CREATING ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS Essential Questions have no one answer.

Essential Questions  enables all to learn.  involve thinking, not just answering.  makes you investigators.  are provocative- they hook you into wanting to learn.  offer a sense of adventure, are fun to explore and try to answer.  requires you to connect learning from several disciplines.  challenges you to demonstrate that you understand the relationship between what you are learning and larger world issues.

What is an essential question?  A question that probe for deeper meaning and sets the stage for further questioning.  Fosters the development of critical thinking skills and higher order capabilities such as problem-solving and understanding complex issues.  In general, the best essential questions center around major issues, problems, concerns, interests, or themes relevant to students' lives and to their communities.  Good essential questions are open-ended, non- judgmental, meaningful and purposeful.

Bloom’s Taxonomy & Essential Questions  Essential questions reside at the top of Bloom's Taxonomy (Bloom, 1954).  They require students to  EVALUATE (make a thoughtful choice between options, with the choice based upon clearly stated criteria),  SYNTHESIZE (invent a new or different version)  ANALYZE (develop a thorough and complex understanding through skillful questioning).  Essential questions spark our curiosity and sense of wonder. They derive from some deep wish to understand some thing which matters to us.

Bloom’s Taxonomy EvaluationSynthesisAnalysisApplicationComprehension Knowledge

Do’s and Don’ts  Asked to be argued  Designed to “uncover” new ideas, views, lines of argument  Set up inquiry, heading to new understandings.  Asked as a reminder, to prompt recall  Point to a single, straightforward fact  a rhetorical question What you want to do:What you don’t want to do:

To start out with…  Essential questions often begin with..  Why? Why do things happen the way they do?  Which? Which is best?  How? How could things be made better?  What if? What if this happened?  Finally, utilize the six typical queries that newspaper articles address: Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How? and add the word "good" in front of the theme or concept.

Sample Essential Question Stems  How was this similar to...?  What was the underlying theme of...?  What do you see as other possible outcomes?  Can you explain what must have happened when...?  How is... similar to...?  What are some of the problems of...?  Can you distinguish between...?  What were some of the motives behind...?

Some more stems….  What is a possible solution to...?  What would happen if...?  Is there a better solution to..  How would ___ have handled...?  Do you think... is a good or a bad thing?  How would you feel if...?

Works Cited Stuart-Bayer, Sandy. “Essential Questions”. Lee’s Summit High School. n.d. Web. 22 February “Essential Question Model”. Sandborn Regional School District. n.d. Web. 22 February 2010.