You see children working in small groups on the floor, at tables, in all parts of the room.
Heads are bent together in deeply-focused observation or discussion.
These are first graders independently exploring the laws of physics, or, as they experience it, experimenting with balls and ramps. While many educators may be doubtful that children as young as five or six years old have enough background knowledge, skills, stamina, or initiative to engage in independent investigations in science, I have found that they can and will, with great success. In my first year doing inquiry in a kindergarten classroom, I focused on my own role as facilitator. During this unstructured exploration time, children discovered interesting aspects of how things worked, and their natural interests were sparked. They also formed theories from which questions would later arise.