*Essential Questions Activity

Essential vs. Non-Essential Questions

What distinguishes essential questions from non-essential ones?

• How do the arts shape, as well as reflect, a culture?

• What common artistic symbols were used by the Incas and the Mayans?

• What do effective problem solvers do when they get stuck?

• What steps did you follow to get your answer?

• How strong is the scientific evidence? What is a variable in scientific investigations?

• Is there ever a “just” war? What key event sparked World War I?

• How can I sound more like a native speaker?

• What are common Spanish colloquialisms?

• Who is a true friend? 

• Who is Maggie’s best friend in the story?

• What makes objects move the way they do?

• How are structure and function related in living things?

• How do we decide what to believe about a scientific claim?

• How can we best measure what we cannot directly see?

• In what year was the Battle of Hastings fought?

• How do effective writers hook and hold their readers?

• Is biology destiny? 

• Onomatopoeia–what’s up with that?

• What are examples of animals adapting to their environment? 

• What are the limits of arithmetic?

How can we transform non-essential questions into essential ones?