Thinking and Questioning

Overview

The following overview illustrates how the Thinking and Questioning WebQuest lesson might fit into a longer unit of study. The following are not intended to function as detailed lesson plans but are suggestions and examples of lessons that might developed.

I

Develop a Scale

Select a reading from a text which is associated with a variety of questions.
After students have read the assignment and answered and corrected the questions, ask the students, "What kind of thinking did you have to do to answer this question?" Repeat as needed. Put the answers on newsprint so that you can look at the list again later.
Once the list is adequately developed, draw a scale from easy to difficult. Have students order the items on the scale. If you are lucky you will have a scale that will fall into line with Bloom's Taxonomy. Regardless, students should have the idea that there are different questioning and answering strategies, and some are harder than others.
Introduce the idea that a man named Benjamin Bloom and some of his coworkers in the early 1950's but together a similar scale. This scale is used by teachers and students today to "measure" the difficulty of thinking and questioning.

II

WebQuest Lesson

Included in this project.

III

Bloom's Taxonomy Trellis

Students design a bulletin board or large poster which shows a flower trellis with six rungs
Each rung of the trellis represents one level of Bloom's Taxonomy.
Allow students to decorate the background.
Using the information from their manuals, have students make each rung large enough to clearly display the name of the level and some of the characteristics of that level of thinking.
Incorporate into other lessons the opportunity to think about the questions being asked. Use the manual to identify the thinking level.
Using the template for flower petals, begin a collection of flowers to be added to the trellis at the appropriate level. Each petal has space to write the subject or title, the question and the thinking level.
As the trellis fills with flowers, students will begin to get a sense of what kind of questions are most frequently asked.
The analogy can be drawn between the flower plants and the students' thinking. As a plant grows and develops more flowers will appear on the top rungs.
Check out the example of one class's trellis before too many flowers had been added.

IV

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Review with students the events of the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears .
Using their Bloom's Taxonomy Reference Manual and a word processing program, students will write two questions at each level of the taxonomy. Check out these examples of student work.
Students will compare their questions to the questions listed at the "Teacher's Corner."
Students will create from a template a PowerPoint presentation illustrating both the levels of Bloom's Taxonomy and their Goldilocks questions. Check these examples of student work.
Students will present their slide show to class, and classmates will answer the questions.

I	Develop a Scale Select a reading from a text which is associated with a variety of questions. After students have read the assignment and answered and corrected the questions, ask the students, "What kind of thinking did you have to do to answer this question?" Repeat as needed. Put the answers on newsprint so that you can look at the list again later. Once the list is adequately developed, draw a scale from easy to difficult. Have students order the items on the scale. If you are lucky you will have a scale that will fall into line with Bloom's Taxonomy. Regardless, students should have the idea that there are different questioning and answering strategies, and some are harder than others. Introduce the idea that a man named Benjamin Bloom and some of his coworkers in the early 1950's but together a similar scale. This scale is used by teachers and students today to "measure" the difficulty of thinking and questioning.
II	WebQuest Lesson Included in this project.
III	Bloom's Taxonomy Trellis Students design a bulletin board or large poster which shows a flower trellis with six rungs Each rung of the trellis represents one level of Bloom's Taxonomy. Allow students to decorate the background. Using the information from their manuals, have students make each rung large enough to clearly display the name of the level and some of the characteristics of that level of thinking. Incorporate into other lessons the opportunity to think about the questions being asked. Use the manual to identify the thinking level. Using the template for flower petals, begin a collection of flowers to be added to the trellis at the appropriate level. Each petal has space to write the subject or title, the question and the thinking level. As the trellis fills with flowers, students will begin to get a sense of what kind of questions are most frequently asked. The analogy can be drawn between the flower plants and the students' thinking. As a plant grows and develops more flowers will appear on the top rungs. Check out the example of one class's trellis before too many flowers had been added.
IV	Goldilocks and the Three Bears Review with students the events of the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears . Using their Bloom's Taxonomy Reference Manual and a word processing program, students will write two questions at each level of the taxonomy. Check out these examples of student work. Students will compare their questions to the questions listed at the "Teacher's Corner." Students will create from a template a PowerPoint presentation illustrating both the levels of Bloom's Taxonomy and their Goldilocks questions. Check these examples of student work. Students will present their slide show to class, and classmates will answer the questions.