• Stimulates curiosity:
  When students are encouraged to ask questions, it sparks their natural curiosity about the world around them, making science more engaging and relevant. 

• Active learning:
  Instead of passively receiving information, students actively participate in the learning process by formulating their own questions and seeking answers. 

• Deeper understanding:
  By asking probing questions, students can explore different aspects of a concept, leading to a more comprehensive understanding. 

• Critical thinking development:
  Formulating thoughtful questions requires students to analyze information, identify key details, and make connections, which enhances critical thinking skills. 

• Inquiry-based learning:
  Encouraging questioning is a cornerstone of inquiry-based learning, where students are actively involved in investigating and constructing knowledge. 

• Engagement and motivation:
  When students feel empowered to ask questions, they are more likely to be engaged and motivated in the learning process. 

• Communication skills:
  Practicing asking questions improves students' ability to clearly express their thoughts and ideas. 

• Model questioning:
  Teachers can demonstrate how to ask open-ended, thought-provoking questions to guide students. 

• "Why" and "How" questions:
  Encourage students to ask questions that go beyond basic facts and explore the underlying reasons and mechanisms. 

• "Think, Pair, Share":
  Allow students time to individually formulate questions, then discuss with a partner before sharing with the class. 

• "See, Think, Wonder":
  Use visual stimuli to prompt students to observe, make connections, and generate questions. 

• Science journals:
  Encourage students to record their observations, questions, and reflections in a science journal to facilitate ongoing inquiry. 

Overall, fostering a classroom environment where asking questions is valued and encouraged is essential for cultivating a genuine interest in science and developing strong scientific inquiry skills in young learners.

Asking questions and defining problems in K–2 builds on prior experiences and progresses to simple descriptive questions that can be tested.

• Ask questions based on observations to find more information about the natural and/or designed world(s).

• Ask and/or identify questions that can be answered by an investigation.

Asking questions and defining problems in 3–5 builds on K–2 experiences and progresses to specifying qualitative relationships.

• Ask questions about what would happen if a variable is changed.

• Identify scientific (testable) and non-scientific (nontestable) questions.

• Ask questions that can be investigated and predict reasonable outcomes based on patterns such as cause and effect relationships.

Asking questions and defining problems in 6–8 builds on K–5 experiences and progresses to specifying relationships between variables, and clarifying arguments and models.

Ask questions:

• that arise from careful observation of phenomena, models, or unexpected results, to clarify and/or seek additional information.

• to identify and/or clarify evidence and/or the premise(s) of an argument.

• to determine relationships between independent and dependent variables and relationships in models.

• to clarify and/or refine a model, an explanation, or an engineering problem.

• that require sufficient and appropriate empirical evidence to answer.

• that can be investigated within the scope of the classroom, outdoor environment, and museums and other public facilities with available resources and, when appropriate, frame a hypothesis based on observations and scientific principles.

• that challenge the premise(s) of an argument or the interpretation of a data set.

Asking questions and defining problems in 9–12 builds on K–8 experiences and progresses to formulating, refining, and evaluating empirically testable questions and design problems using models and simulations.

Ask questions:

• that arise from careful observation of phenomena, or unexpected results, to clarify and/or seek additional information.

• that arise from examining models or a theory, to clarify and/or seek additional information and relationships.

• to determine relationships, including quantitative relationships, between independent and dependent variables.

• to clarify and refine a model, an explanation, or an engineering problem.

• Evaluate a question to determine if it is testable and relevant.

• Ask questions that can be investigated within the scope of the school laboratory, research facilities, or field (e.g., outdoor environment) with available resources and, when appropriate, frame a hypothesis based on a model or theory.

• Ask and/or evaluate questions that challenge the premise(s) of an argument, the interpretation of a data set, or the suitability of a design.

NGSS Appendix F: Science and Engineering Practices in the NGSS