ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS How Do I Write Them?

WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT CONCEPTS MY STUDENTS SHOULD LEARN FROM THIS LESSON/CHAPTER/UNIT?  Essential questions are concepts in the form of questions. Questions suggest inquiry.  Essential questions are organizers and set the focus for the lesson or unit.  Essential questions are initiators of creative and critical thinking.  Essential questions are conceptual commitments focusing on key concepts implicit in the curriculum

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS VS. LEADING QUESTIONS Essential  Asked to be argued  Designed to “uncover” new ideas, views, lines of argument  Set up inquiry, heading to new understandings. Leading  Asked as a reminder, to prompt recall  Designed to “cover” knowledge  Point to a single, straightforward fact - a rhetorical question

ESSENTIAL QUESTION FORMAT  Essential questions often begin with..  Why?  Which?  How?  What if?  Why do things happen the way they do?  Which do I select?  How could things be made better?  Which is best?  What if this happened?

CRITERIA FOR ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS  Each student should be able to understand the essential question(s).  The language of the questions should be in broad terms.  There should be a logical sequence to a set of essential questions.  Essential questions should be posted in the classroom.

WRITING ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS  What is your teaching objective?  Write the objective as a question.  Do you need smaller key questions?  Rewrite if necessary to make sure learners understand the question

WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS? SCIENCE  How do chemicals benefit society?  Are animals essential for man’s survival? Explain.  Does North Carolina have reason to fear a natural disaster? Which ones or Why not?  What must a scientist do in order to research something?

EXAMPLES MATH  When should I multiply? When can’t I multiply? When is multiplication most useful? Can multiplication make things smaller?  How is geometry used in the real world?  What is the role of geometry in advertising, architecture, or fabric design?  How would you explain, demonstrate, or draw the ________ process?

EXAMPLES SOCIAL STUDIES  How have ancient Greeks affected our society?  Why would the Europeans want to come to the colonies?  Why did your textbook include _____ in this chapter?  How does the economy of a society depend on the geography of the region?

EXAMPLES LANGUAGE ARTS  Why read?  What is the connection between reading and writing?  Do stories need a beginning, middle, and end? Why?  What does the “Bernstein Bears” teach us about life?

EXAMPLES TECHNOLOGY  How can the computer be used as a tool?  How would our culture be different without computers?  What process would you use to write a letter using Microsoft Word?  What are your top ten priorities when producing a news video?

EXAMPLES PHYSICAL EDUCATION  Why should you spend time stretching before and after an athletic event?  What are the top three rules in basketball? Why?  How can advertising affect a teen’s choices? ART  Why is art necessary?  How do people express themselves through art today?  How has art changed through time?  What choices must a painter make before beginning a work?

EXAMPLES Foreign Language  How is Spanish/French like and unlike English?  In what ways would learning a foreign language be beneficial?

I HAVE MY ESSENTIAL QUESTION, NOW WHAT?  Now you need to ask some basic questions in order to possibly revise it. These will also assist in generating lessons to lead students toward the answer.

BASIC QUESTIONS  What should the student have learned prior to the lesson?  What will the student need to know in order to answer the question?  What strategies will actively engage the student as they work toward the answer?  How will you know that the students are learning the information?  How will the students demonstrate their final answer to the question?

WRITING EFFECTIVE LEARNING TARGETS “I Can” Statements

WHAT ARE “I CAN…” OBJECTIVES  These are Essential Understandings that are written in a declarative form, in student- appropriate language.  They are designed to break big concepts or processes into smaller component steps.  Having them allows students to identify where they ‘got stuck’ in the process.  Although “I Cans…” seem to be the easiest type of EU to create, they may take more effort later in terms of keeping the students engaged with the Essential Understanding.

HOW TO MAKE AN “I CAN…” STATEMENT  First, select your standard: Math 3.6.3: Select, model, and apply formulas to find the perimeter, circumference, and area of plane figures.

HOW TO MAKE AN “I CAN…” STATEMENT  Step #1 - Write “I can…” in front of the standard: I can select, model, and apply formulas to find the perimeter, circumference, and area of plane figures.  Step #2 – Simplify into student-friendly language. I can find the area and perimeter of 2-D figures using more than one method.

Your Big “I Can…”: I can find the area & perimeter of 2-D figures using more than one method.  Step #3: Now…formulate smaller “I can…” statements that will serve as the steps for knowing how to do your BIG “I can…” statement.  I can explain the difference between area and perimeter of polygons.  I can find the area & perimeter of regular 2-D figures in at least 2 different ways.  I can locate the appropriate formula to use.  I can explain how the formula relates to the figure.  I can make number substitutions in a formula and accurately compute the answer.  I can make a good estimate of a reasonable answer for this type of problem.

TODAY’S ACTIVITY  Break out into groups with others teaching the same curriculum.  In these groups and using our sequence of instruction, create a future lesson plan on the template given using the Essential Question and “I Can” notes from today’s presentation.  Then transfer this lesson plan onto poster board.  Be prepared for someone from your group to present your final “poster” lesson plan in Focus meetings next week.