Costa’s Levels of Questioning

What do young children do when they want to know something? Well, they ask A LOT of questions. What do people do in heaven? Where do babies come from? Will what happened to the dinosaurs happen to us? Why is water wet?

We learn by asking questions. “What we get out of literature depends on the questions we ask it.” The higher the level of question, the higher the level of thinking and the more you will learn.

We will use these styles of questioning for Socratic seminar. We want to ask questions that are demanding and require some serious brain activity. Not all questions are created equal.

LEVEL II LEVEL III LEVEL I There are three levels of questions we will become familiar with.

Why? Learning takes place when you PRODUCE knowledge not re produce it. Higher-level thinking questions help you dig deeper, and learning is richer and more rewarding. Making higher-level questions a habit of mind will make you smarter and more capable in ALL of your studies, not just English class.

LEVEL I FACTUAL QUESTIONS: have only one answer answers found in the text very concrete info is recalled in the exact manner/form it was heard short answers (usually 1 or 2 words)

LEVEL I Gathering and recalling information: Level I questions start with: define, describe, identify, list, name observe, recite, scan, explain, review locate, paraphrase

LEVEL I We need facts to think with. Think about the first 4 of our Who was the first president of the United States? What is your name?

LEVEL II INTERPRETIVE QUESTIONS more than one answer with evidence from text more abstract, one must infer in order to answer examines causes and connections involves finding information that supports ideas Short answer or essay

LEVEL II Making sense of the gathered information: Level II questions start with: analyze, compare, group, infer, contrast, sequence, illustrate, retell, synthesize, sort, diagram, summarize

LEVEL II These questions require you to think a little harder. We do a lot of Level II work. What is unique about you? Retell chapter 2 in the form of a children’s book.

LEVEL III EVALUATIVE QUESTIONS answer goes beyond text apply information asks for judgments to be made from information answer depends on personal experiences, values, interpretation of literature gives opinions about issues, judge validity of ideas Essay questions

LEVEL III Applying and evaluating information: Level III questions start with: apply, evaluate, hypothesize, imagine, judge, predict, speculate, compose, construct, critique

LEVEL III These questions require you think, reflect, and write. Which character suffered the most? Do you agree that all athletes should be drug-tested?

LEVEL II LEVEL III LEVEL I Learning takes place in levels II and III and right outside your comfort zone.

LEVEL II LEVEL III LEVEL I Apply and evaluate information Make sense of information Gather and recall information REVIEW:

____sequence ____apply ____analyze ____list ____hypothesize ____describe ____recite ____compare LEVEL II LEVEL III LEVEL I To which level do these words belong?

Ready for some questions a teacher might ask….

____Describe your study habits from last year. ____Generalize how a successful student should study. ____Explain how your study habits from last year will have an impact this year? ____What could you infer would happen if you study the same as you did last year? ____Illustrate the story. ____Imagine if you didn’t study…

____How does the poem begin? ____In your opinion, which of the characters suffered the most? ____How do the lawyer and doctor differ? ____Which states seceded from the union? ____How does the character’s violence reveal a deep-rooted insecurity. ____Using this equation, how can we find out the number of apple trees in an orchard having 15 rows, 5 trees each

Let’s try a fairy tale!

____How would you feel if you were the Giant? ____Retell the story in your own words. ____What did Jack trade for the beans? ____What is the moral of the story? ____What did Jack find at the top of the stalk. ____How is Jack’s personality like yours? ____How is this fairy tale similar to Cinderella? ____How would you solve a similar problem?

Now it’s your turn to write some questions of your own.