Questions to Help

Launch the Problem

Can you describe the problem in

your own words?

What do you want to find out?

What are the important facts in

the problem?

Is there anything in the problem

you do not understand?

What questions do you still

have?

Is there anything else you need

to know?

What materials can you use to

get started?

Which strategies will you use?

How will you record your

work?

Questions to Differentiate

Instruction While Students Explore

the Problem

To assess student progress, ask:

What have you done so far?

Explain how you are organizing your work.

What strategies have you used? Explain how you have used

them.

Does your answer seem reasonable?

Do you see a pattern? Can you describe the pattern?

Have you accounted for all possibilities? How can you be

sure?

Can anyone explain it another way?

To help students who are struggling:

Describe the problem to me in your own words.

Are there any words you don’t understand?

What questions are you trying to answer?

What strategies have you tried so far?

Can you make a table? Draw a picture? Act it out?

Have you solved a similar problem?

Can you make the numbers easier?

Are there other material you can use to help you?

What ideas have we learned that may be helpful to you?

To help student identify any important information they may

have overlooked, ask questions that are specific to the

problem:

Is there another step you may need to start with?

Does your solution make sense? How can you convince me?

Questions to Differentiate

Instruction While Students Explore

the ProblemTo challenge students who have successfully solved

the

problem ask:

Will your strategy always work?

Can you find other solutions?

Is there another way to solve the problem?

What would happen if…?

What patterns did you see? Can you extend the pattern for

x cases?

What if you stared with a different number?

What other problems have we solved that are like this

one?

Can you explain your work to the class?

Questions to Ask During the

Summarize Phase of the Problem

Solving

Why did you decide to do that step? What did you learn

from it?

Do you agree with what ___________ did? Why or Why not?

Did anyone get a different answer? If so, who is correct?

Can you justify your reasoning?

Did anyone solve the problem a different way? Can you

describe your work?

Who can restate what ___________ just said?

Will this method always work? Can you find a situation

where is will not work?

What did you learn from doing this problem?