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 Taxonomy
Knowledge  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 2
 Questions to Engage
Thinking Skills
Analyzing Defining
How could you break down…? How would you define…?
What components…? In your own words, what is…?
What qualities/characteristics…? Describing/Summarizing
Applying How could you describe/summarize …?
How is____and example of…? If you were a reporter, how would you describe…?
What practical applications…? Determining Cause & Effect
What examples…? What is the cause of…?
How could you use…? How does ___effect ___?
How does this apply to…? What impact might…?
In your life, how would you apply…? Drawing Conclusions/Inferring Consequences
Assessing What conclusions can you draw from…?
By what criteria would you assess…? What would happen if…?
What grade would you give…? What would have happened if…?
How could you improve…? If you changed ___, what might happen?
Augmenting/Elaborating Eliminating
What ideas might you add to…? What part of ___ might you eliminate?
What more can you say about…? How could you get rid of…?
Categorizing/Classifying/Organizing Evaluating
How might you classify…? What is your opinion about…?
If you were going to categorize…? Do you prefer…?
Comparing/Contrasting Would you rather…?
How are ____ and ____ alike? What is your favorite…?
What similarities…? Do you agree or disagree…?
What are the differences between …? What are the positive and negative aspects of…?
How is ___ different…? What are the advantages/disadvantages of…?
Connecting/Associating If you were a judge…?
What do you already know about…? On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate…?
What connections can you make between…? What is the most important…?
What things do you think of when you think of…? Is it better or worse…?
Decision-Making Explaining
How would you decide…? How can you explain…?
If you had to choose between…? What factors might explain…?
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 Questions to Engage
Thinking Skills
Experimenting Prioritizing
How could you test...? What is more important…?
What experiment could you do to…? How might you prioritize…?
Generalizing Problem-Solving
What general rule can…? How would you approach the problem?
What principle could you apply…? What are some possible solutions to…?
What can you say about all…? Reducing/Simplifying
Interpreting In a word, how would you describe…?
How can you simplify…?
Why is ___ important?
Reflecting/Metacognition
What is the significance of…?
What would you think if…?
What role…?
How can you describe what you were thinking when…
What is the moral of…?
Relating
Inventing
How is ___ related to ___?
What could you invent to…?
What is the relationship between…?
What machine could…?
How does ___ depend on ___?
Investigating Reversing/Inversing
How could you find out more about…? What is the opposite of…?
If you wanted to know about…? Role-Taking/Empathizing
Making Analogies If you were (someone/something else)…?
How is ___ like ___? How would you feel if…?
What analogy can you invent for…” Sequencing
Observing How could you put… in order?
What observations did you make about…? What steps are involved in…?
What changes…? Substituting
Patterning What could have been used instead of…?
What patterns can you find…? What else could you use for…?
How would you describe the organization of…? What might you substitute for…?
Planning What is another way…?
What preparations would you…? Symbolizing
Predicting/Hypothesizing How could you draw…?
What would you predict…? What symbol best represents…?
Synthesizing
What is your theory about…?
How could you combine…?
If you were going to guess…?

4
 Tic Tac Toe
Use 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

Compare the Infer from the story

main character Illustrate the what you might see in
the main character’s
of this story turning point bedroom. Create a
Story with another of the story. collage that shows
Example you’ve read. what you might find.

How would the Pretend that the

Rewrite the story you just
ending so that story be different if
the main character read is made into
it changes the a movie. Write a
was a boy instead
meaning of the summary of the
of a girl (or vice
story. versa). movie’s sequel.

Grade the author on

Rank the characters Judge the quality of
his/her use of
in the story based the story based on
interesting words & at least 3 criteria
on their character
phrases. Give
traits. Explain your that you think is
examples & explain important in the
ranking system.
your grade. story.
5
 Tic Tac Toe
1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

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

Signed: __________________________ __________________________
Student Teacher

6
 Using Question Cards
Everyone 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...

8
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge
Fan-N-Pick

You are Wilfrid’s friend. He You are Wilfrid’s friend. He

assigns you to bring something assigns you to bring something
WARM FROM LONG AGO
What would you bring from What would you bring from
your home? Why? your home? Why?

You are Wilfrid’s friend. He You are Wilfrid’s friend. He

assigns you to bring something assigns you to bring something
THAT MAKES THAT MAKES
YOU CRY YOU LAUGH
What would you bring from What would you bring from
your home? Why? your home? Why?

You are Wilfrid’s friend. He

assigns you to bring something What could you do to
PRECIOUS AS help an older person
GOLD in your life?
What would you bring from
your home? Why?

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 Story Cube

1. What personal
connections do you
make with this
story?

3. What 4. What questions

2. What connections can did you have before
connections does you make between you read the story?
the author of the this book & other Were they
book make with the books you have answered when you
world? read? 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_____________
Write an equation for each question and solve it.
A grandfather had 3 grandchildren. He
bought each grandchild a pair of mittens.
How many mittens did he buy?
Molly waited for her son at the bus stop. She
saw eighteen eyes on the bus. How many
people were on the bus?
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?
Write your own story problem here and solve
it.
Write your own story problem here and solve
it.

Name__________________
Date_____________
Write an equation for each question and solve it.
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.

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 Rally Coach
Name__________________ Name__________________
Date_____________ Date_____________




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 ABC Summary
for __________________

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 _____________________________________________________
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Ticket to Leave Template
Ticket to Leave
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__

Ticket to Leave
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__

Ticket to Leave
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
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 Historical Character
Question Cards
1 2 3
If the character How is this This character has
were alive now, character like or come back to visit
what might he or unlike you? the president of the
she accomplish U.S. What advice
today? might the character
give him?

4 5 6
Consider the
How might the One’s values are accomplishments
world be different revealed by one’s of this character. If
today if this actions. What is the you were this
character never most important character, of what
lived? value reflected by accomplishment
the actions of this would you be most
person? proud? Why?

7 8 9
If you could ask This person has If there were one
this person two been granted three action of this
questions, what wishes to change person you could
would they be? today’s world. change, what
Why do you want What might they would it be? Why?
to ask them? be?

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 Historical Character
Question Cards
10 11 12
Describe the If the character You have been
physical took a two-week granted one day to
characteristics of vacation today, go back in history
this person. If you where might he or to become this
could change one, she choose to go person. What
which one would and why? would you do
you change? Why? differently?

13 14 15 You’ve been
This person sits at granted special
Suppose this home alone writing powers that make
person were in a diary. He or you invisible and
transported to the she starts to write, let you travel
middle of World “The one thing that through time. What
War II. What role bothers me the event in the life of
might he/she play? most…” Finish the the character would
idea and tell why. you choose to
observe?
Why?
16 17 18
You have opened a
letter written to
this character’s
best friend. It says,
“My greatest regret
is…” Finish this
sentence and tell
why.

17
 Historical Character
Journal Writing Question

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

Question:__________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

18
 Historical Character
Question 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 ____________________

_____________________________________________

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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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