Focus on Essential Questions Allison Zmuda, Facilitator

Goal during this session Identify, create and refine essential questions to focus a given unit – Content focus – Skill focus

Design Standards for Essential Questions Frames and provokes thinking and dialogue Promotes inquiry and exploration rather than straight-forward answers Genuine, compelling questions that link the classroom to the outside world Requires drawing on prior knowledge to challenge and/or develop thinking and create new knowledge 3

Sample Skill Essential Questions How do I say what I mean? Why do people tell their stories? How do they tell them effectively? How do I use my inferences to draw conclusions? Is my conclusion supported by evidence? When does focusing on technique/method help? When does it get in the way? How do you make necessary adjustments? How can I use what I’ve learned to create something new or to solve new problems? How can I improve my performance?

Sample Content Essential Questions SCIENCE What makes objects move the way they do? What does it mean to be alive? How have human activities shaped local and global ecology? How does a body repair itself?

Sample Content Essential Questions PHYSICAL EDUCATION Am I challenging myself today? What adjustments do I need to make? How do I/we score? How do I/we prevent scoring from happening? What is the other team doing right or wrong? How does that change how I/we play? How does my understanding of the game enhance performance? What makes an effective team?

Sample Content Essential Questions SOCIAL STUDIES Why do people have to get along? (K-3 version) How do people, communities, and states interact? (4-5 version) What obligations do nations have to each other? (6-12 version) What makes NH special? (K-4 version) What makes New Hampshire a leader on the national stage? (5-12 version)

Sample Skill Essential Questions What do I already know? How can I use that to help me? Is there more that I need for this problem/task? Is there a pattern here? If so (or not) what does that tell me? Can I use this information to make predictions/generalizations? Does my answer/solution/conclusion make sense? What does it mean? What is the best way to explain it?

9 Essential Questions vs. Factual Knowledge

Final product: Content and Skill-based Essential Questions What kinds of experiences inform and shape a poet's work? How do I find what I’m looking for? How do I evaluate the usefulness and credibility of the source? How does one's point of view influence what we write and the way we write? What makes a web page easy to use? What makes a page interesting and inviting?

Final product: Content and Skill-based Essential Questions What do legends and folktales reveal about human nature? Who are the heroes in our lives? How do effective second language readers overcome the challenge of understanding texts where many words, expressions, and structures are unfamiliar? How do proficient speakers negotiate meaning? How can I use my limited vocabulary and grammatical background effectively explain ideas in writing so that other people can comprehend my message?

Final product: Content and Skill-based Essential Questions How do stories explain the world around us? How does purpose impact my writing?

Final product: Content and Skill-based Essential Questions What new challenges does this piece of music present? What patterns are in the music? How does that help me to perform it? How good is good enough? What am I learning from seeing and listening to others?

Need assistance? Right now… – Will be stationed in the auditorium and outside in the hall In between sessions… – – Will give advice based on the SAU 70 design standards for Essential Questions