This document provides guidance and examples for developing effective inquiries for junior students. It recommends that inquiries be relevant, purposeful, doable, open-ended, and thought-provoking. Examples of inquiry questions at different levels of thinking are provided using the story of Horton Hatches the Egg. Additional guidance is given around choosing topics, predicting outcomes, and evaluating options using a PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting) framework. Sources of information and assessing reliability are also discussed.

2. Inquiry for Juniors
Jan-Marie Kellow
Integrating new technologies to empower learning and transform leadership

3. What do you see as
the issues?

4. Keep it Simple

5. Inquiries should be
• Relevant
• Purposeful
• Doable
• Open
• Thought-provoking
http://wiredwaihi.wikispaces.com/Examples+of+ICTs+supporting+the+Key+Competencies

6. Pam Hooks & Julie Mills

7. Example: Horton Hatches the Egg
• Uni-structural: Whose eggs did Horton sit on?
• Multi-structural: What are 3 things that tell you
that Horton isn’t a real elephant?
• Relational: What do Horton’s actions tell us about
Horton?
• Extended Abstract: Why do many children’s
stories have wild animals acting in a human
fashion?

8. ? ? ?
? ?
?

12. The tree I have chosen is the pohutukawa. The
pohutukawa tree grows 15 - 20 metres high. It has red
flowers with nectar in. The leaves are oval-shaped. The
pohutukawa will attract silvereyes, bellbirds, fantails,
tuis and kereru because all of them like nectar except
the kereru. The kereru eats the whole flower.
By Solomon (Y3 - 7 years old) Photo by John Gevers

13. Don’t dumb it down
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWFDivyk7gI

18. Choosing
• What are some of the things I can do?
• What will happen if I do these things?
(predict) PMI
• Which are good things to do
Junior version of decision-making

19. Choosing

20. P.M.I.

21. Reasons/Conclusions

23. • 3 Sources of information
• Reliability of Sources
 Use ‘Henny Penny’ story

24. Grouping

26. https://voicethread.com/?#u118388.b2140916.i11423180

27. Wonderings and observations on trout
http://ed.voicethread.com/#q+inquiry.b230401.i1198322

28. http://www.opoutere.school.nz/dinosaur_pet.htm

31. www.inquiringmind.co.nz
http://wiredwaihi.wikispaces.com/
jkellow@xtra.co.nz