Graphic organizers for inquiry learning in the French classroom

Graphic organizers for inquiry learning in the French classroom

Are you looking for something to help manage a research or inquiry project in your immersion or FSL classroom?  The use of graphic organizers will encourage your students to generate ideas, analyze and brainstorm. They are perfect for any topic area and any type of research or inquiry project. Below I discuss the steps of inquiry learning and how graphic organizers can help your students plan and navigate their own learning.

What is inquiry-based learning?

Inquiry-based learning is an independent question-driven research method following four steps: Focus, Explore, Analyze and Share learning. The Inquiry method places the responsibility for learning on the student and encourages them to arrive at an understanding of concepts by themselves.This method encourages learners to be self-directed and to build relevant research skills, such as identifying learning goals and resources that are then implemented to meet deadlines. 

A brief summary of each stage of an inquiry-based project and helpful organizers for each step. (The organizers can be purchased and downloaded from The French Nook on TPT HERE.)

Inquiry step 1 – FOCUS

This first step is where students are first engaged in their project by choosing or being provided with a relevant focus, question or topic. Students can brainstorm questions and possible areas of study, and make predictions about research findings.

Can't decide on a topic? Have your students brainstorm their likes and interests both at school and at home.

have your students brainstorm questions that they might have on their topic of study. They can use these questions to guide their research.

Inquiry step 2 – EXPLORE

In this second step, student will gather information, investigate and find out more about their topic from a variety of sources. They begin to record information and talk about their observations.

After formulating questions to guide their research, record the answers and sources of information found.

Inquiry step 3 – ANALYZE

Students will use the information gathered to answer the questions that they formed during the FOCUS stage, draw conclusions about their questions.

As students prepare to demonstrate their research and share their findings, have them consider which presentation format would best showcase their topic.

Inquiry step 4 – SHARE LEARNING

Students will communicate their findings and reflect on their inquiry process.

After students have completed their research, have them reflect bacon the inquiry process. What went well? What id they learn? What might they do differently next time?

Looking for your own printable inquiry organizers? The ones showcased above and MORE can be downloaded from The French Nook on TPT. See them HERE.

If you would like to see an excellent example of FSL inquiry in action, check out THIS BLOG POST from   Stephanie Bass! She details, documents and reflects on how she approached inquiry learning with her middle years students.