Teaching students how to ask questions as well as asking questions to your students will not only assess knowledge, but also increase higher-level thinking. Helping students reason, think critically, and work through problems will aid in helping students also understand the subject more thoroughly. It is important to provide students with a range of questions from lower-level to higher-level thinking. There are a variety of ways to ask questions and a variety of ways to let your students think about the answers to these questions. What is vital is that you give the appropriate time and technique to reason the answer. A lower-level question does not need more than 30-60 seconds of thinking. Whereas a high-level question may need five minutes or even a whole semester to answer.
ReQuest
This is a chance for each student in a small group or partnership to get practice answer questions and also asking questions. This exercise allows students to generate questions or to ask questions given by the teacher in order to test their peers in a low-threat environment. This also allows the teacher to move around the classroom and listen in on the conversations to see if the questions being asked are good enough or to see how the students comprehension is.
This is a chance for each student in a small group or partnership to get practice answer questions and also asking questions. This exercise allows students to generate questions or to ask questions given by the teacher in order to test their peers in a low-threat environment. This also allows the teacher to move around the classroom and listen in on the conversations to see if the questions being asked are good enough or to see how the students comprehension is.
ReQuest | |
File Size: | 30 kb |
File Type: | doc |
Text Impressions
This technique is right in line with the common core and getting students to first think critically and write. A list of vocab/terms are put on the board or presented to the class and the class is instructed to write a summary about what they think they will be learning. This is used at the beginning of a lesson or unit and is a chance for students to think about, with anticipation, what they will be learning. The key is that students must use all the words in their summary.
This technique is right in line with the common core and getting students to first think critically and write. A list of vocab/terms are put on the board or presented to the class and the class is instructed to write a summary about what they think they will be learning. This is used at the beginning of a lesson or unit and is a chance for students to think about, with anticipation, what they will be learning. The key is that students must use all the words in their summary.
Text Impressions | |
File Size: | 156 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Question-Answer Relationship
Questions are categorized in four parts that stretch thinking across the literal to the abstract. These are questions that can help direct and guide teachers to creating questions for their students based off of reading or in the case of an art class, a video. The form attached is the layout and example of how you could set up the questions with the visual for the students to see what they are to answer.
Questions are categorized in four parts that stretch thinking across the literal to the abstract. These are questions that can help direct and guide teachers to creating questions for their students based off of reading or in the case of an art class, a video. The form attached is the layout and example of how you could set up the questions with the visual for the students to see what they are to answer.
QAR Form | |
File Size: | 287 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Essential Question Graphic Organizer
A year long essential question, a unit-long objective or a day's lesson can be taught using a graphic organizer with questions. This is similar to the Question Pyramid, however, there is more direction and can even have some sentence frames for the ELs. This is helpful for students to see visually both what they are expected to be able to answer, and also what to look for throughout a lesson, unit, or the year. Right is an example of a graphic organizer I've created. |
Bloom's Taxonomy Higher/Lower Level Thinking
Teachers should know and understand the difference between higher level thinking and lower level thinking. Bloom's Taxonomy shows a non-numerical scale of how to ask questions that span from comprehension (lower-level) to creatively applying the material (higher level thinking). It can be helpful to have students work individually on their lower-level questions and in partners for the higher level thinking. The handout attached is an example of both lower and higher level thinking aligned with Bloom's Taxonomy.
Teachers should know and understand the difference between higher level thinking and lower level thinking. Bloom's Taxonomy shows a non-numerical scale of how to ask questions that span from comprehension (lower-level) to creatively applying the material (higher level thinking). It can be helpful to have students work individually on their lower-level questions and in partners for the higher level thinking. The handout attached is an example of both lower and higher level thinking aligned with Bloom's Taxonomy.
Bloom's Taxonomy Questions | |
File Size: | 100 kb |
File Type: | docx |
TEN Essential Art Questions
These ten questions are intended to focus my students' learning over the course of the year, these are questions that will pop up in each lesson and unit. By the end of the year I would expect students to be able to write and explain the answers to these questions. Many are subjective, but the students would need to know how to answer and give evidence form the year to support their answers. Another graphic organizers or a well laid-out "binder" or "portfolio:" would help keep students organized and able to help them answer these ten questions.
These ten questions are intended to focus my students' learning over the course of the year, these are questions that will pop up in each lesson and unit. By the end of the year I would expect students to be able to write and explain the answers to these questions. Many are subjective, but the students would need to know how to answer and give evidence form the year to support their answers. Another graphic organizers or a well laid-out "binder" or "portfolio:" would help keep students organized and able to help them answer these ten questions.
Ten Essential Questions | |
File Size: | 145 kb |
File Type: | docx |