In Kindergarten, the inquiry process can be informal such as play, or it can be more formal such as a guided inquiry. During informal inquiries, children explore, wonder, and investigate the natural or constructed environments as the teacher structures, observes, and scaffolds learning through making adaptations to the instruction, materials, and environment to support student achievement of the curriculum outcomes. In a formal inquiry, the children explore the natural and constructed environments while the teacher guides the process. These two approaches are illustrated in the following two stories of Teacher A and Teacher B.

There are many different ways to implement an effective Kindergarten program. The following stories describe how two teachers effectively plan for experiences that will engage children in learning. Through their instructional stances, both Teacher A and Teacher B facilitate students' opportunities to explore the essential question, `what makes an object easier or harder to move on a surface?' Teacher A focuses on setting up the environment for children to explore, wonder, and discover. Teacher B also creates a dynamic environment, but chooses to do a guided inquiry with his students. Both groups of students are working towards achieving the outcomes by the end of Kindergarten

Teacher A sits down to plan a learning opportunity that will invite children to become engaged in achieving the selected outcomes for Kindergarten. She knows that the planning template on pages 30-31 in Children First: A Resource for Kindergarten (2009) asks teachers to provide children with play and inquiry-based learning opportunities in Kindergarten. As she begins to think about the environment, conversation, and play, she analyzes the outcomes to determine the types of knowledge required (i.e., factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive). She thinks about the evidence she will look for to see if students have achieved these outcomes. Then she considers how to create a meaningful play environment for the children in her class.

After looking through the outcomes for each area of study, Teacher A decides to create an environment around the science outcome FEK.1, Examine the effects of physical and magnetic forces, and light, sound, and heat energy, on objects in their environment . Thinking about a big idea or essential question, she chooses to focus on one part of the outcome, and formulates the question, "What makes an object easier or harder to move on a surface?" Teacher A plans to look for opportunities during the children's play to introduce vocabulary terms such as force, friction , and surface .

Teacher A wants to use an integrated approach so she reviews the outcomes from the remaining areas of study to keep them fresh in her mind as she interacts and has conversations with the children. The ELA outcome of CCK.3, Use oral language to converse, engage in play, express ideas, and share personal experiences (indicator - use oral language to engage in exploratory and imaginative play) stands out in her mind as one that is easily integrated as the children will be using oral language to converse, engage in play, express ideas, and share personal experiences daily. Teacher A writes herself a note to support oral language through thought-provoking materials and questions related to the science topic and to observe and record the oral language that is taking place during the play.

Teacher A wants to create an invitation to learn. She wants to construct an environment that will enable the children to explore the essential question, "What makes an object easier or harder to move on a surface?" Looking at the science outcome and indicators, she starts making a list of items to place in the environment that would enable children to achieve the outcome. Her list consists of such items as eavestroughs and cardboard to use as ramps, building blocks, magnets, rough surfaces (e.g., carpet samples, sandpaper), smooth surfaces (e.g., linoleum samples, plastic table cloths), metal objects, a water table and tuning forks, matchbox cars, marbles, and other toys that move. She places varying sizes of paper, paint materials, empty boxes and containers, clay, and a sand table in the environment.

As Teacher A continues to follow the sample planning form found in Children First: A Resource for Kindergarten (2009), she begins to think of conversations and questions that will potentially help scaffold the children's learning. Keeping in mind the integration of various areas of study, she notes the following as potential ideas for questions to ask and conversations to have with the children:

• Ask children questions that will encourage them to use language to describe the effects of applying forces of varying intensity on objects.
• Ask children to use personal directions and describe relative locations.
• Ask children what difference using more force makes on an object
• What happens if you hit the tuning fork to make a sound and then touch it to the water table? What do you think is happening? Why? If you hit the tuning fork and put it in the water, what happens to the water? Why?
• What do you notice about the colour, lines, and forms of these toys? Why do you think they were made like this?
• What ideas do you have to share with your classmates about what they are doing?
• How do you know which one will travel the farthest? Why do you think it travelled the farthest?
• Show me how you can build a (toy, ramp, etc.) to increase or decrease the amount of friction.

In the final step of planning, Teacher A reflects on some ideas for a play/inquiry focus in case some children need suggestions to get them started. Teacher A thinks she could suggest the children pretend to be a salesperson trying to sell a toy or a safety officer teaching others about toy safety.

When the classroom and invitation have been set up, Teacher A observes the children interacting and playing with the materials in the environment. She intervenes to question, comment, or to manage the classroom. She jots down comments that the children make and notes particular actions and interactions that occur. The following are examples of how Teacher A connects the play activity to the outcomes.

