FEBRUARY 2016
Inquiry By Design's monthly newsletter gives you the opportunity to stay up to date on our most recent blog posts and upcoming workshops. You will also find curriculum previews and all of our favorite literacy-related resources. Enjoy!
A special greeting to all those we met at the Colorado Council International Reading Association  conference in Denver on February 3-6. It was a great three days exploring literacy from all angles. Kristi Hemingway and Dr. Krista Morrison want to thank all of you who attended their sessions on February 4 and those who dropped by the Inquiry By Design booth in the exhibit hall to say hello. It was great meeting so many educators from across Colorado and other states. We hope you'll visit our website to find out more about inquiry-based learning in English Language Arts and to leave a comment on our blog.
BLOGBLOG

The start of a new year brought all kinds of new thoughts and ideas. Check out our January blog posts and leave us a comment. 
  • Transferring Great Ideas to Writing - Part 1
    A teacher laments, "My students have great thoughts and ideas in discussions but then they don't successfully transfer that to their writing." Where can we go from here? Find out in this two-part post.
     
RESOURCES


What is making us think, reflect, stretch, and wonder?
CURRICULUM
CURRICULUM PREVIEW


Last month we highlighted our Reading and Writing About Informational and Literary Nonfiction microcourse series for grades 6-12, but we recognize that educators are being asked to start exposing students to informational texts as early as third grade. That's why we want to introduce our Reading and Writing About Informational Texts series for grades 3-5. This two-unit microcourse guides students through cycles of comprehension and analysis work marked by reading, writing, and collaborative discussion. Using engaging, grade-appropriate readings in social studies (Unit 1) and science (Unit 2), students learn to determine and analyze the development of central ideas and arguments in informational texts. Each unit culminates in performance tasks in which students compose explanatory essays. Take a peek at a few sessions from Grade 4, Unit 1: The Push and Pull of Immigration.
READS
OUR RECENT READS 

 
Krista
Recently Krista has been sewing and quilting for pleasure, rather than reading.

Kristi
Rain of Gold by Victor VillaseƱor

John
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace 
  Watermark by Joseph Brodsky

Yvette
Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks EVENTS2

UPCOMING EVENTS

Need some professional development credit or just looking for inspiration to fill your teacher tank? Join us for a fresh and engaging Inquiry By Design workshop.

Working and Writing Across Informational Texts
February 2016 | TX

Faces of the Essay
February 2016 | WA

Inquiry-Based Reading, Writing, and Revision:
Moving Beyond the First Draft
April 2016  | TX & CA

Studying Arguments and Teacher Feedback:
A Strengths-Based Approach to Writing and Grading
April 2016  | WA

Want to bring a workshop to your area, school, or district?
 
Close Reading in the Content Area
Assessment Institutes
Writing in the Era of Common Core
Writing for College and Career Readiness (Texas)
Working With Complex Texts: Dealing With Difficulty
Apprenticing Literacy Across the Disciplines
Teaching as Apprenticeship: Text and Task Progression


Like us on Facebook
      Follow us on Twitter      Find us on Pinterest