This week Grade 4 started a new unit of Inquiry on energy, energy sources, and the global consequences (positive and negative) of energy use. Before diving into this huge topic, students first had to address a very fundamental question: What is energy? That simple question, as it turns out, does not have a simple answer. These picture highlight the journey Grade 4 has undergone to discover just what is energy, how we use it and how it functions.
First, students shared what they already knew about energy and various energy sources. We discussed our understandings and developed a list of inquiry questions that we could investigate to find out more. Students realized in order to find out answers to these questions, they would need to use some skills, particularly research and reading skills. They used a variety of sources to locate the information that addressed their inquiry questions and organized their data using a graphic organizer.