Teacher A watches Alex use too much force as the toy flies off the table, hitting Wayne in the back. Teacher A walks over to Alex and says, "We've talked about safe and unsafe behaviours. Why is what just happened an unsafe behaviour?"

"I pushed it too hard and it went off the table and hit Wayne" was the sheepish reply from Alex.

"What could you do differently to play safely?"

"Don't push too hard."

"Anything else?"

"Ummm, play with it on the floor so it won't fly off the table and hit Wayne."

Later, as Teacher A sits down to document and interpret the observations, she turns to the outcomes to refresh her memory. She knows that the conversation she had with Alex had direct connections to the health outcome USCK.2, Establish behaviours that support safety of self and others (indicators - develop the language with which to wonder and talk about safety; recognize "safe" and "unsafe" behaviours and situations; investigate safety guidelines and rules to keep one safe at school and at home; learn and practise safety procedures in a variety of school and home contexts; describe what children can do to support the safety of self and others). The interaction showed that Alex is developing the language with which to wonder and talk about safety. He is able to recognize safe and unsafe behaviours and situations, and is able to describe what children can do to support the safety of self and others. Teacher A keeps this learning in mind as she considers what to show in the documentation panel.

As Teacher A reflects further on her conversation with Alex, she realizes she could have introduced him to the term force . She makes a mental note to talk to Alex when he is engaged in a future related activity to introduce force into his expanding vocabulary.

Teacher A hears a conversation between two children who are playing with matchbox cars.

Ann: "Oh, look how far this car went! It's the farthest."

Ben: "No, it's not the farthest. The red one can go farther."

Teacher: "How could you figure out which one goes the farthest?"

Ann: "Have a race."

Teacher A: "When you race, what are you trying to do?"

Ben: "You want to beat the other person."

Teacher A: "That's right, the goal is to cross the finish line first. You two were talking about which car goes the farthest. Is that the same as crossing the finish line first?"

Ben: "No."

Teacher A: "What other ideas do you have to help figure out which one went the farthest?"

Ben: "You can do one car then the other and see which one stops farther away."

Ann: "We can put tape on the floor where they stop. Or we can use a measure. My mom used one when she put up the shelf in my room."

Ann: "We can put tape on the floor where they stop. Or we can use a measure. My mom used one when she put up the shelf in my room."

Teacher A: "Putting tape or string on the floor would let you place the two beside each other to compare them (Math SSK.1). I'll get you a tape measure while you go get some string. Let me know which one works the best and why."

The children wanted to compare which object went the farthest, and Teacher A knows that falls under the math outcome of SSK.1, Use direct comparison to compare two objects based on a single attribute, such as length including height, mass, volume, capacity (indicator - compare the length or height of two objects and explain how they compare using the words shorter, longer, taller, or almost the same ). She decides to add tape measures, rulers, tape, and a stopwatch to the environment to enable the children to explore this outcome in more detail. She also considers inviting the children to each bring to school one toy that moves so they can look at the designs of the toys, if interested.

As Teacher A walks away, she realizes that she could have also connected the discussion about the red car going the farthest with the arts education outcome of CHK.1, Investigate arts expressions found in own homes and school community in relation to own lives (indicator - describe arts expressions found in homes and community [e.g., music, heritage dances, puppet theatre, design of functional objects such as goalie masks, teapots, and running shoes]) and also posed the question, "How many fast things are red?" A discussion about the functional design of toys could include colour. She makes a mental note to draw the children's attention to this in the near future.

As the children's use of the terms force and friction start to become more common, Teacher A decides to expand the environment to the outdoors. She wants the children to explore force and friction using the swings to see who can swing the highest, and who can get the greatest number of swings back and forth from one push (without pumping legs). She also plans to take the scooters out as well so the children can explore the effects of force and friction as they push each other on the swings and use the scooters on a variety of surfaces. By taking the children to an outdoor environment, Teacher A is able to integrate the physical education outcome of PEK.5, Vary, with guidance, the movement of the body through changes in space (personal space, general space, levels, directions, and pathways), effort (time and speed), relationships (body parts and shapes).

When Teacher A plans, she typically knows where the learning experience will start and continually evolves the plan to address the children's questions and provide scaffolds for those students who require support to benefit from their explorations. While she has an idea of how to integrate the areas of study, she is always listening to the children to see where their interests are and planning how she can help them make connections to the learning required by the outcomes. When she documents her observations, Teacher A is always looking for more opportunities to provide new learning experiences and extend the children's understandings.

Teacher A observes, documents, and interprets the inquiry and learning that is taking place through play. As well, she continually reflects upon the environment, conversation, and play/inquiry that she has been observing. She reflects upon both her learning and that of the children, how she provided scaffolds to support student learning, and possibilities for future inquiries.

