Lesson Plan for Grades 3-4

Objective: To introduce students to the Habit of Mind called Questioning and Posing Problems, students will design questions to solve a simple problem.

Lesson Steps

1. Tell students that this month we are using the Habit of the Mind of Questioning and Posing Problems. Also called Inquisitiveness or Curiosity, this Habit of the Mind focuses on asking questions. Knowing how to ask questions is an important skill for anyone who faces a new problem to solve, and as they read new texts.

2. We are going to try out this skill with a simple mystery. (Show mystery box.) Ask a few students to hold the box and make observations.

3. Talk together about the questions on the Questioning Chart.
What do you observe? What do you think? (students may observe that the object inside rolls so it is probably round. They may comment on the size of the object based on how far it has to move before it hits the other side of the box. )
How do you know that? What evidence do you have? (supporting evidence based on what is observed already—object rolls, it has to move a distance before it hits the other side, )
Is this like anything I have seen, heard, or felt before? ( they may name an object they know that is round)
What would happen if---------? (curious people always want to know more)
What I would like to know is______________________.

4. Have students write on the KWL chart—
K-Write what you KNOW about the object by observing. Tell what evidence you have to support what you know.
W-Write what you WANT to know. What questions do you have?

5. After writing, open the box to show what is inside. Fill in the L—what I learned section of the sheet.

During this month, consider ways that you could model for students your metacognition—times that you ask questions to find out information, solve a problem, or encounter a new text. This think aloud on the part of teachers is important in helping students becoming aware of their thinking.