1. The Essential Question

2. What is it? Essential: something inherent, needed, basic. Question: an expression of inquiry that requires or invites an informative reply. –Inquiry: a close examination of a matter for information or truth

3. Characteristics of an Essential Question Has no right or wrong answer May start with how, why or which Is open ended: cannot be answered with a “yes” or a “no” Leads us to ask other questions Requires us to analyze information and make our own judgments, conclusions or decisions Deals with issues of great importance to us as human beings, citizens, and/or individuals Challenges us to make connections between what we learn in various subjects and larger world issues

4. Subsidiary Question Subsidiary questions support and help answer Essential Questions Subsidiary questions uncover the who, what, where, when, why, which, and how of Essential Questions

5. The Process of Developing an Essential Question

6. Where do I start?

7. Step 1 Consider what you know and what you need to know about a topic

8. Step 1 Ask and answer the who, what, where, why and how questions about your topic. –You must be informed before you begin to formulate your essential question

9. Step 1 As you research, ask yourself the following questions: –Does this topic arouse my natural curiosity? –If so, what does it make me wonder about? –Why is this topic an important one to explore? –What connections can I make between the topic and my life?

10. Step 1 Practical considerations: –Can this question be adequately answered in the amount of time given? –Can I access published information that will help me answer this question? –Where do I begin to look for information? –Has this research been done before? If so, how can I investigate it from a different angle to make it my own?

11. Now that I’ve done some research – what next?

12. Step 2 Narrow your focus Example #1: Civil Rights > Civil Rights Leaders > Malcolm X > Extremisms > Example #2: Westward Expansion > Mexican American War > Manifest Destiny as Justification

13. OK – now what?

14. Step 3 Create an essential question

15. Step 3 Here’s how – using Example #1: Civil Rights > Civil Rights Leaders > Malcolm X > Extremisms > Preliminary question: Was Malcolm X’s militant approach justified? Essential question: To what extent was Malcolm X’s militant approach harmful or helpful to achieving the goal of the civil rights movement?

16. Step 3 Here’s how – using Example #2: Westward Expansion > Mexican American War > Manifest Destiny as Justification Preliminary question(s): Are Americans morally superior? To what extent has our foreign policy in Latin America bee driven by our belief in our moral superiority? Essential question: To what extent did our foreign policy in the Mexican American War and our intervention in Haiti reflect our belief in our moral superiority?

17. Step 3 What makes these essential questions? To what extent was Malcolm X’s militant approach harmful or helpful to achieving the goal of the civil rights movement? To what extent did our foreign policy in the Mexican American War and our intervention in Haiti reflect our belief in our moral superiority? They require you to: create new knowledge compare and contrast and form a judgment.

18. Next step?

19. Step 4 Continue creating more focused questions (subsidiary questions) that will guide you through your research and help you develop an answer to your essential question. These questions should be more focused and directly related to your essential question.

20. And finally?

21. Step 5 Formulate an answer to your essential question based upon your research.

22. Sources http://www.fairfield.k12.ct.us/ludlowehs/cludlowehs22 /essential_question.htmhttp://www.fairfield.k12.ct.us/ludlowehs/cludlowehs22 /essential_question.htm http://www-personal.umich.edu/~krajcik/DQ.html Webster’s II New Riverside University Dictionary Photos found through Google images