Site Information Restate information Something I learned

Creating Essential Questions Essential questions arise from people’s attempts to learn more about the world we live in. They allow us to explore what knowledge is, how it came to be, and how it has changed through human history. It is always poised at the boundary of the known and the unknown. The essential question reaches beyond itself and is embedded in ideals of freedom, strength, and possibility. It engages the imagination. http://www.galileo.org/tips/essential_questions.html

The essential question comes when people are trying to learn more about something. It makes us think about things more in-depth. It is not a simple yes or no question. There has to be a thought process used to find the answer.

This is not necessarily something that I learned, but something that was reiterated to me. “Imagination knows no bounds, no restrictions; nor do the questions we pose when we cultivate our powers of imagination.” This statement is so true and so often forgotten.

From Trivial Pursuit to Essential Questions and Standards-Based Learning This site begins talking about the trivial pursuits that some teachers make their students complete. Essential questions call upon our best thinking and touch upon that which defines what it means to be human. There is a big difference between knowledge and having an understanding of something. Essential questions require students spend some time thinking about the meaning and importance of the information. http://www.fno.org/feb01/pl.html

Essential questions are at the root of all learning. They are what make us look deeper to have a greater understanding of a topic. They are the type of questions that get inside us and don’t let go. We have to find the answer which also gives us answers to the greater questions in life.

I learned that I don’t know very much about gargoyles! Actually I hadn’t thought about how much some teachers do require students to complete trivial pursuits. Students are just looking up answers and not really understanding anything new. The information isn’t sinking in.

Framing Essential Questions Essential questions make research motivating and meaningful. They require students to evaluate, synthesize, or analyze. They spark our curiosity and sense of wonder. Answers to essential questions cannot be found; they must be invented. Answering these questions may take a lifetime. They engage students in real-life problem solving. http://www.fno.org/sept96/questions.html

Essential questions give the students more meaning with the assignment rather than just looking up information. They have to research, research, and then research some more. It makes us want to find an answer to the interesting topics created by these questions. They can encompass other subjects and skills.

The fact that some answers may never be found, only tentative ones is something I learned. I know there are questions that don’t have answers, but as a teacher, aren’t I supposed to know the answer? Or at least be able to help the students find the answer?

Filling the Tool Box This article is about developing a lesson or group of lessons having the students help develop the essential questions. It

Having the students develop the questions for the unit will make them feel more a part of their own learning. It becomes

I liked the idea of the five minute question. There are too many times that I ask a

begins with the students brainstorming questions which then, throughout discussion, are developed into essential questions. Then the questions are separated into categories. Students can then use this concept with their homework assignments. They can also be asked to think like an interviewer. Reporters ask questions that flow from or stimulate curiosity. The article also mentioned the five minute question. Telling the students that the question coming up is a one minute or five minute question lets them know they will have to think about it for awhile to discover an answer. http://www.fno.org/toolbox.html

something that they want to research because they were part of the process. When the questions are put into categories, they are learning that you have to have the right question to find the right answer. If they then use this process with their homework, they might expand their learning even further than just completing the assignment.

question and get no answer because it was a recall question and no one remembers. Asking a five minute question would require them to think about the answer and not just wait for me to tell them the answer or for the one “smart” student to blurt out the answer.

A Questioning Toolkit Essential questions are those which touch our hearts and souls. They probe the deepest issues confronting us. The greatest novels, plays, songs, and paintings all explore essential questions in some way. They offer the organizing focus of a unit. There are subsidiary questions that help build answers to the essential questions. These are smaller questions that lead to insight. http://www.fno.org/nov97/toolkit.html

Essential questions are those that give us an “ah-ha” moment when we find the answer; if we can find an answer. The greatest stories of all time include essential questions as to the who, what, when, where, why, and how of our universe.

I learned how to word essential questions in a more efficient way. The examples this article listed were great.

Summary Most of these resources said basically the same thing. The essential question is the one that makes us think. They help us define what it means to be human. They are more than a simple answer; a yes or no won’t do it. These sites made me understand what is meant by the words “essential question”. I had heard it before but didn’t really have my head wrapped around it quite yet. This assignment made me completely understand what it means and how to apply them in my classroom. I really liked the concept of letting the students help come up with the questions. We shouldn’t reject any question, but keep brainstorming until most of the questions become essential questions. I truly think that the students will be more inclined and excited to look for the answers to the questions that they helped create than to answer questions that I provide them. I did take a little time to look as some of my assignments that I give students. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was using essential questions more than I

thought. However, I am really going to be looking at my questioning technique a lot differently from now on.