Inquiry

Inquiry is:

Figuring out what you know
Asking critical questions
Engaging in thinking, learning, & discussion

College Search Project 2025

Eighth Grade AVID students researched WUE (Western Undergraduate Exchange) colleges and universities that offer bachelor’s degrees in their career interests. They created a display board about their college or university. They proudly spoke to their families and guests about what they learned about their chosen school. WUE schools offer discounted rates to qualifying students. This means that our students from Hawaiʻi can attend WUE colleges and universities in other states and US territories at a more affordable cost.

🧰 Resources:

AVID Tutorials

Tutorial #3

Tutorial #2

Tutorial #1

AVID Tutorials are a collaborative learning activity where students bring in an inquiry question from one of their assignments that they need help with. Their peers ask probing questions to assist the student presenter in discovering the answer to their inquiry question.

WMS AVID students participate in weekly tutorials. Inquiry questions come from all core subject classes. Students need to learn the answer to their inquiry questions in order to finish homework, study for a test, prepare for a debate, complete a science slideshow, or complete a draft of a writing assignment.

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Essential Questions

Essential Questions EQs are the focus or “Why” of a unit or lesson plan. EQs help students preview what they will be learning, begin to make connections to background knowledge, and make predictions about the unit or lesson. EQs are written based on the Standards and/or Essentials for a particular unit or lesson plan. EQs can be used as a summative assessment. Students who can answer the EQ at the end of the unit or lesson, show mastery of the information.

At WMS, we are using PLC+ by Corwin. WMS teachers identify Learning Intentions and Success Criteria for their students based on their Standards and Essentials. Learning intentions are what students are to know, understand, and be able to do. Success Criteria are indicators that demonstrate whether a student has achieved the learning intention. Essential Questions can be written from Learning Intentions.

WMS AVID students are expected to take Focused Notes in all of their classes to support their learning. AVID students are expected to write an Essential Question at the top of their Focused Notes. They also use their Focused Notes during weekly Tutorials. When we go on a field trip or have a guest speaker, AVID students take Focused Notes. The AVID Essential Questions is: What words will you carry on your journey to college & career? When they answer the EQ in the summary of their notes, they write something specific that they heard and explain how it will help them now or in the future.

Please consider adding an Essential Question to your next assignment, lesson, or unit.

🧰Resources:

Standards, Learning Intentions and Success Criteria (Corwin)
Learning Intentions Lesson (Corwin)
PLC+ (Corwin website)
Creating Essential Questions (MyAVID)
Spark Curiosity and Ask Questions for Inquiry Learning (AVID Open Access)
Inquiry Process Step 1: Ask Questions (AVID Open Access)
AVID Tutorial Guide (AVID Curriculum Book Webpages)
Essential Questions 101 (Learning Focused website)

College & Career Gingerbread Person

College & Career Gingerbread Person (1).pdf

Career readiness starts with the habits students are learning in school and at home like learning to manage their time, belongings, and ideas. Career awareness starts when students begin thinking about what they are good at now, what they like and don’t like, what they would like to learn more about or how to do, and what jobs they are currently interested in. By thinking about a future career as a long-term goal, students can begin to think about and plan their next steps on the path to that goal. Those steps may include on the job training, trade school, military service, and/or college.

Here is a fun activity that the students can complete that helps them begin to think about their possible future career and what it might look like. Directions are included on the attached Google Slide. Please share pictures of your finished College & Career Gingerbread Persons with us in 121A!

🧰Resources:

Focused Note Taking

Focused note-taking empowers students to take charge of their learning. It is a great tool for students to use to study & as a resource for completing assignments.

When teaching the focused note-taking process, teachers need to determine what the students will use their notes for and assist students to set up the note taking format appropriately.

FNT Process

Overview PowerPoint.pptx

Five Phases of Focused Note-Taking Process.pdf

Rate of Forgetting.pdf

WMSCornellNotes.pdf

Inquiry Tip: When asking students to take notes from a lecture or video, use the 10-2-2 Model. Students take notes for 10 minutes. Then they spend 2 minutes collaborating with an elbow partner to process their notes. Then they spend another 2 minutes individually adding to or revising their notes.