ELA Inquiry Unit: My Innovation Project (Phase 1)

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Welcome to my first, and quite delated, blog post about my Innovation Project. I have been avoiding that task, because I am nervous about verbalizing it. I am hoping that that process of writing about it makes the process less terrifying. Let’s try it and see!

For my Innovation Project, I am creating an Inquiry Unit for a small group during my ELA block. This small group has been reading Ida B. and Her Plan to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and Possibly Save the World--an adorable story about a rambunctious and colorful young lady who faces some tragic and drastic changes in her life. Our focus throughout this unit is character, so this text is an excellent segway into our project.
As students read, they will be developing sketchnotes based on the text. Students will draw features of each chapter that stands out to them. Then, in small group, I meet with each child to discuss their sketchnotes and dig deeper, asking inference questions and forcing students to make conclusions about Ida B. as a character.
At the end of this book, students will be challenged with two Research Essential Question:

  • How does a character change throughout a story?
  • What causes a character to change throughout a story?
At the end of the readings, students will use their sketchnotes as learning evidence to answer these questions and develop a thesis, so to speak, for each question.
Although I am excited about this project, I am concerned about my follow through. I worry that I won’t be able to work with this group of students to the extent necessary for them to think deeply about the text. Also, I worry about the timeline. Our novel study has taken a great deal of time so far, and I worry that we will not finish the book to move to the next stage.

Here is my solution: NO EXCUSES. Period. None. I am going to make the effort to meet with this group frequently. I plan to create a timetable to keep me focused on the project and to insure completion. I will keep you posted on my progress!

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