Literature for Inspiration

In the New Literacies and Media course, I learned how to incorporate media and digital literacy tools to enhance the learning experience for my Kindergarteners. Working with several of my cohort colleagues, we created a Project-Based Inquiry (PBI) Global that connected our students to the global issue of plastic bag waste.  Using the book One Plastic Bag, based on the inspiring true story of Isatou Ceesay, our students used various digital tools to create compelling questions, gather and analyze sources, work together to synthesize learning and creatively share projects that bring awareness to the topic.  The children used this opportunity to recycle plastic bags into items such as skirts and jump ropes. 

Using project-based inquiry frameworks, students actively explore and investigate real-world challenges and problems.  By working collaboratively with their classmates, our students became engaged in critical thinking and were inspired to find solutions to the problem of plastic bag pollution.   By engaging in project-based inquiry opportunities, our students are able "to construct new knowledge by employing the content knowledge and disciplinary literacy practices used by literary critics, scientists, historians, and mathematicians." (Spires, Kerkhoff & Graham, 2016)

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