This is a book about teaching with inquiry, which means building instruction out of children's curiosity, rather than from a curriculum guide, a standard textbook, or a handed-down unit. It means kids investigating and exploring, instead of just sitting and listening. It means an active, lively space where children make choices and take responsibility for their learning. It means classrooms where teachers flow between their role as an expert and their job as lead learner and facilitator of research. Inquiry means children partner up to gather information, build knowledge, and then teach the world, together.
Inquiry is an exciting and energizing way to engage kids' hearts and minds - and to cover content and meet standards. It holds important rewards for our students and delight for the adults working with them, but inquiry also requires some courage and some adjustments from us. The two biggest questions I hear from teachers are:
- How do you find the time to try out kid-driven inquiries? I have my hands full trying to cover the official curriculum.
- What are some quick and safe structures for getting started? I want to start small, dip my toe in the water, see how it works, and make sure my kids can handle it.
The next two hundred pages address those concerns with specific and practical strategies, lessons, and models. Together, we will work our way up a ladder of student-directed learning that shows how to make room for inquiry in our schedules and to use that time well. By the end of this book, after you have tried out some of its ten major structures, I hope you will say two things:
“I never knew my kids were capable of working at this level.”
and
“This is the most fun I have ever had in my teaching life.”
— From the Introduction
