A.+Information+Skill

A Plethora of Poetry will cover each of Callison's Five Elements of Information Inquiry.
 * Questioning
 * Exploration
 * Assimilation
 * Inference
 * Reflection

However, the lessons I have included for both grade levels focus on the skill of Assimilation. According the Merriam-Webster.com, to assimilate means "to take into the mind and throughly comprehend". The lessons focus on the students taking the information they have previously learned during the unit and creating poetry.

Callison mentions on page 7 of //The Blue Book//, "Inquiry, properly applied, turns leaning into more than a gathering of facts. Assimilation through inquiry leads to consideration of a wider range of perceptions and options than simply those assumed by the learner." The students will start on a small scale. Discussing and discovering what they already know about poetry. The goal in the end is for the student to move from novice to expert as far as poetry is concerned. Let's remember that this is "expert" on a first and third grade level.

Assimilation is the synthesis aspect of inquiry. The students will be making poetry in order to show that they have gained knowledge and understanding.

Callison, Daniel and Leslie Preddy. __The Blue Book on Information Age Inquiry, Instruction and Literacy__. Westport: Libraries Unlimited, 2006. Print.