EVALUATE, EXTEND, AND Inquiry and Research: |-Charts What Are -Charts? An Chart (Hoffman 1992} is an inquiry chart that can be used to support content-area inquiry and research. The Chace uses students’ knowledge of a subject (see K-W-L) in coder to pose questions for research. As students read about the research topic from a variety of sources, they are able 0 contribute answers 10 the questions they have posed {see Appendix for I-Chart form). Students can then summarize what they know about their question at the bottom of each column, Since the original question is based on what students already know about the topic, as they read, they will discover ew questions that will lead them to more reading and esearch, Why Would | Use I-Charts in My Classroom? Most districts require that students form questions and con- duct research. We often get caught up in che prococols that go with writing the research and spend little time helping stu- dents figure out a question they really want to answer—the kind of question that actually drives us to do research in our adult lives. The I-Chart can guide students through the inquiry process, which could result in oral reports, written research, ot demonstrations and performances. Im the Classroom 1 adapted the model slightly for my students, in order to model for them how to do research. When we used the Chart to help in our collaborative writing of the research, st dents were able to see how this organization could serve them as they worked oa their ov catire chalkboard for our I-Chart, bue chart paper is more effective because the work can be éaved for later reference. T chose a topic for which I knew my high school students had some background for our collaborative LChart: alcohol abuse. Students chen brainstormed an umbrella question that would guide our research. For this topic, the question they agreed on was “Why shoulda’t people be able to drink as much as they want?” Based on students’ knowledge of alcohol abuse, the four questions that came out of our umbrella question were (1) Who docs alcohol abuse hurt? (2) Whar is alcohol abuse and how is that different from just having a drink? (3) What are the symptoms of alcohol abuse? (4) What should I do if 1 know someone is abusing alcohol? We entered those ques- tions in place of che question marks at the top of each column, We then gathered sources that would help us find answers to our questions, We decided to use the novel we were cur- rently reading, My Name Is Davy and I'm: an Alcoholic, as one of our sources. Our other sources included pamphlets from AA, a guest speaker from AA, and information from students’ health books and encyclopedias. As we read each of nquiry projects. We covered an TRANSFER CONTENT KNOWLEDGE = —/ these sources, students worked in groups to add information from each source in the appropriate question cokumn, During the reading, we also wrote down related words, which formed a word bank for us as we moved into the writing srage, ‘When we finished the reading we did together, students summarized information in each of the columns. These sum: maties allowed us to see which questions still needed more explanation, and we wrote any new questions the reading had prompted. At this point, we were able to write a collaborative research paper, using a form of the umbrella question as our title, the student-generated questions as headings, the infar- mation gathered and our word bank as support in the body of the paper, and our summaries as introduerion and closing for the research, Students then used this model as a guide for the independent research projects they would do. Research/Origins Hoffman, J 1992, “Critical Reading/Thinking Acros the Cur Using F-Chars to Support Learning.” Language Art 69-12 References/Further Reading Romano, T2000. Birding Gono, Altering Soe: Writing Multigenre pers, Portiouth, NH: Heinemann-oyatonéCook Snyder, A. 1977. My Name ls Day and I'm an Alcbosic, New York Siget Vises poeTopic APPENDIX I-Chart Question —___________—» Research Vi What I Know Before My Research Sources Related Words to Use | New or Related Questionssods wortwova 104 ‘vung PPHOL. suoowap syndy 79 i PHL esrupuons | sammy Xe] Jone sa0pewsoy pure sauoqsiny Sey puoyy sompowo ‘aqui a}ourHIS, 2) Jo s9pR| Je soau8ap 66 st iow aie 2041, 20, soon UE, uossarddg peowdon-qns ‘iuisopt si*oms op Jo 1s0u uy ‘oyeat}9 NE - ps9] pas 10 -tunzoddo tocoog | $84 BPO soon in a 0nd ust sian roy Arey Sat qusanen’ | Styear"3040N | -anox pue srowwion | ue says a404 am ancy Sour Sou, | s0901 ax om padiay Kuster ay wpHOLA oF epHoLg © pues SOE6I-OZOL Ber ure sy un ea aydoag snoweg | yo sommpag jars S434 SU0seay wy SoU, ASaqeayg JARYO Aambuy by ‘uonsonb yaze zapun swap ae mod tarop yor "TORHPULIO}L _nau pug 01 pasn nos surpes 20 syuauindop o1p Jo autos sy ‘Sor aLNo|loy GR “OKdoq SEP oq" sou Apzedye NOS ERD UNOP TOL MOT ISTH. UL soda, Ue,