Shared Inquiry Circles, Into the Wild

The Groups:

Jordan - Mackenzie - Alyssa
Lindsay - Joe - Michelle  R
Neill - Lulu - Alexis C
Jessica - Caleb - Robin
Tyler - Alexis M - Briel
Dominic - Victoria - Sam
Kaila - Brian - Michelle A
Annalise - Sandra O - Sarah
Jacob - Monet - Israel
Jazmine - Sunny - Brennan
Rebecca - Marquis - Johnathan

Floaters:  Marissa - Heidi - Ronnie

Decide who is the leader for the discussion on Wednesday. (This first Wednesday, we decided that the first person on the list will be the leader).  That person writes discussion questions that can be answered in more than one way.  These are not "fact-finding" questions, but questions that lead to more open-ended, philosophical discussion.

From the slides on Shared Inquiry Circles:

Four rules:

1. Only those who have read the selection may take part in discussion.
2. Discussion is restricted to the selection that everyone has read.
3. Support for opinions should be found within the selection.
4. Leaders may only ask questions—they may not answer them.

What the leader does:

1. The leader poses a question that can be validly answered in more than one way.
2. The leader allows time for students to respond.
3. The leader only asks questions.
4. The leader often asks students to support their ideas with evidence from the text.
5. The leader asks students to listen to and consider the ideas of others.
6. The leader and the group remain focused on the question posed at the beginning of discussion.

The first circle:

• The leader must have read the assigned reading and come to the discussion with FIVE original questions. No Sparknotes!
• The other group members must also have completed the assigned reading and should come ready to discuss.

Next Wednesday, April 20th is our first Shared Inquiry Circle, and it will cover chapters 1-5.