Build an Inquiring Mind

Ask Good Questions

Use the Big6™ To

Get Good Answers

Students should be PRODUCERSof information

Not merely consumers or moversof information

Central Questions

1. Why is it important to incorporate inquiry into our

instruction?

2. Why is it important to ask “good” questions?

3. How can the Big6™ help incorporate inquiry into

instruction for big projects and every day?

you want to buy a new car.

What if . . .

“. . . students need the ability to gather, comprehend, evaluate, synthesize, and report on information and ideas, to conduct original research in order to answer questions or solve problems, and to analyze and create a high volume and extensive range of print and nonprint texts in media forms old and new.

The need to conduct research and to produce and consume media is embedded into every aspect of today’s curriculum. In like fashion, research and media skills and understandings are embedded throughout the Standards rather than treated in a separate section.”

Common Core State Standards for ENGLISH LANGUAGE ART S & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects p. 4

“If you teach young ones to question and probe, you equip them to do well on all kinds of tests - state tests, classroom tests and the tests of life.

High scores on tests of comprehension and problem-solving can only be achieved when students are urged to think, figure things out and wrestle with tough questions.” “The Great Question Press: Squeezing Import from Content” by

Jamie McKenzie http://questioning.org/questionpress.html#wonder

Good researchbegins with good questions

Creating Research Programs for An Age of Informationby Jamie McKenzie

http://questioning.org/Q6/question.html#anchor128766

Strong or Weak?

Research a Native American tribe.

What kind of animal would make a good pet?

Which South Carolina region is the best place to live?

When did the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor?

List Robert E. Lee’s major accomplishments.

What’s so important about the questions we ask our students to

investigate?

http://faculty.philau.edu/kayk/KKay/articles/BestAnsers.pdf

"Which one" questions ask students to collect information and makeinformed decisions. Instead of asking me to "do a report on Philadelphia," ask me to decide which city in the Mid-Atlantic region is the best place to live.

"How" questions ask students to understand problems, to weigh options,perhaps from various points of view, and propose solutions. Instead of askingme to do a report on pollution, ask me to propose a solution to an environmental problem in my neighborhood. Ask me how I would invest a windfall of money.

"What if," or hypothetical, questions ask students to use the knowledge they have to pose a hypothesis and consider options. Ask me "What if theDeclaration of Independence abolished slavery?" or "What if the Germans hadn't sunk the Lusitania?“

"Should" questions ask students to make a moral or practical decision basedon evidence. Ask me "Should we clone humans?" or "Should we discontinue trade with China?“

"Why" questions ask students to understand cause and effect. "Why" helpsus understand relationships; it helps us get to the essence of an issue. Ask me: "Why do people abuse children?" "Why is the mortality rate higher in one Third World country than another?"

For the Best Answers, Ask Tough Questions by Joyce Valenza The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 20, 2000 tech.k12http://faculty.philau.edu/kayk/KKay/articles/BestAnsers.pdf

You’ve got a good question . . .

Now what?

Click here

1. Task Definition1. Task Definition

2. Info Seeking Strategies2. Info Seeking Strategies

3. Location & Access3. Location & Access

4. Use of Information4. Use of Information

5. Synthesis5. Synthesis

6. Evaluation6. Evaluation

The Big6™ Skills

For the YoungestThe Super3TM

Plan

Do

Review

Task DefinitionInformation Seeking Strategies

Location & AccessUse of InformationSynthesis

Evaluation

Fakebook/Big 6

We began with an introductory flipchart.Big 6 - biography.flipchart

4th Grade Biographies Website

sample Fakebook

How can we incorporate the Big6TM process into daily classroom activities?

Teresa Waters “Super3 Action Research Report Blending Super3 With Math and Writing: One Teacher’s Quest for Learning” (Grade 3), eNewsletter 10.4, 1

http://big6.com/pages/about/research/super3-action-research-report.php

“. . . teaching children skills and concepts is ineffective if they do not know how to process and apply the information. I have noticed that the students who approach their learning with a systematic process are more successful.”

I often wonder how I could better integrate problem solving strategies into my instruction in a way that was effective and yet did not add more to the existing volume of instruction.

This leads me to ask: How could I deliberately introduce the process of “Plan, Do, Review” into my instruction every day?

The Plan

My students learned the Super3: “Plan, Do, Review” in second grade during a research project in conjunction with a nonfiction writing unit. This led me to decide to use these same words on a daily basis within the existing curriculum. The outline of my plan is as follows:

I will mark at least one place each day in my plans where I will deliberately use the words “Plan, Do, Review” as part of the instruction. I will reflect on the students’ responses and work following this instruction. I will ask the students to write a reflective response about how they incorporated “Plan, Do, Review” into their work once a week. I will reflect once a week on what I noticed as a result of the implementation of

this instruction.

I began this practice in November, 2009, and continued for 7 weeks, ending the research data collection in January, 2010.

http://big6.com/pages/about/research/super3-action-research-report.php

“. . . I was able to see how my students picked

up on the language of the Super3 as I used it in

daily instruction. Because I was including this

process in my instruction, and connected to

their learning, they realized it was important.

Soon individual students began to use the

words, and incorporating the processes,

throughout their day, without my prompting.”

How would you use Big6/Super3 in . . .

a math assignment?

a writing assignment?

a picture book lesson?

a science experiment?

a social studies lesson?

“They use technology and digital media strategically and capably.

Students employ technology thoughtfully to enhance their reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language use. They tailor their searches online toacquire useful information efficiently, and they integrate what they learn using technology with what they learn offline. They are familiar with the strengths andlimitations of various technological tools and mediums and can select and use those best suited to their communication goals.”

Common Core State Standards for ENGLISH LANGUAGE ART S & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects p. 7

Technology in Context Task Definition Brainstorming software; Email

Info Seeking StrategiesSearch engines, electronic indexes, online library catalogs

Location & AccessSearch engines, electronic databases, online library catalogs

Use of Information Presentation Software; Blogs

Synthesis Presentation Software

Evaluation Spell/grammar check; Email

Central Questions

1. Why is it important to incorporate inquiry into my

instruction?

2. Why is it important to ask “good” questions?

3. How can the Big6™ help me incorporate inquiry into my

instruction for big projects and every day?

“The Question Mark” by Jaime Mckenzie http://questioning.org/

Increasing Student Learning through Multimedia Projects by Michael Simkins, Karen Cole, Fern Tavalin, Barbara Means

Inquiry Circles in Action by Stephanie Harvey & Harvey Daniels

“For the Best Answers, Ask Tough Questions” by Joyce Valenza http://tinyurl.com/7hbp7bx

Big6™ - http://big6.com/

Good Resources