Teacher A regularly uses the reflective lens to ensure she is providing her children with a holistic experience within the context offered. Teacher A knows that daily opportunities for the children to develop a sense of belonging and to make contributions in their classroom, school, and communities are a part of providing holistic learning opportunities for the children. When children are given opportunities each day to explore and create, they are able to express their understandings of the world and develop their worldviews. Children who are provided opportunities to understand and share are able to develop their own ideas and express them in a variety of ways. Teacher A consciously uses the reflective lens to ensure the children are growing and developing holistically in each of the areas of the reflective lens.

Teacher B is sitting down to plan for Kindergarten. He has read Children First: A Resource for Kindergarten (2009) and wants to provide children with play and inquiry-based learning opportunities. As he begins to think about the environment, conversation, and play, he analyzes the outcomes to determine the types of knowledge required (i.e., factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive). He thinks about the evidence he will look for to see if students have achieved the outcomes. Then he considers how he can create a meaningful inquiry for the children in his class. After looking through the outcomes for each area of study, Teacher B decides to create an environment around the science outcome FEK.1, Examine the effects of physical and magnetic forces, and light, sound, and heat energy, on objects in their environment . Thinking about a big idea or essential question, he chooses to focus on one part of the outcome, and formulates the question, "What makes an object easier or harder to move on a surface?" Teacher B plans to look for opportunities during the children's play to introduce vocabulary terms such as force, friction, and surface .

Returning to the Kindergarten curriculum, Teacher B begins to consider ways he can integrate outcomes from the various areas of study. After some time, he decides to integrate the following outcomes:

Arts education CPK.4, Create art works that express own observations and ideas about the world (indicator - identify different lines, colours, textures, shapes, forms, and patterns in surroundings and art works, and apply this understanding in own work) and CHK.1, Investigate arts expressions found in own homes and school community in relation to own lives (indicator - describe arts expressions found in homes and community [e.g., music, heritage dances, puppet theatre, design of functional objects such as goalie masks, teapots, and running shoes]).

English language arts - CCK.1, Create and compose various visual, multimedia, oral, and written texts that explore and present thoughts, ideas, and experiences (indicators - contribute ideas and experiences and consider the ideas of others; share information and ideas with a group; explore ideas and information to make sense of experiences) and CCK.3, Use oral language to converse, engage in play, express ideas, and share personal experiences (indicator - use oral language to engage in exploratory and imaginative play).

Health education - USCK.2, Establish behaviours that support safety of self and others (indicators - develop the language with which to wonder and talk about safety; recognize "safe" and "unsafe" behaviours and situations; investigate safety guidelines and rules to keep one safe at school and at home; learn and practise safety procedures in a variety of school and home contexts; describe what children can do to support the safety of self and others).

Mathematics - SSK.1, Use direct comparison to compare two objects based on a single attribute, such as length including height, mass, volume, and capacity (indicator - compare the length or height of two objects and explain how they compare using the words shorter, longer, taller, or almost the same) and SSK.3, Build and describe 3-D objects (indicator - create a representation of a 3-D object using materials such as modelling clay and building blocks, and compare the representation to the original object; describe a 3-D object using words such as big, little, round, like a box, and like a can).

Physical education - PEK.5, Vary, with guidance, the movement of the body through changes in space (personal space, general space, levels, directions, and pathways), effort (time and speed), and relationships (body parts and shapes) .

Social studies - DRK.1, Describe the spatial relationships among people, places, and environments (indicator - demonstrate understanding of personal directions (e.g., left/right, up/down, front/back) and relative location (e.g, near/far, above/below)

Now that Teacher B knows the desired results, he begins to consider the assessment evidence. Knowing he wants the children to do a guided inquiry, he also wants to capture their imaginations. He develops a performance task and rubrics that would demonstrate a child's level of achievement of the outcomes. He plans on giving the students the task after they have had sufficient time to explore the environment, the concepts of force and friction, and the elements of art.

Teacher B's performance task is as follows: "You work for the Fun Times Toy Company. Your job is to create a toy that is able to move by force. This toy needs to look like a fun toy to play with, as we talked about earlier when we looked at the design of toys. As part of your job, you will have to tell your supervisor how you made the toy and why you made the choices you did. The forces and friction rubric explains what your supervisor will be looking for. You will have to complete a self-assessment rubric to decide if you did the best job you could do." Teacher B knows his students have used rubrics in the past, but he reviews the rubrics and explains what the icons on the self-assessment rubric mean. He will make some exemplars of toys so the class can clearly see what a toy that is a `wow!' (4) looks like compared with a toy that is `in progress' (1). The exemplars will help children to see what is expected of them before they start creating.

Table 2. Force and Friction Rubric

Essential Question "What makes an object easier or harder to move on a surface?"

