Are you looking to incorporate inquiry activities for Kindergarten, Year 1 or Year 2 into your classroom but not sure where to start? Not sure how to fit it within your national curriculum or within your school’s policy and expectations? I know I’ve been there!  

I didn’t know much about inquiry learning in primary schools until I did my 3rd teaching placement. It was at an international school that taught the International Baccalaureate in Sydney. I was teaching a Kindergarten class which is the first year of compulsory schooling in NSW, Australia. It was such an eye-opening experience to see how teachers could foster students’ curiosity as well as give them ownership over their learning while still guiding and supporting them.

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How is Inquiry-based learning different?

Inquiry learning, at its core, is a student-focused learning approach rather than teacher-focused. Inquiry learning encourages your students to actively seek and produce new knowledge by exploring ideas and concepts. Then they reflect upon that knowledge to put it into action. It’s about inspiring your students’ curiosity, and providing them with the skills to go and create their own knowledge. 

Want to know more about Inquiry Learning? Keep your eyes out for another blog post. One just isn’t enough! 

Why you need to start using inquiry-based learning science activities

Inquiry learning has been a real buzzword of late – and that is for a reason! Schools that use an inquiry-based approach to learning report higher academic success and higher engagement and interpersonal skills in their students. Inquiry learning teaches grit and perseverance; it teaches students to self-regulate and to foster a growth mindset. Not only that, but teachers also report seeing significant improvement in student behaviour overall as students are engaged. Inquiry learning gives students ownership over their learning. It requires them to take an active role in their learning and solve tomorrow’s problems in today’s classroom. 

From structured inquiry to open inquiry, it helps focus students’ learning on questions or problems that need a solution. It fosters creativity and critical thinking skills with reflective practices. Doesn’t this sound like what we are all trying to teach our students? This is the reason inquiry learning resonates with me, and maybe it does for you too.

How to start using inquiry with your kindergarten science activities 

At its very core, inquiry learning starts with posing big questions. From ‘why does it rain?’ to ‘can we know with certainty what happened in the past?’ big questions focus inquiry. Questions can be posed by you, as the teacher, or even by your students, depending on the unit outcomes. Big questions are the heart of inquiry and bring focus to the inquiry cycle. 

Here are 5 easy and engaging inquiry ideas for kindergarten, year 1 and even year 2 

Science Sort Cards

This is one of my favourite inquiry activities for kindergarten (or any other grade). I have used this exact set of science sort cards multiple times from Nursery all the way to Year 2. I enjoy using them in a more open-ended way in the tuning phase of the inquiry cycle. Focusing in on students learning through and observing student talk. For example, when the topic of study is materials and their properties, I tell my students that they are sort cards, and then when they ask to sort by what, I usually just shrug my shoulders and say, ‘I’m not sure, what do you think?’ 🤷🏼‍♀️  This immediately gives students ownership over their learning and engages them. It also provides every student with an entry point to access their learning at their level.

I focus on conversations with my students, gleaning what they already know, asking them what connections they have made and why. Sometimes I might challenge their sorting, suggesting that maybe some cards can fit into both categories and see what they might do to solve the problem. This depends on the topic of study of course. When I use the alive vs never alive sort cards or the animals and their habitats sort card set, I structure the sorting, as opposed to weather sort cards, which is always much more open inquiry. The best part is that these cards can be used in so many different ways, even multiple times in one lesson. Keep an eye out for a post coming with numerous ways to use these in the classroom!

I know/I wonder questions. 

One of my other favourite ways to get students engaged during inquiry based learning science activities is to gather information on students interests to help direct their learning. During the tuning in phase, I get students to write on a post-it note anything they might know about the topic. I recently did this with my year 2 class on our rainforest unit. Then I asked them what they would like to know. I got great questions that already aligned with where we were going, such as ‘where are rainforests’ and ‘why does it rain so much?’ as well as other questions of interest such as ‘why do tigers have stripes?’ that I made sure to include into our upcoming lessons. This simple activity gives students a sense of agency over their learning and fosters student engagement. 

Photo hunt 

I take every chance to integrate technology into the classroom. One of my favourite inquiry based learning science activities for kindergarten is a photo hunt. I always use it in science lessons whenever I can, usually in the sorting out phase of the inquiry model. For example, in a unit on materials and their properties, I first discuss what materials my students can remember and where they might see them around the school.

Then we get the iPads set up and take them with us on our walk. The students always love to see parts of the school they have never seen before! When we get back to the classroom, we import them to Bookcreator and sort them by their materials, or perhaps by their functions and label materials are used. We might talk about why metal is used for the school silver seats rather than plastic or cloth or why the exit sign is plastic and not wood. Photo hunts and sorting can be used in many lessons such as man-made vs natural, plants, mini beast etc. 

Project-based 

Project-based inquiry revolves around the testing or taking action phase of the inquiry cycle. It provides students with a project to work on from its inception to the final product. It can be as simple as asking the questions, “what would happen if…chairs were made from paper? … a plant didn’t receive sunlight or water or both?” Not all project-based learning fosters an inquiry mindset. However, if it is student-focused and the students have ownership over their project, then definitely!

This doesn’t mean that students have to think of the project themselves (but they can). In WebQuests, which usually fits under a structured inquiry, students are still fostering inquiry skills such as self-regulation, critical thinking, and research skills, even though you, as the teacher, would design the projects. The STEM choice board is an easy way to integrate this into your classroom. Check out my STEM choice boards by topic designed for Kindergarten and Year 1. 

Problem based 

Similar to project-based, problem-based poses a problem to the students in which they have to solve. Can they create a home for a dragon that can withstand the elements? Can they design something that can measure wind speed? Students have free reign to use the knowledge that they have constructed and take action to create or design a solution. This design thinking can be heavily structure or guided, or completely open depending on the reasons for the task – just like inquiry.  

Feeling overwhelmed with where to start with including inquiry in your inquiry-based learning activities for kindergarten or year 1 and 2?

The Beginner’s Guide to Teaching STEM in the Public Classroom is an easy way to integrate inquiry learning today. Sign up here to get a free version. 

I hope these ideas help spark your curiosity and give you ideas of simple ways to integrate inquiry-based learning for elementary students into your classroom. 

Related articles: 

Simple Inquiry Based Learning at Home by Days with Grey

Resources and Downloads to Facilitate Inquiry-Based Learning by Edutopia 

6 Strategies for Creating and Inquiry-Driven Classroom by Teach Thought

Want to know more about starting your own blog too? Check out:

7 Helpful Tips on How to Blog Like a Boss by Kayse Morris

I know we are quickly gearing up for the next academic year so I’ve added some helpful blog posts below (especially if your a new Infants Teacher):

Goal Setting with Kids: 7 Tips for Teacher by Andrea Knight

21 Amazing Ideas for Activities on the First Day of School by Laura at Love Grows Learning

Welcome to Back to School Made Easy Guaranteed! by Zeba at Kindergarten Cafe

Do you love Inquiry Teaching? Then maybe International Teaching is for you, especially in an IB school. Want to know more…