Experimenting with Inquiry in the ISP Setting: Exploring Soil

While this is not from a Kindergarten classroom, I wanted to offer a different perspective to the inquiry discussion and provide voice to students with multiple exceptionalities and their ability to wonder and ask questions.     

Currently, I teach in a grade 6-8 Intensive Support Program (multiple exceptionalities). I have found that many of my students have a hard time with open-ended thinking and questioning the world around them. While I don’t think their exceptionalities necessarily limit them from this, I have found that much scaffolding is necessary to engage in inquiry.

 We began by going outside into the woodlot behind the school, and each student had a clear plastic jar with a trowel. They all collected samples of soil from various areas in the yard. Students examined their soil samples with a magnifying glass and tweezers, recording their observations. As a class we created a graffiti poster with their initial ideas and observations.

Bringing the soil into the classroom allowed student with
limited mobility to observe it close up.

M.S. found a grub in the sample he chose! 

Student-created poster of their collective observations.
Some are scribed comments from students
using Speech-Generating Devices.

After observing things in the soil, and consulting some
authoritative sources, we sorted out living and non-living things we has seen or knew
existed in soil. 

After separating the soil sample with water, this student
used his Speech-Generating Device to ask about
what rose to the top.

Observations from a student with writing abilities.
Other students had their Observations scribed. 

After noticing that there were a lot of living things found IN soil, my students began to wonder if soil was a living thing itself. In a Knowledge Building Circle they created theories about this and most thought that it was a living thing.

As a group we discussed what they knew about living and non-living things.

Based on these characteristics, I asked for their ideas about how we could test their theory that soil was a living thing. Internally, I debated going right to an authoritative source, but wanted them to go through the process of figuring out how to find an answer through their own investigation.

Since living things need food, the students decided that we would feed a sample of soil see if the soil would eat it.

 We observed the lettuce for a few weeks, while consulting some authoritative sources in the meantime (books, online).

In the end we discovered that although the kale was ‘disappearing,’ it was actually being broken down by the millions of bacteria that live in the soil. We noticed that the kale on the soil broke down much faster than the kale on the rocks. Students came to the conclusion that the soil must have more bacteria in it.

We then went on to observe a few different types of soil and compare them through a number of experiments. In the end they added their new learning to the ‘soil graffiti’ poster they had created after their initial observations. 

Rock sample after a few weeks

Soil sample after a few weeks

  I would love your feedback on this! I am still figuring out how to implement inquiry-based learning in this setting so please let me know what you think!