5E Inquiry

ENGAGE: ARE MY STUDENTS EXCITED? INTERESTED? INTRIGUED?

Teacher activates prior knowledge, hooks student attention, poses a question based on lesson objective(s) that
students will seek to answer in Explore. Include ELL/differentiation strategies in instructional input if
appropriate. Frame in a context your students can relate to.

EXPLORE: ARE MY STUDENTS ACTIVELY EXPLORING, INVESTIGATING OR RESEARCHING?

Typically, Inquiry Question #1 is used here. Students take the lead and actively use materials to discover
information that will help them answer lesson questions. Teachers may choose to give steps to follow, especially
for younger students, but the goal is for students to discover some or all of the objectives of the lesson. Include
ELL/differentiation strategies in instructional input. Take what was learned here and add to or build in
Elaborate.

EXPLAIN: ARE MY STUDENTS SHARING WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED SO FAR?

Students share what they have learned/discovered. Teacher connects student discoveries to correct content
terms/explanations, and students articulate/demonstrate a clear and correct understanding of the lesson
objectives. I prefer not to introduce any new content here to simplify, keeping Explain separate from
Elaborate. Include ELL/differentiation strategies in instructional input. This is a great place for a formative
assessment.

ELABORATE: ARE MY STUDENTS ACTIVELY DIGGING DEEPER, OR APPLYING NEW

KNOWLEDGE TO A NEW OR SIMILAR SITUATION?
Typically, Inquiry Question #2 is used here. Students take the basic learning gained from Explore and clarified
in Explain and apply it to a new circumstance or explore a particular aspect of this learning at a deeper level.
Students should be using higher order thinking in this stage. Include ELL/differentiation strategies in
instructional input.

EVALUATE: HAVE MY STUDENTS MASTERED THE OBJECTIVE(S)?

Students demonstrate mastery of the lesson objectives through the identified summative assessment.