Learning Never Stops

One day, a student and his dad arrived in class with a little package. It turned out to be an empty nest they had found in their garden. My students eagerly gathered around it to see it up close. "What if the mummy bird is still looking for it?" one worried boy asked. They all looked at me but I shrugged and kept inspecting the nest. I was thinking about the lesson ahead and decided to shelf it. Long division could wait. The Grade 3s were learning about natural structures and this was a perfect chance to let inquiry flow.  I Step Back,   They Move Forward. We then used SEE THINK WONDER, an often used, yet simple and powerful tool to organize our thoughts. By now, my Grade 3s are readily able to identify HOT and LOT questions  (higher/lower order thinking). Their sheets filled up with their wondering. I noticed there were quite a few Why... What if... I wonder why... Here is our attempt at bu