Solutions: The Beginnings of a Grade 7 Inquiry

As an introduction to the Grade 7 Science unit on Solutions, the students were divided into groups and asked one simple question: What is a solution? Together, the students were invited to write and draw what they thought a solution was in any context. This was left open-ended, so students could document it in any context that made sense to them (i.e. - mathematical, scientific, etc). Here is a sample of what one group came up with at that point:

Following this, the students shared their findings with the class. Through a discussion facilitated by the teacher, the students were then asked to narrow down what they thought a solution was in a scientific context, as well as write any questions they have about them. Together, they were able to narrow their focus down to a scientific understanding of what a solution was. This activity enabled the teacher to see what their understanding of what a solution was and identify the gaps were before embarking on anything further. This activity also provided a great springboard for students to begin questioning and wondering about what they could find out about solutions to extend and refine their own learnings and understandings about this particular topic. Here are samples of what they came up with in their groups:

Overall, this was the beginning of one Grade 7 class's journey into inquiry!