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It’s all about asking the right questions. Questioning 101. Hornets Nest Elementary School Millie Snyder, Principal D.J. Midgett, Media Specialist. I Can Teach That Kid How to Conduct Research with A Coat Hanger and aComputer. .
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It’s all about asking the right questions Questioning 101 Hornets Nest Elementary School Millie Snyder, Principal D.J. Midgett, Media Specialist
I Can Teach That Kid How to Conduct Research with A Coat Hanger and aComputer.
Allow us to make sense of the world. They are the most powerful tools we have for making decisions and solving problems, for inventing, changing and improving our lives as well as the lives of others. Jamie McKenzie Questions
Powerful Questioning • Leads to Information Power The ability to… • Fashion solutions • Make decisions • Create plans That are original, cogent, and effective
Information Gap We, as educators, must address the ever increasing gap between The rich and the poor Not the economic gap, But the information one… The FUTURE is held in the hands of the informational rich David Thornburg, Futurist
Research & Write • First step of the R&W cycle • Requires lots of prior planning • Probably the most difficult and critical step of the cycle • Definitely MESSY!
Why Research & Write • Students learn best when they USE what they find out, to construct their own answers to higher-level questions • Constructivism
Why Questioning? • Once you have learned how to ask relevant and appropriate questions, you have learned how to learn and no one can keep you from learning whatever you want or need to know • Teaching as a Subversive Activity
Why Questioning? • Taps Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) • Using the cerebral cortex
Where do I begin? • Think about thinking. (Metacognition) • Talk about questions • Discuss the differences between questions and statements • Brainstorm question words, stems or kernels
Questions & Statements • Make a statement. • Write it on a sentence strip. • Turn the statement around and make it a question. • Write the question on a sentence strip. • How does the statement begin? • How does the question begin?
Questioning Web Sites • From Now On www.fno.org • The Great Question Press: Squeezing Import from Content • 21st Century Literacies http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/21stcent/sitemap.html • Questioning www.questioning.org • Questioning Strategies • http://www.css.edu/USERS/ggaetz/Student.pages/Questioning_Strategies_webpage.html • Inquiry Page • http://inquiry.uiuc.edu/
Question Words Ask students to list some question words - words that begin questions. With each word they give you, use it in a simple question (or if it isn’t a question, use it in a statement). If the word they give is the beginning of a yes-no question, give an example and stress that the question is a simple one.
Deck of Questions • Take six index cards. • Write a question word on each card. • What do you notice about many of the words? • Now sort the cards into two piles • Words that promote skinny or simple answers • Words that promote fat or complex answers
Who? What? When? Where? How? Why? What if? Person Thing Time Place Require thoughtful more elaborate answers. Question Words
How do I plan for the use of technology in questioning and research? CONTROL the questions
Don’t Begin with the TopicBegin with an essential question that encompasses the topic
Essential QuestionThe BIG Question • Allows students to build their own answer • Uses the information gathered to analyze, evaluate, and/or synthesize • Usually begins with how, why, what if, or which • Can’t be “looked up”, but must be built using researched information
Essential Question Examples • How does the wind help and hurt us? • How are animals alike and different from us? • Why are whales endangered and how can we protect them? • Why have we, in our society, forced animals to live in cities? • How can we accomplish our dream job? • How will learning about the stars help us to learn more about the Earth?
Supporting QuestionsLittle Questions that Hold Up the Big One • Work backwards from the essential question to come up with supporting questions • Limit your number of supporting questions • K-2nd three to five • 3rd-5th five to eight
Why have we, in our society, forced animals to live in cities? Supporting Questions • 1. What is city wildlife? • 2. Where do they live in the city? • 3. What do wildlife in the city eat? • 4. How does mankind "feed" these critters? • 5. What plants grow wild in the city? • 6. What wildlife is found in your backyard or on your school ground? • 7. What changes have we caused in our environment that affect wildlife?
