Essential Questions
An Overview of Chapter
Five of Understanding by
Design
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Big Idea - an abstract & transferable concept, theme, or
process at the heart of a subject or topic.
(adaptation, survival)
Big Idea
Topic or Content
Standard
(The student will understand
biological adaptation..)
Understanding
Understanding - specifies what we want
students to come to understand
about the Big Idea. (Students will understand
that living organisms adapt to
survive harsh or changing
environments.)
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Essential Question
Essential Question - a provocative & arguable
question designed to guide inquiry into the Big
ideas. By actively exploring the E.Q., students
develop & deepen their understanding. (In what
ways do living organisms survive harsh or changing
environments?)
Essential Questions
Common Characteristics:
(See pages 105-125 of UbD)
• Cause genuine and relevant inquiry into big ideas
and core content.
• Provoke deep thought, lively discussion, sustained
inquiry and new understanding as well as more
questions.
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Essential Questions
Common Characteristics:
(Continued)
• Require students to consider alternatives, weigh
evidence, support their ideas and justify their answers.
• Stimulate vital, ongoing rethinking of big ideas.
• Spark meaningful connections with prior learning.
• Naturally recur, allowing transfer to other subjects.
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Essential Questions
Helpful Filters:
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Go to the heart or “essence” of the discipline
Are provocative and engaging
Cannot be answered satisfactorily in a sentence
Can and should be asked over & over
Raise other important questions
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Essential Questions
Which is the Essential
Question?
A. How many legs does a spider have? How
does an elephant use its trunk?
B. How are “form and “function” related in
biology?
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Essential Questions
Which is the Essential
Question?
A. How do effective writers hook and hold
their readers?
B. What is “foreshadowing”? Can you find an
example of foreshadowing in the story?
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Essential Questions
Which is the Essential
Question?
A. What is the original meaning of the term
“technology” (from its Greek root, “techne”?
B. Who “wins” and who “loses” when
technologies change?
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Essential vs. Guiding Questions
What are “Guiding Questions”?
(also called “Unit Questions”)
• More subject & topic specific
• Better suited for framing particular content and
inquiry
• Lead to the more often subtle essential questions
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Essential vs. Guiding Questions
EQ: How do the forces that
shape the Earth affect me?
Guiding Questions:
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What causes earthquakes?
What causes volcanoes?
What effect do glaciers have on the earth?
What is permafrost and why should I care?
What effect do rivers have on the earth?
What precautions do people take to accommodate living in
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their environments?
Essential vs. Guiding Questions
EQ: Who am I?
Guiding Questions:
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Who is in my immediate family?
Who is in my extended family?
How can I find out more about my family?
How does my family fit into one tree?
What are some important events in my family’s history?
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Essential vs. Guiding Questions
EQ: Why can we live on Earth
and not on other planets?
Guiding Questions:
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What can you observe about the sky?
What are the other planets like?
How does the sun impact the planets?
How do the planets orbit around the sun?
How do scientists learn about the solar system?
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Essential Questions
• Sorting activity with Inspiration/SMARTBoard
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Peer Work - Draft EQ
12:30-1:00 PM
• Peer Partner - Ah ha Transformation
• Draft EQ to Sally
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