Ms. Rocket invites a small group of students to gather around the
computer screen monitor to review the acid rain data that has just arrived
from their classroom pen pals in Sweden. She writes on the white board
three analytical questions that she wants them to discuss in their group.
She writes a pass for another student who is going to the library to
conduct a phone interview with the local water management division and
briefly reminds the student of the the mini lesson on phone protocol
that she presented last week. Ms. Rocket then turns to a group of students
using calculators to summarize the data collected at the school's rain
station. After reviewing several students' individual work, she invites
them to watch as she uses the overhead projector to show them how their
math calculations need to be modified. Two of her students return from
the outdoor weather station and she motions to a nearby counter where
they can place the decanters full of rainwater. After that she stops
back by to check on the students who are discussing the computer data.
Ms. Rocket then bends down to quietly prompt a student who is not
participating in the group. As she listens to the students' discussion,
she jots down several notes about their comments. Later he will transfer
these notes to individual observation sheets that she keeps to reflect
on students' progress on the schools' goal to increase critical thinking
skills.