Talk Topic 12: Reflections after having read the book.

Now that we have finished reading this w-o-n-d-e-r-ful professional resource, it's time to reflect!

This post will give us an opportunity to think about the learning from our book study with the following guiding questions:

What were some of the big ideas that you took away from the book "A Place for Wonder?"

How did you apply your new learning?

How has this learning impacted your teaching practice? 

Talk Topic 11: What are some examples of deep/intriguing student wonders?

We are wondering if we could create a list with examples of student wonders.  

Please add student wonders that you feel are deep and or intriguing to the comment section of this post. 

Here is an example:

"I wonder why I cannot see the wind" (Age 5)

Talk Topic 10: Are your students engaged in wonder writing?

What wonder writing are your students engaged in?

Talk Topic 9: Where have your wonders lead to?

In our last session we completed an organizer about our classroom wonders to seek feedback from our colleagues.

Participants wrote about one specific wonder that they focused on and took to the next level within their program.  After receiving suggestions and advice from two others they were invited to reflect and plan their next steps.

A single "wonder" has the potential to lead into an entire inquiry.

What are your students wondering about?

What did you chose to focus on and where did these wonders lead to in your classroom?

Talk Topic 8: Nonfiction Research Wonder Writing

What did you learn from the first part of Chapter 3: Nonfiction Research Wonder Writing?  Were there any sections or quotes that stood out for you?

There was so much to extract, that I found I was sticky-noting each page!

Marguerite and I would love to read your thoughts...

Talk Topic 7: Wondering Outdoors

On Thursday, May 2nd 2013 we took our book study sessions outdoors.  There, we engaged in our own wondering excercise using Heard and MacDonough's template "My Wonders" (Appendix page 159).  This helped us to understand what it might feel like for our students.  Some educators found they had more wonders than they could write, while others mentioned they were surprised that it was a challenging task.  It was interesting to hear the different wonders.  For example, D.K. wondered why she could feel the wind but not see it.  (I promised that I would share her wonder on the blog!)

All of the educators contributed to the rich discussion by sharing their wonders and how they are using our book study learning within their classrooms.

Thank you for your participation and willingness to WONDER!  

Please note, that I only included a photo of one of the book study groups, in order to respect everyone's privacy.  The other photographs that I captured made it easy to identify participants. (I did not want to do this without asking you-but if you would like your photo to appear on this blog just let me or Marguerite know!)

As an adult, what are you currently wondering about?