Standards and Backwards Mapping

By Zalino Bona

Subject and Grade: Reading Literacy Grade 4

Standard: The student will ask and answer questions before, during, and after reading in order to gain new information and give purpose and focus. 

Source of the Standard: Reading Literacy Grade 4, Quality Schools International
The Reading Literacy course is built on “best practice” research and is aligned with the Common Core Curriculum Standards.

Why I chose this standard:

Asking questions helps students to dig deeper and to be more engaged with the text. “Right questions foster powerful learning.” (Mathis, 2015) If we want our students to engage with whatever they read, we need to teach them to ask questions.

This reading strategy will enable students to engage in active inquiry, which is an essential element of college and career readiness. Good questioning skills go hand-in-hand with thinking, problem solving, decision making and judgment skills.

“Questioning is the strategy that propels readers on.” Stephanie Harvey (Scholastic)

Goals:                                         

Students will ask questions before, during, and after reading in order to gain new information and give purpose and focus.

Students will answer questions before, during, and after reading in order to gain new information and give purpose and focus.

Students will be able to independently use their learning to…                                         

• Engage with the text by asking questions
• Ask questions before, during, and after reading.
• Get answers by asking specific and relevant questions
• Get information by reading different genres of fiction and informational text

Understandings:                           

Students will understand that… questions can lead us to great discoveries.

• Asking the right question is essential if you want to arrive at the right answer.  
• Right questions lead to right answers.
• We can learn to ask the right kind of questions

Proficiencies that indicate what students will be able to do when they finish this unit:

Students will demonstrate their ability to:

• List the different words which can be used to ask questions and explain when each will be used (For example: Who? What? When? Where? Why, How, and I wonder.)
• Ask questions before, during and after reading a text
• Know how to ask questions using right vocabulary. Questions will vary depending on the genre and context.
• Ask pertinent questions that will lead them to the right answers
• Find answers to their questions in the text (and know that not all answers will be found in the text)

Assessments that will help me know students are meeting the standard (Performance tasks):

1.      Generating Questions: 

-          Students read a nonfiction text.

-          Use graphic organizer to write down questions before, during and after reading the text or
create a chart with questions asked before, during, and after reading the text

2.      Finding answers to Questions:

-          Were answers found in the text? Write down the answers. If answers were not found in the text, what would you do to find the answers?

3.      Using right vocabulary (Key words for asking questions)

-          Did the student use the right vocabulary? For example: who, what, where, when, why, how, and I wonder.  

4.      Transfer learning to real world experiences:

-     Generate questions for an interview to get information about a person or a profession or   

      life in the past

-     Conduct the interview

-     Create a presentation (poster or PowerPoint) about the person to share with the class

Learning experiences or activities I will use to help students meet the standard

Activity #1: Watch a video on Asking and Answering Questions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2fWZHaNugc

Activity #2: Read a nonfiction text -  Who was Amelia Earheart

Students will use a chart to write their questions and answers.

1.      Explain that good readers ask questions before, during, and after reading to help them understand a story better.

2.      Read the book “Who was Amelia Earheart?” to the students.

3.      Questions Before Reading: Read the title, and the back cover and look at the illustrations and ask students to think of as many questions as they can. Ask them to write their questions on the chart.

4.      Questions while reading: Read the story to the children. Have them write down questions that pop into their minds during reading of the story.

5.      When you have finished reading the story, ask them to write down questions they have about the story.

6.      Students can then be assigned into groups and asked to share their questions and answers.

7.      Ask students to narrow down their question to three or four questions.

8.      Gather all students and have them share their questions.

9.      With help from the class, have students categorize their questions.

10.  Discuss the questions that are important vs. interesting, and have students focus on the important questions: those that help them to better understand the text.

11.  Student can also be asked to categorize questions into those answered in the text and those that would require more research.

 Activity #3 - Game: Who Am I?

“To get right answers, we must ask specific questions that will lead us to those answers.”

 A sticky-note with the name of an animal is placed on the forehead of a student. The student will ask ‘Yes/No’ questions to find out the name of the animal.

 (Sample Questions: Do I live in the desert? Do I have fur? Can I fly? Do I have four legs? etc.)

This activity will help students to learn to ask specific and relevant questions to find the answer.

Variations: Where am I? The name of a place can be used instead of an animal. The student will ask questions to find out where he/she is (city, country, etc.)

References:

Backward Design. (Updated: December, 2013). Retrieved from http://edglossary.org/backward-design/

Georgia, K.M. (August, 2015) Inquiry-Based Learning: The Power of Asking the Right Questions. Retrieved from:
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/inquiry-based-learning-asking-right-questions-georgia-mathis

Mctighe, Jay. (December 2012)Common Core Big Idea 4: Map Backward From Intended Results. Retrieved from:

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/common-core-map-backwards-jay-mctighe-grant-wiggins

McTighe, Jay. Greatest Lessons Learned. Retrieved from:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUtzbJtS1aY

Wiggins, Grant. (September, 2005). Understanding by Design: Overview of UbD and the design Template. ASCD.