I am having a go at replicating McTighe and Wiggins (2013) Essential questions charts and adding my thoughts as I go through this exercise.
Table 1 - From Concept Categories to Essential Questions for the topic of Current Events
Conceptual Category | Example | Essential Question |
Concept | COVID-19 | How are different countries reacting to the COVID-19 outbreak? |
Theme | Education | What is happening to schools during this pandemic? |
Theory | COVID-19 is affecting our lives | How is COVID-19 affecting my life? |
Policy | K-12 students in BC will return to classrooms in September with a new cohort or learning group system. | Should parents have a say in the format of the return to school in the Fall for their children? |
Issue/Debate | Value of PPE in schools | Should students of be required to wear PPE while in school? |
Assumption | Students learn best in the traditional school setting | How do we know how students learn best? |
Perspectives | Educators: “We do not feel clear and adequate protocols are in place for a safe return to school.” PHO: “The back-to-school plan is based on science to minimize risk of transmitting COVID-19.” | Whom can we believe about the safe return to school? |
Too soon? Apologies, there is so much in my brain at this time, I thought, let’s just use what’s there. I recognize this is such a critical debate happening with things shifting day to day and it’s difficult to not have a say about it even if it’s tongue in cheek as a part of an assignment.
The students I teach are curious about what is going on around them and they often will ask me about the going-ons of the world. Topics that do not always fit neatly into curricular subjects sometimes are not addressed in the classroom setting and when I share a story or a book that tweaks on these thoughts, I often have really good discussions emerge from classes during their weekly visit with me, hence this look at current events.
Regardless of the topic, I can see great merit in going through this exercise prior to the teaching of a unit. The seven conceptual categories helped me to break-down the topic and see some vantage points that I might not have otherwise. In my head, I had thought about the topics I teach in digital literacy and I also wondered how a school-wide read I had done two years back with themes of immigration and refugees would have fared in this table. I would have seen really strong jumping off points that I could have presented to teachers in my school and I know it would have led to rewarding conversations with students.
Table 2 - Essential Questions Derived from Desired Understandings of the Big Ideas in English Language Arts Grade 4/5
Desired Understandings | Possible Essential Questions |
Language and text can be a source of creativity and joy. | · What does writing do for you? · What makes a feel-good book? · Why do authors write? |
Exploring stories and other texts helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and the world. | · How do you relate to this story? · How do things happening in other parts of the world affect us?
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Texts can be understood from different perspectives. | · How might a different reader (your mom, your friend, a dog) interpret this story? |
Using language in creative and playful ways helps us understand how language works. | · How would you retell this story if it were written in a different way? As a song? As a poem? As a play? As a recipe? |
Questioning what we hear, read, and view contributes to our ability to be educated and engaged citizens. | · How do you know if something is credible? |
For this second table I decided to take the Big Ideas from the Gr. 4 and 5 English Language Arts curriculum and challenge myself to reframe them in inquiry. I would love to now do this with a few other curricular subjects and make a hand-out or poster for teachers, I see it as a powerful and useful tool for myself and would love to share.
On a personal note, for whatever reason, this exercise took me much long than I expected. I felt very strange sitting at my computer elasticizing my brain; that is exactly what it felt like to me - my brain stretching and extending to attempt this new concept and way of thinking and just when I think I’ve got it, it snaps back. I would never have thought of my brain working as something I could physically fell but it sure did seem like a workout to me. While I would like to think I have been using forms of inquiry in my teaching, working things out here shows me that I still have a long way to go. I rewrote may of the above EQs several times trying to get it “just right” and past my bias of wanting to include what I thought students should know and putting in leading questions.
I am very glad to have tried these exercises because it really made me look hard at my words, my presentation, and what I expect from my students.
Works cited
McTighe, J. & Wiggins, G. (2013). Essential Questions: Opening doors to student understanding. Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.
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