How Humanities Classrooms Could Look More Like Science Classrooms: Inquiry in ELA

Often I assign an essay and a student (or multiple) raises their hand and says, "Wait, so you want five paragraphs, right?" Or I tell them that their essay needs an introduction and they ask, "Is that the triangle or the upside-down triangle?"

Half of the time I respond with, "Maybe?" The other half of the time I contemplate responding like this...

Source: https://cdn.meme.am/cache/instances/folder113/59036113.jpg

These questions to me are a reflection of the way English Language Arts often approaches instruction, and I think we could learn a thing or two from the science classrooms in our buildings. We often give rules or guidelines that are void or true understanding of the reasons why the rules or guidelines exist. The key difference between understanding the answer and understanding the concept boils down to one simple piece: inquiry.

For example, think about how (if you're an ELA teacher) we teach students how to use commas, or (if you aren't) how you were taught how to use commas in school.

We start with the rule. We start with, "Here's how to use a comma," and then proceed to show examples of the rule. After that, students complete an activity about the rule.

If we do this, we are starting by giving students the answer. In essence, we do all the thinking for them. We give them the conclusion and then expect them to understand the process behind it. There is no wonder involved, and without wonder, there's no desire to learn.

Source: https://i.imgflip.com/12p03b.jpg

Now think about how you learn concepts in a science classroom. I remember my chemistry class, one specific lesson, and it's an experiment that I'm sure is still used to today: elephant toothpaste.

It started with the teacher asking us a question that none of us knew the answer to, something about chemical reactions and how they work. Nobody knew. None of us could answer, and this was key: we were forced to ponder and think.

Next, he did the experiment. If you've never seen it before, picture that you've shaken up like 20 2-liter bottles of soda, opened them all at the same time, and then somehow they formed these weird foamy tubes that stayed for a bit.

Source: http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view3/4491883/elephant-toothpaste-o.gif

It was awesome. It blew our minds. We watched these seemingly basic components explode into this crazy concoction of fun. We had no idea what just happened, but here's the key part...

We really wanted to know.

And then the next most important part: the teacher gave us time to figure it out.

While there is an official inquiry cycle, when it comes to learning and structuring lessons, here is the inquiry learning cycle I'm proposing:

1. Question - give students a question they can't answer. It should be open-ended. We need more wonder in our classrooms, and this is where it begins. DON'T GIVE THEM THE ANSWER HERE.
2. Demonstration - this is the "blow your mind" stage. Show them something that makes them curious to know more.
3. Investigation - give students time and space to explore and process what just happened.
4. Discussion - students should process what they've learned and figure out what else they need to know.
5. Research - after the discussion, students need more time to research and investigate.
6. Conclusion - after the research has been done, either individually or as a class, students should derive some conclusions.
7. Application/Extension - using the conclusions they've formed, students should apply that information in a new context.

What if we tried to model our ELA classrooms around that process of inquiry? What would that even look like? The downside is that you can't exactly combine a introductory paragraph with a comma splice and watch it explode all over the room like you could in science. So, how could this work?

Well, let's start with the example we used before: commas.

Instead of jumping into the rules and telling students how to use them, let's go through the process.

1. Question - 

Think of a large, open-ended question about commas. It could be, "How do commas change what we write?" or even something simpler like, "Why are commas important?" The goal here is to set the stage and to create a space for students to begin wondering.

Source: http://weather.blogs.starnewsonline.com/files/2012/09/baby.jpeg

2. Demonstration - 

Show students a few different examples of scenarios where commas could completely change the meaning of a sentence. The classic example, though I maybe wouldn't use this one with students, is this:

You could also use the recent court case where a misuse of a comma cost a company around a million dollars. The goal here is to identify importance and get students to see consequences or results.

3. Investigation - 

Put a bunch of these examples, covering all sorts of different rules, and ask students to organize them into groups based on patterns they see. Maybe they'll find times where not using a comma makes the sentence note make sense, or maybe they'll figure out similar patterns (using commas with lists, separating a part of a sentence, etc.) and group them this way. This begins to develop a desire to know, to find meaning in the organization.

It doesn't exactly look like elephant toothpaste exploding into the sky, but it does the same core concept; it creates a desire to know. 

Again, here it is important that you DON'T give them answers.

4. Discussion - 

Have students select a grouping or category that they've formed and see if they can write out an explanation for why the commas matter in the examples, and then see if they can write a rule.

This process gives students time to think through what they've done and identify what else they need to know, both of which are crucial steps in any inquiry process.

5. Research - 

Once students have identified some possibilities for their comma group, only then should they begin using resources to attempt to actually match the comma group with an actual rule.

I hesitated putting this step so late in the process, but I think it is really important that students have time to struggle and wrestle with a concept before they are allowed to try to just find the answer.

Source: https://i.imgflip.com/sqlrk.jpg

6. Conclusion - 

Have students reorganize the groups once they actually have the rules. This way they can clearly see how the rules connect to specific examples and also why the rules are important.

7. Application - 

I would recommend that students apply their new conclusions in multiple ways. For this example, students could edit a paragraph with errors in comma usage, but they could also write out something and try to use one of the new rules they just learned. It could also be really useful to have them just hypothesize about scenarios in real life where this rule might be important.



The goal of this is to help students better understand and process the reasoning behind the rule. We want student who understand how things work, not just what they are, especially when it comes to grammar and conventions.

This could work just as well to teach introductions in writing, analyzing tone in non-fiction, or identifying appeals in advertisements. Even if the content changes, the goal should always be to create an environment where students have to wrestle with questions and wonder.


Is this model going to work for everyone? Probably not. Does it work for every lesson? Not always. Could it be a step in the right direction? Yes.


So, why should you use inquiry more in the classroom? In the words of Ron Burgundy...

Source: http://www.fusionyearbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Teacher-meme-01-question-asked.png