Question Creation Chart (QC2)

How do I use it?

• After students have read the article or viewed the video, provide each student with a blank Question Creation Chart (QC²) Template. Note, there are four quadrants in the chart; focusing questions at the bottom and right will lead to higher order, more divergent questions.

• Have students create questions related to the topic of the article or video using the list of pronouns in the left-hand column and the verbs in the top row. The QC² can be used at any point in the lesson:
  • Before: Use the QC² to help student activate prior knowledge of the topic, to generate anticipation in the topic, or to ascertain the level of knowledge students already possess about the topic.
  • During: Use the QC² to focus students’ attention and comprehension of the topic.
  • After: Use the QC² to assess the level of student understanding of the topic, to generate discussion, or to help students generate questions for further research.

Variations

• Use the QC² to help students create their own questions on a topic or issue for which they wish to learn more.
• Provide students with a topic statement or brief overview of the new topic to be studied. Have them use the QC²to activate their prior knowledge of the topic by creating questions about the topic in as many blocks of the chart as possible.
• Using the QC² in tandem with an Exit Slip, ask students to create two or three questions about the topic discussed in class. The level of difficulty can be varied by limiting the questions to a specific quadrant of the chart or spreading the questions among various quadrants.
• Organize students into teams of two. Two teams face off as a group of four with one QC² between them. Taking turns, alternating between teams, each member will develop a question and mark the cell in the chart. Each team can create only one question per cell and that cell cannot be used again. The winning team is the team that creates the most questions in the chart.
• Organize students in teams of two as above. Questions in the Knowledge quadrant score 1 point, those in Analytical and Prediction quadrants equal 3 each, and those in the Synthesis quadrant equal 5. The winning team has the highest score.
• Organize students in teams of two as above. Each team chooses two questions for the other team to answer. The two teams then form a quad and discuss the arrived at answers, creating one group answer for each of the four questions. Each group can choose one question and answer to share with the class.

Extensions

• Challenge students to create a list of questions that cannot be answered by simply reading the article or viewing the video.
• As an Exit Slip activity, have students reflect on their use of the QC². Choices for reflections could include prompts like
  • Describe what you liked or disliked about this strategy.
  • Which questions did you find most difficult to write and why? 
  • How could you make use of this strategy in other classes?
  • How can asking questions like these help when learning new or difficult content?

Assessment

• Collect completed QC² for individual, close review.
• Select questions from completed QC² for in class activities such as discussions, group think-pair-share, etc.