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General Science and Teaching

Essential Question

Author Post
Anthony Mapalo Anthony Mapalo 1061 Points

I’m curious about how you all incorporate Essential Questions into your science lessons. Do you simply introduce the question at the beginning of the lesson and let students know they’ll find the answer as they progress through the material? Or do you have other strategies for making these questions more engaging and impactful?

Personally, I’m looking for effective ways to integrate these questions throughout the lesson, rather than just posing them upfront. I want to ensure my students really connect with the Essential Questions and use them as a tool for inquiry and deeper understanding.

I’d love to hear your best practices and how you’ve seen Essential Questions drive meaningful exploration and critical thinking in your classrooms.

Looking forward to your insights!

Elle Voy Elle Voy 1755 Points

Hi Anthony

I am currently a student who is pursuing a secondary science education. I think that what I would do throughout the lesson is try and lead the students to the questions that you want to ask. If you have the students get to a point where they are asking the questions you want then they will be more engaged and it will stick with them for the future. I have not had a lot of experience with this but we have started to implement it in some of our classes and I have observed in whole doing field experience.

Elle Voy Elle Voy 1755 Points

Hi Anthony

I am currently a student who is pursuing a secondary science education. I think that what I would do throughout the lesson is try and lead the students to the questions that you want to ask. If you have the students get to a point where they are asking the questions you want then they will be more engaged and it will stick with them for the future. I have not had a lot of experience with this but we have started to implement it in some of our classes and I have observed in whole doing field experience.

Aurora Mcvey Aurora Mcvey 320 Points

Hello! I am a pre-service teacher at Wright State University. Typically with my essential question, I will ask the students to hold the question in their mind or write it on the board for the students to continue to think about during the lesson. I introduce it in the beginning but I don't expect the students to answer it yet. At the end of the lesson, we return to the question. Some lessons will use it as an exit ticket for the kids to write their responses to before specials. Some lessons we just do a whole group discussion about the question. You can even at the end of your lessons, come back to the question and have the students share their thinking with one another in partners. 

Emily Martin Emily Martin 2443 Points

Hi Anthony!

I am a Senior at Wright State University and currently working with 5th grade students in an ELA classroom. There are many elements to the essential question that we go back to often. At the beginning of the lesson to introduce the topic to the students I will have one of my students read our essential question out loud to the class to get the students thinking. This essential question will be the base of our writing assignments for the lesson and we will go back to it throughout. It helps for students to have a good understanding of what they are learning and expected to do at the beginning, middle and end of the lesson.

Angie Alarcon Angie 20 Points

I am currently a student teacher and haven't taught science yet. What are some tips on how to make sciences more interactive for 5th graders

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