It's Time For Inquiry!

I completed all of my lessons on greater than, less than, and equal to in the 2nd grade classroom.

They did well with the WebQuest for the most part. It was hard for some of them to read the information provided on the web sites, which made doing the research a challenge. This was after I consulted with my cooperating teacher about what web sites she uses with the students.

The students really enjoyed using the laptops in class. This was the first 2nd grade class in the building to use the laptops. They are usually reserved for 4th and 5th grade.

After I began by introducing the assignment and explaining what needed to be done, they were free to explore. They loved researching!

According to my cooperating teacher, during this time, it was the quietest she had ever seen them. They were all engaged.

Due to the grade level, age, and overall maturity level of this class, I had to walk the students through every step of the WebQuest.

While students worked on the laptops, I played the role of facilitator. I walked around the room and assisted students as needed. This was their time to learn, however, not my time to teach.

The WebQuest was broken into two separate lessons. The first day was information processing. On this day, students only researched their topics. Day two was social interactive. This lesson required students to work in groups, share the information they learned the day before, and create a riddle.

Overall, I think the riddles came out better than I expected. I knew this would be hard for some of the students in this class, but I wanted to challenge them.

When all of the riddles were written and illustrated, it was time to share. The students loved presenting their riddles and their classmates loved guessing the answers to the riddles.

Looking back, I can't say that 2nd grade is an ideal grade for using WebQuests, at least not at this point in the school year. They are too dependent on the teacher to show them what needs to be done. I think WebQuests are great for older students who are more independent.