Table of Contents

• What is inquiry?………...……………………………..1• Bloom’s Taxonomy……………………………..…….2• Questions to Engage Students’ Thinking Skills………3• Using the Questions: Tic Tac Toe…………………….5

– Tic Tac Toe Template………………………..…..6• Using Question Cards: Strategy Summaries..……..…..7

– Everyone Read To………………………………..8– Fan-N-Pick-Story…………………………….…..9– Cubing-Story…………………………………....10

• Cubing Template…………………………..11– Rally Coach……………………………………..12

• Rally Coach Template………..……………13– Short Takes

• Alphabet Summary………………………...14• Ticket to Leave…………………………….15

– Numbered Heads Together• Historical Characters Question Cards……..16• Journal Template…………………………..18• Question Starters Template………………..19

• Strategies to Extend Student Thinking………...…….20• References……………………………………………21

What is inquiry?

Inquiry is an approach to learning that involves a process of exploring the natural or material world, that leads to asking questions and making discoveries in the search for new understandings.

As teachers, we need to:

–1. Ask good questions

–2. Teach students how to ask good questions.

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Bloom’s TaxonomyKnowledge observation and recall of information

knowledge of dates, events, places knowledge of major ideas mastery of subject matter Question Cues:

list, define, tell, describe, identify, show, label, collect, examine, tabulate, quote, name, who, when, where, etc.

Comprehension understanding information grasp meaning translate knowledge into new context interpret facts, compare, contrast order, group, infer causes predict consequences Question Cues:

summarize, describe, interpret, contrast, predict, associate, distinguish, estimate, differentiate, discuss, extend

Application use information use methods, concepts, theories in new situations solve problems using required skills or knowledge Questions Cues:

apply, demonstrate, calculate, complete, illustrate, show, solve, examine, modify, relate, change, classify, experiment, discover

Analysis seeing patterns organization of parts recognition of hidden meanings identification of components Question Cues:

analyze, separate, order, explain, connect, classify, arrange, divide, compare, select, explain, infer

Synthesis use old ideas to create new ones generalize from given facts relate knowledge from several areas predict, draw conclusions Question Cues:

combine, integrate, modify, rearrange, substitute, plan, create, design, invent, what if?, compose, formulate, prepare, generalize, rewrite

Evaluation compare and discriminate between ideas assess value of theories, presentations make choices based on reasoned argument verify value of evidence recognize subjectivity Question Cues

assess, decide, rank, grade, test, measure, recommend, convince, select, judge, explain, discriminate, support, conclude, compare, summarize

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Questions to Engage Thinking Skills

Analyzing

How could you break down…?

What components…?

What qualities/characteristics…?

Applying

How is____and example of…?

What practical applications…?

What examples…?

How could you use…?

How does this apply to…?

In your life, how would you apply…?

Assessing

By what criteria would you assess…?

What grade would you give…?

How could you improve…?

Augmenting/Elaborating

What ideas might you add to…?

What more can you say about…?

Categorizing/Classifying/Organizing

How might you classify…?

If you were going to categorize…?

Comparing/Contrasting

How are ____ and ____ alike?

What similarities…?

What are the differences between …?

How is ___ different…?

Connecting/Associating

What do you already know about…?

What connections can you make between…?

What things do you think of when you think of…?

Decision-Making

How would you decide…?

If you had to choose between…?

Defining

How would you define…?

In your own words, what is…?

Describing/Summarizing

How could you describe/summarize …?

If you were a reporter, how would you describe…?

Determining Cause & Effect

What is the cause of…?

How does ___effect ___?

What impact might…?

Drawing Conclusions/Inferring Consequences

What conclusions can you draw from…?

What would happen if…?

What would have happened if…?

If you changed ___, what might happen?

Eliminating

What part of ___ might you eliminate?

How could you get rid of…?

Evaluating

What is your opinion about…?

Do you prefer…?

Would you rather…?

What is your favorite…?

Do you agree or disagree…?

What are the positive and negative aspects of…?

What are the advantages/disadvantages of…?

If you were a judge…?

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate…?

What is the most important…?

Is it better or worse…?

Explaining

How can you explain…?

What factors might explain…?

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Questions to Engage Thinking Skills

Experimenting

How could you test...?

What experiment could you do to…?

Generalizing

What general rule can…?

What principle could you apply…?

What can you say about all…?

Interpreting

Why is ___ important?

What is the significance of…?

What role…?

What is the moral of…?

Inventing

What could you invent to…?

What machine could…?

Investigating

How could you find out more about…?

If you wanted to know about…?

Making Analogies

How is ___ like ___?

What analogy can you invent for…”

Observing

What observations did you make about…?

What changes…?

Patterning

What patterns can you find…?

How would you describe the organization of…?

Planning

What preparations would you…?

Predicting/Hypothesizing

What would you predict…?

What is your theory about…?

If you were going to guess…?

Prioritizing

What is more important…?

How might you prioritize…?

Problem-Solving

How would you approach the problem?

