Riggen

=**PowerPoint Sidekicks: Inquiry Guides**=

**Sidekicks for Outdoor Learning Center by Beverly Riggen**
Avon Community School Corporation has an award winning [|Outdoor Learning Center] that located on school property. It is free for our teachers and students to visit throughout the year. The fourth grade class at my elementary has planned a field trip to the Outdoor Learning Center. Their assignment is to identify the plants and animals they see while on the trail at the Outdoor Learning Center. This “desktop space” for learners will help them identify plants and animals. The Inquiry Guide, adapted from Annette's example, includes voice instructions for the student to follow to solve the mystery. Please click on the sound icon located in the upper right hand portion of the slide to hear the voice instructions.

(Indiana's Mystery Wildflower Inquiry Guide) (Indiana's Mystery Wildflwer Inquiry Guide with Answer) (Indiana's Mystery Bird Inquiry Guide)

Riverboats & Railroads... by Jerry Yarnetsky
The Madison-Jefferson County Public LIbrary and the Jefferson County Historical Society partnered to create a digital history project about Madison, Indiana, in the age of steam. The [|River to Rail project] chronicles the rise and fall of our lovely rivertown as it was fueled and drained by the riverboat and railroad. I don't know why it took me three days, but it finally struck me that a teacher could use a Sidekick to guide students through the website. I oriented the sidekick toward fourth graders as that is the grade that studies Indiana history. In the sidekick I combined historical photographs and illustrations with timelines and inquiries that will force the students to explore the site. In the speaker notes I asked the questions and provided links that would give the students a head start, but not give them the answer. I did an intro slide and three activity slides for each of my sidekicks, but I could easily see being able to do a dozen slides each.

The first inquiry guide is about riverboats. Here is the [|original] and the [|sample with answers]. The second sidekick is about [|railroads].