Group 1 Inquiry Lesson Plan

Group 1 began their lesson by telling the students they were going to be engineers today. They then reviewed the Vocabulary from their direct lesson plan on simple machines. 

The teachers came up with a really interesting problem for the students to solve using the inquiry method. They started by saying the Circus is coming to Newburgh. The train the circus was taking fell off the track and the elephant is off the track. The students had to figure out a way to get the elephants back on the train using 2 simple machines. Before the students began working in groups one of the teachers went over the steps of inquiry with the students. The teachers walked group to group making sure the students stayed on track. I thought all the teachers did an excellent job of guiding the students towards solutions without actually giving them the answer. This helps them become better problem solvers.

When the timer the teachers set went off, that meant it was time to present for the students. The students presented their solutions to the problem answering one question at a time. They had to tell the class what simple machines they used, how they used the, their hypothesis, conclusion, and had to draw a picture of their simple machine. All of the presentations were interesting. It was great to see how creative all the students were.

For the independent practice the students had to write a letter. In the letter they had to include several different things. They had to explain to the class how their complex machine worked, what simple machines they used, and if it affected the environment. They used a rubric to explain exactly what they wanted from the students. This was an excellent inquiry lesson plan. The students all seemed to enjoy using the inquiry method, and did a great job with their presentations.