The Missouri Reader Vol. 36, Issue 1 | Page 34

Things I would change
In the future I would precede the Inquiry Project
with lessons on outlining, paraphrasing, and mini
lessons on introductions and conclusions. I don‘t
want to detract from the enjoyment the students
experienced with the project by adding too many
technical lessons during that time. I would also
add a unit on the importance of research as it
relates to the students‘ lives. While I teach my
students to question everything I also challenge
them to ―prove‖ everything rather than becoming
victims of rumor and hype.
I would like to designate a board or place in
the room to add I-Search questions each time a
student asks a question that is an interesting
question. I have found the students come up
with interesting questions during lessons that
require more time and resources than we have at
that moment, but if they are not recorded they
are forgotten. Hopefully by the time we begin
our I-Search project there will be a variety of
questions from which to choose. As an added
bonus, when students see their questions being
added to the board it also encourages them to ask
more questions.

My Conclusions
I believe the Inquiry Project provides a vehicle
for struggling readers in high school to demystify
the research and writing process. I kept
returning to the words of Krashen (2009), ―Only
one method of improving reading ability works:
engaging in a great deal of interesting (better yet,
compelling), comprehensible reading.‖ The
same must hold true for teaching research. Offer
the students interesting topics of their choosing
and they become more engaged. Presenting
them with practical reasons for research to which
they can connect such as looking for answers to

the latest discussions regarding the world ending
in 2012 and whether there is such a creature as
the Chupacabra increases motivation.
Researching career interests for secondary
students, especially high school students, serves
as an interesting topic as well as useful
information needed to set goals and plan for their
futures out of high school.
Teaching paraphrasing, at least for some
students, needs to be explicit and detailed. The
lesson should include enough time to practice and
scaffold as they begin to grasp the concept.
Students that experience reading and writing
challenges do not necessarily possess the skills or
confidence to demonstrate success in
paraphrasing. Their levels of motivation to learn
this skill are naturally increased with high-interest
text and purpose such as the Inquiry Project.
I definitely plan to include paraphrasing
exercises in any lesson as often as possible as I
realized just how challenging this is for many of
my students. Offering multiple methods in
which to learn the process is key as indicated by
my students in the exercise I used in this project.
Many thought they understood what an author
was saying until the article was turned over and
they were responsible for writing what they had
read. They also learned that when they were able
to discuss a reading with a partner or myself then
they clearly understood and comprehended what
they had read. Hopefully for some, this will
become a comprehension strategy they will
utilize in the future.
To bring the level of excitement and
engagement to the classroom that this project
produced is the dream of most teachers. To
witness this reaction by a group of struggling high
school readers is even more convincing of its
merit. The results of this project were
multifaceted as I observed students reading with
©The Missouri Reader, 36 (1) p. 34