Noticing and Wondering to Launch an Inquiry

In Trey Smith's grade 4 digital literacy classes, students explored environmental impacts of clothing and fashion. To begin to explore the impact clothing has on the environment, students analyzed a series of infographics using a noticing and wondering routine. Early on, students might recognize that the issue is complex because more than one environmental issue is affected: water use, water pollution, landfills, raw material extraction, and greenhouse gases.

Joining a Conversation in Progress: The Atwoodian Table

With his grade 4 students, Mr. Smith was attempting to help students recognize that they were joining a conversation in progress about clothing, its importance in our lives, and its effects on the environment. Students watched and listened to an example video podcast. As they listened, they identified some of the different voices that were included. All civic discussions have multiple voices and perspectives. As we develop our own ideas, we should understand what others are saying in the conversation.

Drawing upon resources from the National Writing Project's (NWP) College, Career, and Community Writers Program, Mr. Smith asked students to create an Atwoodian Table to represent the many viewpoints they heard as they listened to and watched a video podcast about the issue. (The Atwoodian Table is named for its creator, NWP teacher consultant Dr. Robin Atwood, and is inspired by the Burkean parlor metaphor).

Unpacking Texts with "Board Meetings"

Students in Mr. Smith's class held a board meeting where we summarized what they learned from reading about how technology has helped to create “fast fashion.” As students dug into the complex topic of fast fashion, they needed to grapple with science, social studies, and technology ideas. Instead of reading the entire article (which Mr. Smith had edited to change some of the more complex sentences and vocabulary), students selected excerpts that they would then summarize with a diagram. Students were able to learn from their peers about what other ideas were in the article. 

Analyzing Primary Sources

Students in Mr. Smith's class also analyzed historical primary sources to help them better understand how technology has changed how we advertise, buy, and acquire clothing. He asked students to notice and wonder independently with sticky notes about a range of primary sources. In whole group discussion, he facilitated discussion and summarized what students figured out together.

Creating Podcasts

Creating texts for audiences outside of school is one of the important features of civically engaged argument writing. NWP's College, Career, and Community Writers Program (C3WP) provides rationales and resources for supporting students in "Writing to an Audience to Urge Action."

Throughout the unit, Mr. Smith's students worked on different components of a podcast that they could share with audiences outside of school. Mr. Smith used a number of approaches and resources to support students in developing their podcasts:

• The class invited a reporter (who was also a parent of one of the students in the class) to describe how he conducts interviews and reports for radio and podcasts. The reporter shared video and audio clips, scripts, and questions with us. 

• Students brainstormed people they wanted to interview to learn more about the topic of clothing and/or its impacts on the environment (e.g., a classmate who likes fashion; a friend who likes modifying her clothes; a family member who sews; an expert in science and/or fashion). One student drafted an email for Mr. Smith to send to someone from a company that repurposes shoes. The student went to the “About” page on the company's website to find a contact to email. They arranged an interview via Zoom.

• Students drafted questions and introductions in script form. Mr. Smith provided sentence stems and models for students to work with. Students also shared and discussed their scripts with one another.

• Using index cards, students assembled their final scripts and recorded them in a sound recording booth. They used notecards so that they could more easily rearrange their scripts. Students were supported in organizing their scripts by a journalist who works with the school’s media lab sponsored by a local NPR station.