1. Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Programs of the Intel Education Initiative are funded by the Intel Foundation and Intel Corporation. Copyright © 2007 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel and Intel  Education are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Curriculum-Framing Questions

2. Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. 2 Asking Questions is Contagious It promotes authentic learning, which encourages students to ask more questions Students are more likely to become self-directed learners because they are interested in the answers Students see the connections between the subject being taught and their world—it can change their whole outlook on what education is about

3. Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. 3 Curriculum-Framing Questions include Essential, Unit, and Content Questions To target higher-order thinking skills –To require comparison, synthesis, interpretation, evaluation, etc. To ensure student projects are compelling and engaging –To require more than a simple restatement of facts To focus on important topics –To connect learning to other disciplines and other topics of study –To ask questions that have been asked throughout human history –To address compelling questions that students ask Why Use Curriculum Framing Questions?

4. Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. 4 Essential Questions Are broad, open-ended questions: –Address big ideas and enduring concepts –Are engaging and meaningful –Spark curiosity –Pose a reasonable challenge –Require higher-order thinking skills –Have answers that cannot be looked up in a book –Often cross disciplines and help students see how subjects are related Example: – Essential Question: Why do we need others?

5. Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. 5 How Do Essential Questions Help Teachers? They help teachers focus on important topics in their year- long curriculum They raise important questions across content areas (Math, Science, Literature, History, etc.). They center around major issues, problems, concerns, interests, or themes that also occur in other units. They help teachers promote authentic inquiry

6. Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. 6 How Do Essential Questions Help Students? (cont.) Essential Questions bring meaning and focus to the study of events and topics throughout a project or course, which otherwise may seem arbitrary or unrelated. They engage students’ imagination and connect the subject with their own experiences and ideas. There is no one, obvious “right” answer, so students are challenged to explore many possibilities. They encourage in-depth discussion and research, and set the stage for further questioning. They help students compare, contrast, and make analogies.

7. Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. 7 Unit Questions Are open-ended questions that tie directly to a project or unit Pose a reasonable challenge Require higher-order thinking skills Help students construct their own answers and their own meaning from the information they have gathered Help answer the Essential Question Examples: –Essential Question: Why do we need others? –Unit Question: Which of our community helpers is the most important? Which community helper would you most like to be?

8. Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. 8 How Do Unit Questions Support Essential Questions? Essential QuestionUnit Questions How can math help me understand the world around me? – What are fractals good for? Why have stories always been important throughout history? – Why do we still read Shakespeare? How is Shakespeare’s work relevant to my life? How does art reflect or change society? – How does impressionist art reflect life in the late 1800’s? – How does your own art reflect your life and culture? What does it take to change the world? – How did the policies or actions of Abraham Lincoln affect America in the 1860’s? – How do the policies and actions of Abraham Lincoln affect your life today?

9. Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Programs of the Intel Education Initiative are funded by the Intel Foundation and Intel Corporation. Copyright © 2007 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel and Intel  Education are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. How Different Unit Questions Support a Single Essential Question in One Classroom Early Explorers Unit Question: Why leave one’s home and family to make a new life in a strange land? Civil War Unit Question: Why would someone fight to the death against brother, neighbor, and friend? French Revolution Unit Question: What could move the masses to revolt? How did the French Revolution change their world and yours?

10. Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. 10 Teams of teachers from different disciplines can use their own Unit Questions to support one Essential Question Social Studies Unit Question: How does war change the economy? Science Unit Question: How do animals adapt to a changing environment? Language Arts Unit Questions: In literature, how do the characters in [book title] respond to conflict? Why do humans often react to conflict with violence? How does [book title] help us to understand our complex human nature?

11. Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. 11 Content Questions Have a narrow set of correct, fact-based answers Often relate to definitions, identifications, and general recall of information (example: questions found on a test) Help answer the unit questions Examples: –Essential Question: Why do we need others? –Unit Questions: Which of our community helpers is the most important? Which community helper would you most like to be? –Content Questions: Who are some community helpers? What do these community helpers do?

12. Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. 12 What is the Difference Between an Essential Question and a Content Question? Essential QuestionsFact-based, “One” Answer Content Questions How does art reflect culture or change it? What is renaissance art? How does an organism succeed in its environment? What is the life cycle of a frog? How does conflict produce change? What is the conflict in the story? Why do laws change? How are laws made? Is history a history of progress? Who is an important inventor and what did he/she invent?

13. Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. 13 How Do Content, Unit, and Essential Questions Support Learning? Sample Standard Concept 3: Organisms and Environments Understand the relationships among various organisms and their environment. Sample objective Students will be able to identify an ecosystem and explain how the organisms within an ecosystem are connected and interdependent. Content Questions How do I collect information and display it in a graph? What urban animals are there and what do they need to survive? Unit Question How can urban wildlife and humans live together successfully? Essential Question How can we all get along? Project Using actual wildlife injury data from a local wildlife rescue center, students learn what animal species have been injured, the causes of injury, and the effects of reduced urban wildlife. Students provide recommendations to reduce human caused injury to wildlife and present a summary of their findings and recommendations to the local Audubon Society, the Humane Society, neighborhood associations, and other interested groups. At the end of each public presentation, students gather public reaction to the data, and publish the findings and ideas in an informational brochure for the public.

14. Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Hints for Writing Essential and Unit Questions Brainstorm questions on your own, then work with other teachers, or your own students, to refine them. Essentials Questions are more likely to begin with How and Why than with What, Who, or When. – Avoid questions asking for definitions or an understanding of a “simple” process. Ask yourself if the questions have basically only one, or one narrow group, of correct answers; if they do, they are not Essential or Unit Questions. – What is the life cycle of a frog? – Who was Mozart? Do the questions requires students to reflect on, evaluate, analyze, or synthesize the subject matter. – Will students need to take time to answer the questions well?

15. Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Hints for Writing Essential and Unit Questions (cont.) Not so simple, but important, tips Think about why that topic is important to teach. What compelling questions have scholars asked throughout time? How have human beings acquired the knowledge that students need so they can understand the world around them? –Why is the universe the way it is? –How does this subject fit into the “real world”? What connections can students make to their own lives? –What makes my body work? –What can I do to keep my body healthy and strong?

16. Copyright © 2008 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Let’s Practice! I have an activity for you!