Let’s get started! You have been assigned a group discussion role by your teacher. You are either the questioner, checker, recorder, or discussion monitor. Click on your role, to see what your general responsibilities are to your group. Then print off your individual checklist below to see more detailed descriptions of your individual tasks at each step along the way. Your individual roles are color-coded in the steps below and the "everybody" tasks are in light yellow.

  

Checklists:  Questioner        Checker            Recorder           Discussion Monitor

 

WEEK 1:

1. Generate an inquiry question

  • Your group will agree on a group name and each write it on your own inquiry packet.
  • Your group will have ten minutes to agree on which of the four guiding questions you would like to use as your inquiry question. Remember the four questions are: What role does science play in sports? How does science create new ways to have fun? How does science help us understand the natural world? and How can we explore the science behind fun activities?
  • You will record the question on your inquiry packet.
  • You will each decide what subtopic you want to research on your own, within your inquiry topic. Example: Inquiry Question: What role does science play in sports? Subtopics group members may choose to research are football, ice skating, baseball, and gymnastics.
  • Agree as a group what each person is going to research and write down your own subtopic on your inquiry packet. You are solely responsible for researching your subtopic and sharing your findings with your group.
  • The checker is responsible for making sure everyone has the group name, inquiry question, and subtopic written on his/her packet before moving on to step #2.
 
2. Make a Conjecture: (A beginning idea)
  • The discussion monitor will guide the group into agreeing on a conjecture that answers the inquiry question. All group members will write the same conjecture on their packet.
  • The checker will make sure that everyone has the conjecture written down before moving on to step #3.
  • The recorder will complete the communicator sheet.
  • The questioner will share the communicator sheet with the teacher and then post it on the inquiry board in the classroom.

 

WEEK 2:

3. Collect Information

  • Copy the due date for collecting information, located on the inquiry board, onto your inquiry packet. This is when you will be held accountable for sharing your findings with your team.

  • Using any of the resources listed on the resources page, or other preapproved resources from the teacher, take notes on your subtopic using an investigation sheet.

  • Use the process rubric to guide your work.

 

WEEK 3:

4. Organize Information and...

  • You will each create a main idea organizer of the subtopic you have researched. When all group members have completed their own organizer, the discussion monitor will designate one student to read aloud his/her organizer to the group. The other group members will be actively listening.

  • Then the questioner will be the first student to respond to the reader by asking a clarifying question. All group members will help the first reader to add to or modify his/her main idea organizers before the next person shares his/her organizer aloud to the group.

  • Continue reading aloud until all group members have shared and received feedback.

  • The checker will make sure that everyone has shared his/her organizer and made the appropriate changes before moving on to the next step.

 4. Synthesize information (step 4 continued)

  • The recorder will lay out all of the main idea organizers so that everyone can see. He/she will set the presentation outline in the center of all of the papers to connect everyone’s ideas.
  • The recorder will write the inquiry question and conjecture on the presentation outline.
  • The discussion monitor will lead a discussion on creating an introduction and transitions between the subtopics and the inquiry question.
  • The recorder will record everyone’s agreed upon introduction and transitions to the presentation outline.
  • The questioner will make sure that everyone understands how ideas are connected and number each paper, along with the presenter’s name, in the order that it will be presented. Then the questioner will tape all papers together into one, large organizer. This will be your final outline for your presentation.
  • The checker will make sure that all papers are complete and taped together. The checker should also make sure that the group name and group members’ names are written on the outline.

5. Confirm or revise the conjecture

  • The recorder will retrieve the group’s outline and lay it out for all to see.
  • The questioner will reread the group’s initial conjecture and then ask the group, based on their research, whether they believe that they have confirmed their conjecture, or they need to add to it, delete information, or revise it in another way.
  • The discussion monitor will make sure that everyone has a chance to share his/her opinion.
  • The recorder will record the group’s agree upon conjecture to the presentation outline.
  • The checker will make sure that the group’s revised or confirmed conjecture is recorded on the presentation outline before moving on to the next step.
  • The questioner will ask each person to take a minute to reread the presentation outline and think of a conclusion.
  • The discussion monitor will choose one person to share his/her conclusion with the group while everyone else actively listens. Then the discussion monitor will make sure that all students in the group get a chance to share their input before a final conclusion is agreed upon.
  • The recorder will record the final conclusion onto the presentation outline.
  • The checker will make sure that everyone agrees with what is recorded on the presentation outline and that it is completely filled out before moving on to the next step.

 

6. Develop a photo essay, using Microsoft PowerPoint

As a group, you will use your presentation outline as a rough draft to guide you through creating a photo essay on the computer using the Microsoft PowerPoint template that the teacher has already created for you. Do not change the layout, background, or font at this time.

 Before you begin:

  • It is VERY important that you have your group’s web organizer storyboard next to you during this process, to use as a reference to help you complete the slides.
  • Only one group member may work on the photo essay at one time, but the slides do not need to be completed in order.
  • The recorder will open the PowerPoint template by clicking on the link above and saving the file into our class folder on the student shared drive. Title the file with your group name. Then click open to start editing the template.
  • It is an expectation that the “notes” section (the white space below the slide) is completed for each slide as well.
  • SAVE often!

Slide Assignments: The person that will share each slide aloud during your presentation should complete the text and graphics for that slide on the photo essay.

          Slide #1: Recorder

Slide #2: Person presenting the inquiry question and conjecture to the class

Slide #3: All group members complete their own section

Slides #4-6: Person presenting the first subtopic

Slides #7-9: Person presenting the second subtopic

Slides #10-12: Person presenting the third subtopic

Slides #13-15: Person presenting the fourth subtopic

Slide #16: Person presenting the revised/confirmed conjecture and conclusion

Slide #17: Person presenting the resources used to gather research

After the photo essay slide show is complete:

  • Sit down with your group and the presentation rubric and make sure that all parts are completed to your satisfaction.
  • Print off one copy (notes version) for each person in your group.
  • Rehearse your presentation aloud, as you would on presentation day.
  • Use a stop-watch to time yourselves.
  • Edit the notes section on each slide as needed to make sure you fit the 4-6 minute presentation requirement.

 

 

WEEK 4: Presentation Day

7. Deliver your presentation! 

 

 

Conclusion

 You did it! You discovered the mind-numbing world of science as it surrounds us every day!

Isn’t it crazy that most defensive linemen in the NFL tip the scales at over 300 pounds so that their opponents need to use more force to tackle their massive bodies to the ground? Can you believe that the roller coaster, Millennium Force, in Cedar Point, Ohio, can reach extreme speeds of almost 100mph, by maximizing its potential and kinetic energy? Now, that’s fast!  And those are only some of the amazing facts you learned by studying science at play. Way to go! You tackled the inquiry process with success and worked as a team.

There’s only one more step to go--now it’s time to celebrate and give yourself credit for a job well done! 

 

8. Reflect on the process and complete the process rubric and collaboration rubric

Staple the following forms together and hand in to the stacker:

  1. Inquiry Packet (Role Checklist)
  2. Investigation sheets
  3. Photo essay notes sheets used in the presentation
  4. Process rubric
  5. Collaboration rubric
  6. Additional artifacts/resources used in preparing for the presentation
 
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