Essential Essential Questions

So why are Essential Questions (EQ's) so essential to a curriculum or lesson plan. Well, first of all, I
am a firm believer in using EQ's as a tool to help grab the attention of kids - a hook. Consider the following standard:


CCSS.Math.Content.HSA-CED.A.2 Create equations in two or more variables to represent relationships between quantities; graph equations on coordinate axes with labels and scales.

I can ask Algebra 1 kids something like, "What do the variables/constants in y = mx + b represent?" FAIL on a few levels! The question does provoke some thought if you remember the use of the slope-intercept form of a linear equation, but kids that don't - or even kids that are unsure - will more than likely wait for someone else's answer. Also, it's a boring question.

View the 00:00:33 video: http://www.101qs.com/1473. What are some questions that come to mind?

I think the most obvious would be, "How many years would it take for Mitt Romney to employ 20 million people?" It's not content heavy; meaning that even kids who have a poor grasp of rates of change can enter the conversation. This requires the use of student guessing - which I like. Guessing in this sense gets kids to toil with numbers and the quantities they represent, and provides anticipation - is my guess the closest?  Hopefully kids will begin to ask for more information about the scenario to gain an edge on their guess that other students may overlook. "When Mitt Romney referrs to 100's of employees, what number is that...? Now it's time to start feeding them as needed information that will act like a trail of breadcrumbs toward the intent of learning the standard.

When attempting EQ's like the one stated above, be sure to have an end in mind. Instructional goals such as "...develop a use of graph scale, create an equation, relate quantities, etc." and the visible evidence of student understanding of these goals is a critical mechanism that will help steer or even scaffold the subsequent classroom activities.

So check out 101qs.com (there is a lot of stuff here that Dan Meyer has uploaded) and see what Essential Questions you can find...Good luck.

Rich