What are some possible solutions to…?

Reducing/Simplifying

In a word, how would you describe…?

How can you simplify…?

Reflecting/Metacognition

What would you think if…?

How can you describe what you were thinking when…?

Relating

How is ___ related to ___?

What is the relationship between…?

How does ___ depend on ___?

Reversing/Inversing

What is the opposite of…?

Role-Taking/Empathizing

If you were (someone/something else)…?

How would you feel if…?

Sequencing

How could you put… in order?

What steps are involved in…?

Substituting

What could have been used instead of…?

What else could you use for…?

What might you substitute for…?

What is another way…?

Symbolizing

How could you draw…?

What symbol best represents…?

Synthesizing

How could you combine…? 4

Tic Tac ToeUse your higher-order thinking questions in a game-like format. Students choose (or write) questions to answer in an effort to complete a vertical or diagonal row, thereby answering a question at each of the different levels of thinking.

Application & Analysis

Synthesis

Evaluation

StoryExample

Compare the main character

of this story with another you’ve read.

Illustrate the turning point of the story.

Infer from the story what you might see in the main character’s bedroom. Create a collage that shows

what you might find.

Rewrite the ending so that it changes the meaning of the

story.

How would the story be different if the main character was a boy instead of a girl (or vice

versa).

Pretend that the story you just

read is made into a movie. Write a summary of the movie’s sequel.

Grade the author on his/her use of

interesting words & phrases. Give

examples & explain your grade.

Rank the characters in the story based on their character

traits. Explain your ranking system.

Judge the quality of the story based on at least 3 criteria that you think is important in the

story. 5

Tic Tac Toe1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

I __________________ will complete questions _____, _____, and _____.

Signed: __________________________ __________________________

Student Teacher

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Using Question CardsEveryone Read To…(pre-reading question-starters)-Individually or in partners, students ask two or more questions that they want to answer by reading the text. Students read the

text, looking for clues to answer their questions.

Fan-N-Pick– Student One fans cards– Student Two picks a card & reads it aloud to the team.– Student Three gives & answer after 5+ seconds of think time.– After another 5+ seconds of think time, student Four paraphrases, praises, or adds to the answer given.– Student rotate roles.

Cubing– Players take turn rolling the cube.– The player who rolls the cube begins by discussing the thinking question (TQ) that is face up.– While the TQ is discussed by all members of the group, the person who rolled the dice acts as the facilitator &

summarizes the conversation before the next player rolls the cube.Numbered Heads Together

– Students number off in their team.– Teacher poses a question.– Students discuss the question.– Teacher calls a student number & a team number.– The student shares what his or her team discussed.

Rally Coach– Each partner pair gets a set of question cards.– Student A reads the question out loud to student B.– Student B answers (you may want students to record their answers.)– Partners take turns asking and answering each question.

Journal Writing– Students pick one question card and make a journal entry or use the question as the prompt for an essay or

creative writing assignment.– Students share their writing with a partner or in turn with teammates.

Short Takes– ABC Summary: Give each student a different letter of the alphabet & ask them to think of one word or idea beginning with

that letter that is connected to the topic.– Draw a Picture: Students create a graphic summary of the topic.– Ticket to Leave: Give the students a question just before lunch, recess, or special area. After they answer it, they hand it to

you on their way out. Review the answers and respond in writing, use them as a starting point for the next lesson, or as a basis to reteach misunderstood information.

Learning Centers– Station 1. Question card center (Fan-N-Pick style)– Station 2. Journal writing center.– Station 3. Question-starter center: student write & trade questions, answer them, then pair up & compare their

answers.

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Everyone Read To…

Read to find out…

We found out…

Read to find out…

We found out…

Read to figure out…

We figured out...

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Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge

Fan-N-Pick

You are Wilfrid’s friend. He assigns you to bring something

WARM What would you bring from

your home? Why?

You are Wilfrid’s friend. He assigns you to bring something

FROM LONG AGO What would you bring from

your home? Why?

You are Wilfrid’s friend. He

assigns you to bring something

THAT MAKES YOU CRY

What would you bring from your home? Why?

You are Wilfrid’s friend. He

assigns you to bring something

THAT MAKES YOU LAUGH

What would you bring from your home? Why?

You are Wilfrid’s friend. He

assigns you to bring something

PRECIOUS AS GOLD

What would you bring from your home? Why?

What could you do to help an older person

in your life?

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Story Cube

1. What personal connections do you

make with this story?

2. What connections does the author of the

book make with the world?

3. What connections can

you make between this book & other books you have

read?

4. What questions did you have before you read the story?

Were they answered when you

read the story?

5. Tell 5 big, fat, interesting words you find as you

read this story. Why did you choose

them?

6. Find 5 words from this story that would be good to act out. Explain

why.

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Cubing Template

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Rally Coach

Name__________________

Date_____________

Name__________________

Date_____________

A grandfather had 3 grandchildren. He bought each grandchild a pair of mittens. How many mittens did he buy?

