Presenting four quadrants, the Parking Lot is a tool that captures students’ comments, ideas, reflections and questions as they arise. Displayed in the classroom throughout an inquiry, the tool provides teachers with a visual representation of students’ thoughts and wonderings about the topic. This tool may be supportive for students who avoid sharing their ideas in a large group. Consider also displaying a Parking Lot in your staffroom to inform ongoing communication and collaboration about inquiry practices.

Tip: provide sticky notes (or pre-cut scrap paper and blu-tac) and pencils near the Parking Lot to make contributing to it easy.