1. Costa’s Levels of Questioning

2. Costa’s Levels of Questioning
Level 1 - Remember
The Book Only
Key Words
Students Show Understanding
Define
Decide
Identify
Label
List
Match
Memorize
Name
Observe
Recall
Recite
Record
Repeat
State
Discuss
Explain
Express
Extend
Find
Generalize
Give examples
Locate
Paraphrase
Recognize
Report
Restate
Review
Rewrite
Summarize
Tell
The answer can be found in text or lesson (directly or indirectly
Very concrete and pertains only to the text or lesson.
Asks for facts about what has been heard or read.
Information is recalled in the exact manner/form it was heard or read.
Ask Level 1 questions to identify what students know about the problem or question and connect to prior knowledge.
Level 1 questions cause students to recall information. This level of question causes students to input the data into short-term memory, but if they don’t use it in some meaningful way, they may soon forget it.

3. Level One Question RECALL (Elbow Partner)
What do you do outside of school? (sports, art, video games, movies, shows, dance, read, etc.)

4. Costa’s Levels of Questioning
Level 2 - Understand
Students
Key Words
The Book and the Brain
Explain or Create
Apply
Change
Demonstrate
Discover
Dramatize
Group
Illustrate
Imply
Infer
Interpret
Practice
Prepare
Pretend
Relate
Sequence
Translate
Use
Analyze
Break down
Categorize
Compare
Contrast
Criticize
Debate
Diagram
Differentiate
Discriminate
Distinguish
Divide
Experiment
Outline
Point out
Question
Select
Separate
Arrange
Assemble
Combine
Compile
Compose
Construct
Design
Devise
Draw
Formulate
Generate
Modify
Organize
Prepare
Propose
Revise
Write
The answer can be inferred from the text.
Although more abstract than a Level One question, deals only with the text.
Information can be broken down into parts.
Involves examining in detail, analyzing motives or causes, making inferences, finding information to support generalizations or decision making.
Questions combine information in a new way.
Ask Level 2 questions to begin processing the information gathered, make connections and create relationships.
Level 2 questions enable students to process information. They expect students to make sense of information they have gathered and retrieved from long and short term memory.

5. Level Two: BREAKDOWN
Level 2: Break down what occurs when you participate in this hobby (What do you do? Be specific.)

6. Costa’s Levels of Questioning
Level 3 - Decide
Key Words
Students Give Supportive Evidence
The Brain Only
Assess
Choose
Conclude
Decide
Estimate
Evaluate
Hypothesize
Imagine
Judge
Justify
Measure
Predict
Rate
Select
Speculate
Summarize
Value
Prove or support your answer.
Explain why or why not.
Justify how you know your answer is correct.
Determine if there are other possible solutions.
Apply the problem to a real life situation.
Teach the material to another student.
The answer goes beyond the text.
Is abstract and goes beyond the text.
Ask that judgments be made from information.
Gives and justifies opinions about issues or ideas.
Judges the validity of ideas or other products.
Ask Level 3 questions to apply the knowledge acquired and connections made to predict, judge, hypothesize, or evaluate.
Level 3 questions require students to go beyond concepts or principals they have learned and to use these in novel or hypothetical situations.

7. Level Three: JUDGE
Level 3: Would others enjoy your hobby? Explain why or why not.

8. Think-Pair-Share
What sort of information did you receive when you asked a level one question? A level two question? A level three question?
Discuss with your shoulder partner the differences between these types of questions. Be prepared to share!

9. Level 1
What information is given?
Locate in the story where…
When did the event take place?
Point to the…
List the…
Name the…
Where did…?
What is…?
Who was/were…?
Illustrate the part of the story that…
Make a map of…
What is the origin of the word __?
What events led to __?
Level 2
What would happen to you if…?
Would you have done the same thing as…?
What occurs when…?
Compare and contrast __ to __
What other ways could __ be interpreted?
What is the main idea of the story (event)?
What information supports your explanation?
What was the message in this piece (event)?
Give me an example of…
Describe in your own words what __ means.
What does __ suggest about __’s character?
What is the author trying to prove?
What evidence does he/she present?
Level 3
Design a __ to show…
Predict what will happen to __ as __ is changed
Write a new ending to the story (event)…
Describe the events that might occur if…
Add something new on your own that was not in the story…
Pretend you are…
What would the world be like if…
Pretend you are a character in the story. Rewrite the episode from your point of view.
What do you think will happen to __? Why?
What is most compelling to you in this __? Why?
Could this story have really happened? Why or why not?
If you were there, would you…
How would you solve this problem in your life?

10. Exit Slip
For each level of questioning, explain why you think that type of question is important to reading.
Consider how these types of questions can help you understand and explain the information you have read as well as your opinion.
Name_________ Date_______ Pd____
Level 1 –
Level 2 –
Level 3 –