Tell students there are many types of questions but today they will be focusing
on four different types. These types are:
- Yes -No question - this type of question elicits a "yes"
or a "no" answer. For example, if I were to ask you if you were
in the Fourth Grade, you would all answer "yes."
- Inch question (also called the "hand" question for
Kindergarten and First Grade students, and "recall" question
for middle and high school students) - an inch question requires
a one-word answer and generally little research. Usually the answer
can be found in one source. Examples of a one-inch question are:
"How many states make up the United States?" or How long is the
Mississippi River?"
- Foot question (also called the "elbow" question
for Kindergarten and First Grade students, and "comprehension"
question for middle and high school students) - a foot question
requires students to read a passage, a page or several pages and
come up with an answer to the question using their own words. Examples
of a foot question are: "How did the original 13 colonies become
the United States?" , "How was the Mississippi delta formed?"
- Yard question (also called the "arm" question for
Kindergarten and First Grade students, and "synthesis" question
for middle and high school students) - a yard question requires
students to look for the answer in a variety of sources, synthesize
that information, and draw their own conclusions. Examples of a
yard question are: "How does Hawaii's location and climate affect
its economy?" , "If George Washington had not been our first president,
how might our history have been different?"
|
Student Interaction
Tell the students you are going to read each of the questions on the transparency
and they are to signal you as to whether the question is a "yes - no" question,
an "inch" question, a "foot" question, or a "yard" question and why they think
the question is one of these types. Have the entire class signal you using
the following signals:
|
Signaling with
your fist indicates it's a "yes - no" question.
Signaling with your hand indicates you think the question is an "inch"
question.
Signaling by pointing to your elbow means you think the question is
a "foot" question.
Signaling with your arm raised indicates you think the question is a
"yard" question. |
Read the questions and have the students signal. Ask different students to
justify their answer. "Why do you think it is an 'inch' question, a 'foot'
question, a 'yard' question?"
Student Work
Next, have students, in their cooperative groups, generate three questions
for each of the four question categories. Once students come to consensus
in their cooperative groups on three questions for each question type, have
them write these questions on sentence strips with thick-tipped black markers
(make sure that students write the entire question on the front of the sentence
strip).
Each cooperative group, in turn, puts up their "yes - no" questions in
one of the four pocket charts set up around the room. As each group puts
up their "yes - no" questions in the "yes - no" pocket chart, the other
groups check over these questions to see if they agree.
If students in the other groups disagree as to whether a specific question
fits the "yes - no" category, they ask the presenting group "to help them
understand why the question is a "yes - no" question.
Each group, in turn, presents their "yes - no" questions and defends their
choices to their classmates.
Once the class has finished with the "yes - no" questions, move on to
the "inch" questions in the same manner, however, this time have the last
cooperative group go first.
Continue this process for the "foot" and "yard" questions alternating
cooperative groups (second cooperative group goes first for the "foot" question
and the third cooperative group goes first for the "yard" question).
Assessment
For homework, each student is to generate two questions for each category:
"yes - no," "inch," "foot," and "yard." The questions are to be turned in
at the beginning of the next class period. The teacher reviews the questions
to assess who understands the difference between these different types of
questions.
Continuous Thread
This learning experience needs to be revisited throughout the year. As students
ask you, the teacher, a question, say to that student, "That's a really
good "inch" question." As you hear students asking one another questions,
step in and say, "Boy, you just asked a great "yard" question!" "Do you
know why it is a "yard" question?" The teacher should also ask students,
as he/she hears questions from students, "In which category do you think
the question you just asked belongs?" Students become familiar with the
different kinds of information that generating different types of questions
provides. In this manner, you insure that questioning skills become a continuous
thread of instruction throughout the year. This will be an important skill
for students to have in place as they become ready to generate research
questions for a particular area of study.
Home I Next
Lesson
 |
This
page was last updated February 21, 2002
This lesson was created to support the AT&T/UCLA Initiatives
for 21st Century Literacies.
Developing Different Types of Questions was created by Sharon
Sutton
|
| 