Find the Resources and Answers before you start. Tools • Q & A Chart: Questions and Answers • Graphic Organizer Planning • Open Court Stories • Variety of resources • Availability of resources • TECHNOLOGY
Questioning with Students Inspiration or Kidspiration Thinking Maps Planning for Resources Authentic Websites TrackStar Gathering Information Search Engines Digital Camera Document Camera Video Microscope Scanner Sorting & Sifting Information Search Engines NoteStar Synthesizing: Creating a Work Product Student Writing Center PowerPoint (trading cards, biocubes, artifact cubes) Online graphing software (graphs of all types) Spreadsheets (timelines) Evaluating PowerPoint (Presentations) RubiStar Planning for Technology Use
Online Tools: www.hprtec.org • ThinkTank • Research organizer • TrackStar • Organize and annotate websites • NoteStar • Organize projects and take notes online • Web Worksheet Wizard for Teachers • Project Poster for Students – student created quick & easy web pages • RubiStar • Create and find rubrics • QuizStar • Create Quizzes
Online Tools for Classroom Use • Kathy Schrock: http://kathyschrock.net/cooking/ • Bibliography Maker • Boolean Machine (for searching) • Citation Maker and Citation Machine • Create a Graph • Create a Venn Diagram • Project Interactive (math tools) • SurWeb (online multimedia presentations & photo collections) • Timeline Maker
Excel or other spreadsheet Timelines Charts Graphic Organizers PowerPoint Trading Cards Billboards Biocubes Artifact Cubes Using Conventional Software in Non-Conventional Ways
Triceratops • Description • 15-20 feet tall • 25 feet long • 5-7 tons • Diet • Plants such as palms and cycads • Fossils Found • Western Canada • Western U.S.
Questioning Session with Students • Guide their thinking • Steer them towards the big picture • Give them Think Time • Record questions • Think about the relationship of their questions to the essential and supporting questions • If you keep working at it—they will generate the right questions.
Create Categories • Group their questions into categories • Align the categories to your supporting questions • Model how you categorized • Circle keywords
Concept Question Board • Record and display your questioning session • Utilize the Concept Question Board • Make copies of your transparencies to compare later work
Use Realia Real Stuff! • Wind • Pinwheels, Kites, Anemometers, Bubbles • Habitats • Sailboat, Moss, Shells, Rocks, Vines, • Storytelling • Artifacts like old bottles, antiques, folk toys • Communication • Record player, photo copier, Braille, typewriter, radio • Stars • Telescope, sextant, compass, spyglass, GPS
Pumpkins Habitats Community Helpers Online Pumpkins Farms http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/pumpkins/farms.html#OL Virtual Field Trips http://www.uen.org/utahlink/tours/fieldtrips2.htm Real People Interviews http://teacher.scholastic.com/commclub/ Use Authentic Web Sites
The Mystery Coat HangerAn example of how it’s about process, not content • What do I know? • Name • Services • Location? • Phone Number • What do I want to know? • Where is it located? • How old is it? • Is it still there? • How do I find out?
Kindergarten – Second Grades • MODEL, MODEL, MODEL • May need to assist in rewording the question • Explain what you are doing • Model thinking for them
Kindergarten: How are apples and pumpkins alike and different? • What color are apples and pumpkins? • What shape are they? • What do they need to grow? • What do the plants look like when they are growing? • How long does it take for them to grow? • How big do they grow? • How do we eat them?
First GradeHow do plants and animals in a habitat depend on each other? • What is a habitat? • Why is the soil in a habitat important? • Why is the temperature in a habitat important? • Why is the water in a habitat important? • What kind of plants live in certain soils? • How much water and temperature do the plants and animals need? • What kind of plants do the animals need?
Second GradeHow do fossils tell us about dinosaurs? • How big was your dinosaur? • How do we know? • How much did your dinosaur weigh? • How do we know? • What did your dinosaur eat? • How do we know? • Where did your dinosaur live? • How do we know?
Revisit Questioning at the End of the Research & Write Cycle Evaluate the product in terms of the supporting questions and essential question