Mini Unit

Janelle Leegstra, Megan Axford, Kayla

Matkowski

Lesson 1:
Grade: Five

Activity: How to make a good question

Goals/Key questions
Goals: This is a pre-lesson for the interview activity. Students will learn what embodies a good
question and how to create their own interview questions through critical
thinking.
Objective (connected to PofS):
Language Arts Outcomes
General Outcome 2: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to
comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts.
Specific Outcome 2.4: Create Original Text
o Generate Ideas: Use texts from listening, reading and viewing experiences as
models for producing own oral, print and other media texts
Students will demonstrate this by responding in written and oral form to multimedia examples
of interviews. They will then gain understanding of how to create their own original
interviews, by understanding what good questioning is.

Pre lesson Considerations

Lesson overview of main ideas to be learned and prelearning required:
Main Ideas: Students will make connections between a good question and a bad question, and
articulate how to create meaningful questions.
Prelearning: Students are able to read and write and use critical thinking skills. Students have
participated in discussions about identity and the self.
Considerations: Some students may not be able to write. Have them perhaps pair up with
someone else who can and discuss ideas after viewing videos in this
lesson.
Materials needed/preset up required/logistical considerations needed (seating
arrangement):
Exit slips for end of class (note cards)
Whiteboard/Chalkboard and Markers/Chalk
Graphic Organizer print-out, pens/pencils for students
Students will already be organized in table groups
Video will be prepared prior to class (test sound!)

Content:

Introduction (how
will you engage

What is the teacher doing?

Include Key questions, logistics, key
concepts that will be addressed, methods
of formative assessment

What are the students

doing?

Teacher will first engage the students in

Students will be taking

2
students?
Connections to
previous learning?)

Time
estimation: 8
min.

discussion by asking them why we need to

ask questions. (This will guide students
towards the GLOs and SLOs by getting
them to think critically, and respond using
their own ideas.)

turns contributing to the

discussion. Watch for
meaningful and
purposeful answers.

The teacher will then prompt the class by

asking what is a good question vs. a bad
one? (Students will likely comment on the
classroom policy, there are no bad
questions)

Students will be
contributing to the
discussion.

Teacher transitions to discuss the purposes

of an interview, and how there can be
good/bad questions during an interview.
Use Think, Pair, Share to get students to
consider why they think an interview
would be important, and why good
questions should be used in this situation.
Transition
considerations
Time est. 2 min
Activity 1
(add more if needed)

Time est: 8 min.

Students will engage with

their peers during Think,
Pair, Share and think
critically to gain an
understanding of the
purpose of an interview.

Teacher will introduce the Kermit the Frog

Interview (See video link below). Have a
student hand out graphic organizers (see
below) while video is being set up to
encourage students to take notes.

Students will help hand

out the organizer and shut
off all electronics and put
away distractions.

Teacher will show the Kermit interview to

the kids, while the children take notes in
the graphic organizer. Teacher must
maintain proper behaviour and respect
during viewing.
After watching the videos: teachers can get
students to talk in their table groups about
what the students found interesting about
the video, and have them discuss what they
wrote.

Students will be watching

the interviews and writing
down the key
concepts/questions of the
specific interviews
shown.

Teacher will be walking around with a

clipboard, observing and listening to the
students discussions. Teacher can take
notes on the quality of student discussion.
Following the table group discussions, the
teacher will prompt students to share
individually their findings, among other
things that they noticed during the videos.
The purpose of the discussion will be to
begin differentiating between a thoughtful

Students will be
discussing with their table
groups about the video
and sharing their
thoughts.

Students will share ideas

with the rest of the class

3
interview from a vague and fact filled
interview.

about what they have

talked about in their table
groups, elaborating on
relevance to a good
quality interview.

Transition
considerations
Time est. 2 min

Teacher will introduce the short interview

clips with real people in difficult situations:
1. Holocaust Survivor
2. Residential School Survivor
3. POW Survivor
Teacher will hand out second Graphic
Organizer (see below)

Students will prepare

their pens and paper to
respond using the graphic
organizer, and will again
dispose of all distractions.

Activity 2
Time Est: 15
min

Teacher will play the second video

comprised of three clips

Students will respond to

the video using the
graphic organizer.

(shortened video can be found at this link:

https://youtu.be/zT8ShQEjbsQ full video
links posted below)
Following the video, the teacher will ask
what questions were commonly used to
begin the interview, e.g. what is their name?
where are they from?
Teacher will prompt the students to discuss
why gaining background information is
important.

Students will respond to

questions and partake in
the discussion of how an
interview is structured.
Students are actively
listening and asking
questions if need be.

Students will pair up (groups of 2 or 3) and

ask each other simple background questions.
(3 min)
Teacher will walk around and encourage
students to ask questions that they do not
know the answers to. Take notes where
needed.

Activity 3

Teacher will call students back together and

ask them to read off some of their examples
of other questions that were asked during
the video.

Time est. 8 min.

Teacher will ask students to identify which

questions were the most engaging and got
the best answers.

Conclusion

Teacher will hand out exit slip and get

Students will respond

meaningfully during
discussion.

Students will be able to

4
-

How will you

know if students
learned what you
hoped?
Connections to
next lesson

Time est. 2 min

students to write a thoughtful question that

they could ask their family relating to
identity.
The teacher can take these exit slips and
review some good examples of deep
questions in the next class.
This will help add quality to the questions
that the students will be creating in the next
lesson during the family interview activity.

fill out the exit slip by

creating a question that
they could ask a family
member to gain insight on
how they view their
identity.

Assessment:
-During the lesson, the teacher will take notes on student participation and use those notes to
later assess student learning and perhaps find ways to work with struggling students to deepen
understanding. If student participation is lowered, the teacher can conclude that they may not
have a good grasp on the material, and can perhaps work with that student or review concepts in
class.
-At the end of the lesson, the teacher will hand out an exit slip as a formative assessment asking
students a good question that they could ask a family member to gain a deeper understanding of
historical events that could have impacted their families identity. Using these slips, the teacher
can assess the student's grasp of the meaning of a deep question. The teacher can review
concepts next class if it seems like they are not well understood.
Accommodations/Modifications:
Extension: After this lesson, the teacher could then move onto getting the students to create
more questions that they could ask their family, which then could lead to a full interview. The
second lesson will touch on how this relates to Canadian identity and events in Canadian history.
Kermit Interview (Ellen):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_AUn5poOmA
Residential School Survivor (full)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSR1uIyq2rU
Holocaust Survivor (full):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOvOpuSMS-U
Prisoner of War Survivor (Dresden) (full):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxpRNJan_xA

What did I see in the Kermit Interview?

What sort of questions were asked?

How did the interviewer respond to the questions?

What are some things I would do if I were the interviewer?

What did I see in the Historical Interviews?

What sort of questions were asked?
Holocaust Survivor

Res. School Survivor

POW Survivor

How did the interviewer respond to the questions?

Holocaust Survivor
Res. School Survivor

POW Survivor

What are some things I would do if I were the interviewer?

Holocaust Survivor

Res. School Survivor

POW Survivor