Write an equation for each question and solve it. Write an equation for each question and solve it.

A girl saw 10 snowmen on her way home from school. Two had red hats, the others had green hats. How many snowmen had green hats?

Molly waited for her son at the bus stop. She saw eighteen eyes on the bus. How many people were on the bus?

There were five children sledding on the hill. How many legs did the children have all total?

There were 24 cookies in the container. The three Johnson children each wanted some. What is the most amount of cookies each child could have if they split them evenly?

Lauren had fifteen dolls. Her mother told her she could only keep ten dolls because they were taking up too much space. How many dolls did Lauren get rid of?

Write your own story problem here and solve it.

Write your own story problem here and solve it.

Write your own story problem here and solve it.

Write your own story problem here and solve it.

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Rally Coach

Name__________________

Date_____________

Name__________________

Date_____________

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ABC Summaryfor __________________

A______________________________________________________

B______________________________________________________

C______________________________________________________

D______________________________________________________

E______________________________________________________

F______________________________________________________

G______________________________________________________

H______________________________________________________

I______________________________________________________

J______________________________________________________

K______________________________________________________ L______________________________________________________ M_____________________________________________________N______________________________________________________ O______________________________________________________ P______________________________________________________ Q______________________________________________________ R______________________________________________________ S______________________________________________________ T______________________________________________________ U______________________________________________________ V______________________________________________________ W_____________________________________________________X______________________________________________________ Y______________________________________________________ Z _____________________________________________________ 14

T icket to L eave

T icket to L eave

T icket to L eave

_____________________________________________________________________

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Ticket to Leave Template

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Historical CharacterQuestion Cards

If the character were alive now, what might he or she accomplish

today?

How is this character like or

unlike you?

This character has come back to visit the president of the U.S. What advice

might the character give him?

How might the world be different

today if this character never

lived?

One’s values are revealed by one’s

actions. What is the most important

value reflected by the actions of this

person?

Consider the

accomplishments of this character. If

you were this character, of what accomplishment

would you be most proud? Why?

If you could ask this person two questions, what would they be?

Why do you want to ask them?

This person has been granted three wishes to change

today’s world. What might they

be?

If there were one action of this

person you could change, what

would it be? Why?

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

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Historical CharacterQuestion Cards

Describe the physical

characteristics of this person. If you could change one, which one would

you change? Why?

If the character took a two-week vacation today,

where might he or she choose to go

and why?

You have been granted one day to go back in history

to become this person. What would you do differently?

Suppose this person were

transported to the middle of World War II. What role might he/she play?

This person sits at

home alone writing in a diary. He or

she starts to write, “The one thing that

bothers me the most…” Finish the idea and tell why.

You’ve been granted special

powers that make you invisible and

let you travel through time. What event in the life of

the character would you choose to

observe? Why?

You have opened a letter written to this character’s

best friend. It says, “My greatest regret

is…” Finish this sentence and tell

why.

16 17 18

13 14 15

10 11 12

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Historical CharacterJournal Writing Question

Write your response to the question below. Be ready to share your response.

Question:__________________________________________

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

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____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

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Historical CharacterQuestion Starters

Use the question starters below to create complete questions. Send your questions to a partner or to

another team to answer.

1. At what point _______________________________

_____________________________________________

2. What characteristics __________________________

_____________________________________________

3. If you were this character ______________________

_____________________________________________

4. What is another way __________________________

_____________________________________________

5. What influence ______________________________

_____________________________________________

6. How could you summarize ____________________

_____________________________________________

Strategies to Extend Student Thinking

• Call on students randomly (not just those who raise their hands.)

• Remember “wait time” (ten to twenty seconds following a “higher level”

question.)

• Ask follow-ups (“Why?” “Do you agree?” “Can you elaborate?” “Can you

give an example?”)

• Withhold judgment by responding to student answers in a non-evaluative

fashion (“Thank you.” “Thanks for sharing.”)

• Ask for summary to promote active listening (“Could you please summarize

Mike’s point?”)

• Survey the class (“How many people agree with the author’s point of

view?”)

• Allow for student calling (“Ashley, will you please call on someone else to

respond?”)

• Play devil’s advocate (require students to defend their reasoning against

different points of view.)

• Ask students to “unpack their thinking” and describe how they arrived at an

answer (Think-aloud.)

• Student questioning (let students develop their own questions.)

• Cue student responses (“There is not a single correct answer for this

question, I want you to consider alternatives.”)

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References

Bloom, Benjamin. Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals: Handbook I, cognitive domain. New York ; Toronto: Longmans, Green. 1956.

Kagan, Spencer. Cooperative Learning. San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing. 1994.

Kagan, Spencer. Thinking Questions for Primary Literature. San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing. 1994.

Kagan, Spencer. Thinking Questions for Social Studies. San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing. 1994.

Taylor, T. Roger. Strategies to Extend Student Thinking. www.dist102.k12.il.us/resources/staffresources/ igapisat/think.htm

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