity and worldview. To explore this concept, students are asked to explore a time in their lives when they experienced contact with a different environment and to consider the effects of that contact on their identity and worldview. They will then use these understandings in their inquiry to predict how future contact with new environments may also influence their identity and worldview, such as changing schools to attend high school.

Students will follow  a model of inquiry during this process. The following suggestions are ways you can support your child as an inquirer, as outlined  in Planning for Inquiry: It’s __Not__ an Oxymoron (Parker, 2007, p. 94); · **//Encourage your child’s questions //**. Sometimes kids ask so many questions that we can lose sight of the fact that this is a good thing. If it’s a busy time, ask them to wait a few minutes until you’re available to listen. Not every question can be answered, but we always want to encourage our children to wonder. If we don’t ask questions, we don’t learn. · //**Ask your child questions that show your interest**. //Ask things like, “What made you think of that?” “Why is that important (or interesting) to you?” “How do you think you might find out?” · //**Be an inquirer yourself, and a co-learner with your child**. //You don’t have to know the answers to the questions your child asks. You might say something like, “I wonder about that myself. How do you think we could find out?” and then look for answers together. When you show a genuine excitement for learning, your child will see that learning is lifelong. · //**Be a listener and guide**, //but don’t be too quick to take over if your child encounters some difficulty in the search. Use your judgment about when to step in. Carolyn Burke, a well-known educator, says, “Don’t step in front of the struggle; if you step in front of the struggle, you take away the learning” (quoted by Whitin).1 · //**Help your child gain access to needed resources**. //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This doesn’t have to cost money. You can help your child to visit the library, access the Internet, or contact experts for information. You can provide time, space, and possibly some “around-the-house” materials to support your child’s inquiry. · //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">**Respect your child as a thinker and learner**. //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Children have different strengths and learn in different ways. By supporting our children’s inquiries, we might even be helping them to find lifetime careers or interest. Tomie dePaola, a popular children’s author/illustrator, says that he was always drawing when he was a child (even when he wasn’t supposed to be drawing), and that his parents encouraged this by providing him with the drawing materials he needed. Today, readers are enjoying over 150 of his books, with more to come! · //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">**Reflect and continue the inquiry process with your child**. //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Ask questions such as, “What do you think about what you found out?” “What do you wonder about now?” Questions such as these will help your child understand that learning is continuous. And be sure to share your own reflections so that your child will see that your learning goes on, too.

**//<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Enjoy the journey with your child! //**

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">Sincerely, <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Mrs. Scheideman