Skip to Main Content
WAB Faculty & Staff

Elementary Library: Taking Action

Step 6

Engaging students in learning experiences that support them to put their learning into action is an essential component of inquiry. Through the applying learning and actively being involved in doing something with the learning students are able to review, revise, and reflect on what and how they have learned. 

Knowledge to Action

Constructing Knowledge and Turning it into Action
(Learning-Knowing-Doing)

Reflection

  • What do I know?  How do I know that I am right? How do I feel about this topic/concept?

Responsibility

  • Now what?  What do I do next?
  • What do I need to remember about this?
  • Does everyone understand?
  • How will I share my understanding?

Perspective

  • What lens am I seeing this through? 
  • How can I make someone else understand? 
  • Is there another way to look at this? 
  • Who uses or would use this information?
  • How can I make sure this action will impact others or myself?
  • Who will benefit?

Connection

  • Will this action be like anything else I have done?
  • Has someone else done something similar to this?
  • How is this topic/concept similar/different to other things I know? 
  • What will it remind me of?
  • Is there something that I already know that will help me understand?

Change

  • Has it always been like this?  How has it changed?
  • Can I do it differently?
  • What will this change for me?
  • What is this action going to change?

Function

  • What is my plan to put this action in place?
  • How will the plan work?
  • How I will use the information about this topic/concept?
  • How does it work?
  • What do I have to do?
  • How will I learn this?

Causation

  • Why do I need to know the information about this topic/concept?
  • Why is this topic/concept like it is?
  • Why does it work that way?
  • Why will this action make a difference in the world or in my life?
  • What is the purpose of this action?

Form

  • What do I need to do right now?
  • What information will need to know or find out about this topic/concept in order to describe/define/understand it?

Action Cycle

Spheres of Influence

When you’re planning your action, it’s easier to start with what you can do by yourself. Then, you might be able to influence how family to take action too, such as asking them to turn off the lights when they leave a room.

After that, with the support of your teacher and other adults in the school, you might be able to influence the school community. An example of this might be organizing the planing of a school garden.

Ideas for Taking Action: Young Heroes

Quick Links