Table 3. Self-Assessment Rubric

Looking at the outcomes and indicators, Teacher B starts making a list of items that are needed if the children are to achieve the outcomes in each area of study during the guided inquiry. The list includes such things as eavestroughs and cardboard to use as ramps, building blocks, magnets, rough surfaces (e.g., carpet samples, sandpaper), smooth surfaces (e.g., linoleum samples, plastic table clothes), metal objects, a water table and tuning forks, matchbox cars, marbles, and other toys that move. Additional items are clay, wood, hammer, nails, screws, screwdriver, string, springs, small wheels, tape measures, rulers, tape, empty boxes and containers, and a stopwatch. Elastics, old cookie sheets, wax paper, cans, empty boxes and containers, and duct tape were added to the long list of items he wanted in the environment

Teacher B writes ideas for questions to ask and conversations that may take place during the guided inquiry:

• Ask children questions that will encourage them to use language to describe the effects of applying forces of varying intensity on objects.
• Ask children to use personal directions and describe relative locations.
• What difference does using more force on an object make?
• What happens if you hit the tuning fork to make a sound and then touch it to the water table? What do you think is happening? Why? If you hit the tuning fork and put it in the water, what happens to the water? Why?
• What do you notice about the colour, lines, and forms of these toys? Why do you think they were made like this?
• What ideas do you have to share with your classmates about what they are doing?
• How do you know which one will travel the farthest? Why do you think it travelled the farthest?
• Show me how you can build a (toy, ramp, etc.) to increase or decrease the amount of friction.

Teacher B turns his planning to play/inquiry. He wants to guide his students in an inquiry into force and friction by giving them opportunities to play and explore these concepts. As they explore, he will introduce concepts and terms through conversation and questions. Because the performance task involves toy design, Teacher B wants to create opportunities for his students to inquire and explore the elements of art and toy design. He believes that a good starting point would be to have the children bring their favourite toys in and ask them questions to start them thinking about the design of the toys.

Teacher B sits down with his children to find out what they have to say about the essential question, `What makes an object easier or harder to move on a surface?' As they brainstorm their theories, he records them on chart paper. The children are then free to explore and interact with the environment while Teacher B observes their play and inquiries. After the children have had time to interact, inquire, and explore the environment, Teacher B gathers them together to add, change, or delete their theories as he records the responses. Teacher B realizes that the children are ready to have the terms force and friction introduced and explained to them. Once again, the teacher observes as the children play and inquire in the environment, providing scaffolds as required.

Keeping the performance task in mind, Teacher B knows the children also need to explore the elements of art. He wants to draw their attention to this through the use of toys. He begins by drawing the children's attention back to the essential question, `What makes an object easier or harder to move on a surface?' This time he refers to his observations and notices that one student said a ball was easier to move because it rolled. He reviews this conversation with the class and brings in the art concepts of line, colour, texture, shape, form, and pattern. He requests that each child bring a toy from home to help the class look at how art and design make an object easier or harder to move on a surface. He then gives the children time to explore, inquire, and interact with the environment and their new knowledge. Teacher B observes, documents, and interprets throughout this process.

While observing, documenting, and interpreting the children's play and inquiries, Teacher B decides it is time to give the children the performance task. Once again, he calls the class together to review what they have learned about the essential question, force, friction, and the role the elements of art play in toy design.

He then proceeds to explain the performance task. He knows his children have used rubrics before so he presents them to the class along with the exemplars he created. He has decided to wait to introduce presentation skills until the children are ready to present their toys. Teacher B explains to the children that if they need any additional supplies to build their toys, they should ask him for his assistance.

Once again, Teacher B observes, documents, and interprets the inquiry and learning that is taking place in the classroom. As well, he continually reflects upon the environment, conversation, and play/ inquiry that he has been observing. He reflects upon both his learning and that of the children, how he provided scaffolds to support student learning, and considered possibilities for future inquiries.

Teacher B regularly uses the reflective lens to ensure he is providing the children with a holistic experience. Teacher B knows that daily opportunities for the children to develop a sense of belonging and to make contributions in their classroom, school, and communities are a part of providing holistic learning opportunities for the children. When children are given opportunities each day to explore and create, they are able to express their understandings of the world and develop their worldviews. Children who are provided with opportunities to understand and share are able to develop their own ideas and express them in a variety of ways. Teacher B consciously ensures that his students can grow and develop in each area of the reflective lens.

The children in both Kindergarten classrooms had dynamic, stimulating environments in which to learn. Conversations were used by both teachers to determine the children's interests, prior knowledge, and scaffolds required to support learning. Teacher A and Teacher B both used play and inquiry as a key component of their Kindergarten program. The environments, conversations, and play were used in different ways, but children in both classes were able to work towards achieving the same outcomes.