The following blog post was completed as part of my Junior ABQ Module on Inquiry-based learning, and is written for a grade 6 class exploring biodiversity through a science fiction novella.
Inquiry Opportunity: Biodiversity and World Building
This inquiry activity will involve students reading Jill Paton Walsh’s The Green Book, a short novella about a girl named Pattie who is part of the last mission from Earth to settle a new planet four light-years away. The group has no idea what to expect on their new planet, named Shine by one of the children for its glass-like grass and trees, and the novella describes their first season of planting and harvest which is full of experimentation and hypothesizing regarding what might happen on the planet. The story is told from the perspective of Pattie, and it is discovered at the end that the story was written by Pattie herself, and outlines the process she took to explore her new home. This novella models respect for the environment and natural ecosystems as the settlers respect the environment of their new planet, and try to adapt to life in this new space. Using science fiction to connect the science and technology curriculum with the language curriculum, The Green Book helps students take on various perspectives through language while exploring both the world described in the story from an authentic and appropriate perspective as well as their own environment.
Science and Technology: Grade 6
Big Ideas
| Biodiversity includes diversity of individuals, species, and ecosystems.
(Overall expectations 2 and 3) Because all living things are connected, maintaining diversity is critical to the health of the planet. (Overall expectations 1 and 3) Humans make choices that can have an impact on biodiversity. (Overall expectation 1) |
Overall Expectation
| 1. assess human impacts on biodiversity, and identify ways of preserving biodiversity;
2. investigate the characteristics of living things, and classify diverse organisms according to specific characteristics. |
Specific Expectations
| 1.1 analyse a local issue related to biodiversity propose action that can be taken to preserve biodiversity, and act on the proposal; 1.2 assess the benefits that human societies derive from biodiversity; 2.3 use scientific inquiry/research skills (see page 15) to compare the characteristics of organisms within the plant or animal kingdoms; 2.5 use a variety of forms (e.g., oral, written, graphic, multimedia) to communicate with different audiences and for a variety of purposes. |
Language: Grade 6
Overall Expectations
| 1. read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, graphic, and informational texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning;
2. recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic elements and demonstrate understanding of how they help communicate meaning; 4. reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading. |
Specific Expectations
| 1.1 read a wide variety of texts from diverse cultures, including literary texts, graphic texts, and informational texts; 1.3 identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand increasingly complex texts;1.5 develop interpretations about texts using stated and implied ideas to support their interpretations;1.6 extend understanding of texts by connecting, comparing, and contrasting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them; 2.2 identify a variety of organizational patterns in a range of texts and explain how they help readers understand the texts; 2.4 identify various elements of style – including voice, word choice, and the use of hyperbole, strong verbs, dialogue, and complex sentences – and explain how they help communicate meaning; 4.2 explain, in conversation with the teacher and/or peers or in a reader’s notebook, how their skills in listening, speaking, writing, viewing, and representing help them make sense of what they read. |
Inquiry Opportunities
While reading The Green Book, the teacher will work with students to build interpretations of the text and encourage them to reflect on the questions that come up for them, drawing from mini-lessons through direct teaching on biodiversity on Earth from both their direct environments and examples from around the word. Prompting questions throughout the novel could include: What other forms of life do you think the inhabitants of Shine will find on the planet? What evidence from the text can you use to make a hypothesis about what happened to Earth and why they left? What kinds of things would you worry about if you were building a settlement on a new planet? The inquiry opportunity provided through a reading of The Green Book and language skills related to how students understand a text and extend their understanding through both prior and new knowledge can connect to other aspects of the curriculum (i.e. previous knowledge about space and the solar system, articles about the discovery of new planets or species on Earth, etc.). The reading of the novella can take the form of a gradual release of responsibility model in reading, where reading is conducted as a class, in small groups and independently to support both oral and reading comprehension and will provide an opportunity to conduct consistent assessments, discussion and reflection in various group sizes during the learning process. Students can benefit from perspective-taking and communication skills fostered through the language curriculum alongside the use of scientific language while exploring some of the big ideas in the science curriculum surrounding biodiversity.
During this inquiry opportunity facilitated through The Green Book, students’ unique interpretation of the text guides their own questions and ideas driven by their own interests. In this way assessment of learning products can be co-constructed between both students and the teacher, guided by personal interest surrounding both the text, students’ scientific questioning, and connections surrounding the environment and biodiversity that come from students’ own curiousity and learning process. Students will have multiple opportunities throughout the inquiry process to share their questions and learning with their peers, providing a multi-layered interpretive experience of the text for all students guided by reflection and critical discussion where the teacher facilitates conversations around the text and content instead of leading these discussions.
Works Cited
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2006). The Ontario Curriculum: Grades 1-8 Language.
Retrieved from https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/language18currb.pdf
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2007). The Ontario Curriculum: Grades 1-8 Science and
Technology. Retrieved from https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/scientec18currb.pdf
Wash, J.P. (1982). The Green Book. New York: Square Fish.
