Inquiry Questions & Lines of Inquiry

Lines of Inquiry

Inquiry Questions_Lines of Inquiry

Each concept (key and related) should anchor a line of inquiry for students to explore during the unit. As you develop your lines of inquiry, examine each concept and determine what you would like your students to explore and discover about this big idea/concept.

Directions for unit planning:

  • Draft at least three lines of inquiry that weave the global context and the topic content using one of your inquiry verbs.

  • Make sure your key and related concepts anchor your lines of inquiry and allow students to explore and discover the big ideas of your unit.

  • This is not an outcome-based objective; instead it should be open-ended to allow for students to explore at their own ability level

  • Sample Inquiry verbs: discover, explore, investigate, uncover

Example: (Students will explore how) individual relationships impact people/characters’ choices.

Inquiry Questions

From IBO: Inquiry Questions

4. MYP unit planning_ Inquiry questions.mp4


Using your lines of inquiry, develop inquiry questions that are factual, conceptual, and debatable.

Your daily lessons should help students develop answers to these questions. These questions support your teaching and learning plans and provide students a focus and a way of getting to the purpose or goal of the unit.

Turning Lines of Inquiry into Inquiry Questions:

  • Remove the subject-specific content but keep the context

  • Allow for multiple perspectives

  • Do not give leading questions

Types of Inquiry Questions

Use the rubric below to evaluate your inquiry questions (From Evaluating MYP units rubric)