This Christmas Charity Inquiry has by far been one of my all time favourite inquiries. I asked students to think of a way to raise funds for a charity of at need. The only limitations were we had no money and we had to get the whole school involved.
After a lot of brainstorming and pitching ideas students decided we could have a Christmas Card Contest for each grade and feature the winners on cards that would then be sold back to the school.
Students divided into groups based on their talents. Some focused on writing to students and making posters/school announcements and a letter that would go home to inform everyone of the contest. Others wrote to parents convincing the to buy. And the third group researched, phoned/emailed businesses that printed cards for donations and prices.
I want to thank Toronto Printing House with being so supportive and patient with our students as they learned how to write clear emails, perfected speaking on the phone and a million other real life skills. From start to finish the students in my class created this initiative and saw it through. Spending countless hours of recess, after school sales and more. The students were able to take the lead and worked through more math, language and Social Studies than I ever could have imagined.
By the end, they were able to raise funds that went to helping students in the Hospital over Christmas. The funds went directly to supporting Sick Kids.
Student Voice has always been a passion of mine. I truly believe we need to get our students thinking more introspective and becoming more cognizant of their learning. When students explore their meta-cognitive abilities, they understand how they learn and can start employing strategies that will help develop a growth mindset. 
When it came time for parent teacher interviews students delivered beautiful presentations to their parents about their learning. I was able to sit back, adding little comments and see how proud the parents were watching their children become independent and evaluative learners.
Students have been learning about a number of different environmental issues and have been becoming strong ambassadors for this earth. Their studies have taken them from the depths of the seas to flying high with the birds. They have become poignant activists for issues such as deforestation to oil spills.
As part of our Language we have been looking at text features and the elements of a short story. Students used looked at Elements of a Story such as Plot & Conflict. All the stories and picture books the students created had very touching themes and messages. The themes were woven into their stories giving the reader a deeper meaning and understanding of the book. After creating a Success Criteria for the pictures books based on our learning students used the rubric to help them evaluate their books before handing them in.
