Unit 5:  Exploring Expository Texts and Open Inquiry Projects.

 

• Essential Questions:

  • What do you notice you do when reading expository texts? How does this differ from when you read narratives?

When you read expository texts, you learn about information that you might have not known about before, since expository texts are based on facts. Narratives, instead, tell made up stories, and its purpose is to entertain you, not to inform you.

• What does the word inquiry mean to YOU?

To me, inquiry means being curious and wanting to know and learn about things, maybe something specifically.

• What are the characteristics of an effective team?

I think a team needs to:

• Give support to each other and help each other when needed.

• Divide work in an even way, where everyone works the same amount.

• Check in every now and then to make sure everyone is on track.

These things are important, and if you do not do the three of them, your work might end up being less successful than what you would have expected.

• Do expectations make a difference?

Expectations can make a difference, but it depends. If person A has certain expectations on person B but person B doesn’t know this, then person B probably won’t satisfy person’s A expectations, and that will make person A disappointed. But if person B knows the expectations of person A, he will put more effort and dedication into whatever he is doing in order to satisfy person A. So I think expectations can make a difference when people know what the expectations are.

• What factors do you consider when evaluating a website?

• Good arguments and explanations for each of them.

• Completed questions.

• Evidence that has to do with the questions.

• Visually: that it looks good and organized.

 

• How can you find the information that you need?

It depends on what information it is, but usually the internet can give you all or most of the information you are looking for. Otherwise, you can contact people who might know about the information you need, and let them tell you.

• What does it take to be an effective communicator?

I think being an effective communicator is being able to express your ideas clearly, making sure other people understand what you are talking about, listen to other people’s ideas, thoughts and opinions, and be open-minded when other people share their thoughts.

• How does what you learned in this unit connect to the real world?

When doing our Open Inquiry Project, me and my teammates did a lot of research about universities in USA because that is where we would like to go once we finish high school. It connects to the real world because it has to do with what we want for our future.

• Evidence: Open Inquiry Project

• Learned the Most: Out of the entire unit, I think I learned the most with this project because we did a lot of research on universities, their requirements, the campus life of each, and a variety of other things that is useful for me to see if I would like to go to any of those once I graduate high school. Also, since this project was about information that I need in a more personal way than the rest of the things we have learned about, I know that I will not forget about it anytime soon, since everything I learned about is very useful and will be very useful for at least the following few years.