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to have you open your social studies books and read a short excerpt. Before you start reading, I will give you a word or phrase from the text. Your job will be to come up with as many questions as possible that the word or phrase is the answer to.”

      Several students raise their hands and say they remember this lesson from when Mrs. R. has taught it before. One student even recollects that the lesson is called Question It.

      Mrs. R. continues, “Before I have you read, I want to make sure you understand some vocabulary terms in the passage. What is the U.S. Constitution?”

      Students recall from previous lessons in the current social studies unit that the U.S. Constitution is a written document that spells out the U.S. government’s laws. Mrs. R. asks if anyone knows how old the Constitution is. No one remembers the exact year it was ratified, but several students agree it was over two hundred years ago. Mrs. R. tells them they are correct and that the year of ratification was 1789. She then asks, “What is an amendment to the Constitution?”

      When no one answers, she explains that an amendment is something written and added to the Constitution in order to change it. She says, “The section you are going to read today is about amendments to the U.S. Constitution.”

       I Do, and You Watch

      Mrs. R. writes the word citizen on the chalkboard. (Mrs. R. could also use a white-board, a projector, or any other means to display the word big enough for students to see.)

      She asks the students to open their social studies books to the two pages that explain how the U.S. Constitution can be and has been changed. She tells them she is going to read the section to herself until it tells her something about a citizen. When she gets there, she is going to ask a question that the book answers about the word citizen. She reads silently until she comes to a place in the second paragraph.

      She tells them exactly where she is in the text and then poses a question: “When someone is born in the United States, what does that make him or her?”

      “A citizen,” many students respond.

      “All right,” she says, “I’ve asked one question that citizen is the answer to.”

       TIP

      Repetition of the lesson framework over time along with the gradual release of responsibility model will help reduce the number of students who might still have difficulty with the task when it comes time to work the task alone. Then, the teacher can identify any struggling students and pull them aside in a group to provide extra help. Mrs. R. says, “Yes, the answer to that question is a citizen.” Mrs. R. turns to the class as a whole and asks, “Where does the text tell us that the answer to this question is a citizen?”

       I Do, and You Help

      She asks, “Can any of you ask another question about this section that citizen is the answer to?”

      After two students try to ask a good question and are unable to do so, one student asks, “What is a person who has followed the law to become a naturalized citizen?”

      A girl volunteers to try. She reads aloud the explanation of naturalization and explains that if completed properly the person becomes an American citizen.

      “Good job,” says Mrs. R., and several students nod.

      “Now,” she says to the class, “you and I have asked two questions with citizen as the answer.”

      During the last Question It lesson, Mrs. R. noticed that some students in several trios were having difficulty formulating questions. This observation led her to continue using the “I do, and you watch” and “I do, and you help” phases in this lesson to model how to come up with the questions. Then, she has the students get together in their trios.

       You Do It Together, and I Help

      Mrs. R. has the students get into their trios. Earlier in the year, she assigned her students to trios with a range of reading levels, and the members work well with one another. After the first time she used the trios, she switched two students between trios to improve their work ethic. Because her students are now accustomed to working together in trios, she does not feel the need for each trio to have just one copy of the text. She allows each student to keep his or her social studies book open to the section on changing the U.S. Constitution.

      Mrs. R. estimates how many minutes to give the trios to complete the task and communicates it to them.

      She displays the word amendment and tells her students, “Quickly pick a scribe for your trio. Then, for ten minutes, have the scribe write as many questions as your trio can think of that this section of the book answers with the word amendment. Questions with the answer in plural form—amendments—will also count. I am going to walk around and help you when you need me to. I wonder which trio will ask the most questions. Your ten minutes start now.”

       TIP

       The perfect time to use formative assessment and listen in on trios’ thinking is when they are working together.

       The Class Debriefs

      When the time limit is up, Mrs. R. has each trio read one of its questions, and she keeps a tally of how many different questions the students share. The first trio contributes the question, “Why doesn’t the person who loses the presidential election become the vice president?”

      Mrs. R. turns to the class and asks, “What is the answer the book gives us to this question?”

      A student in a different trio responds, “An amendment.”

      “Yes,” agrees Mrs. R., “an amendment changed that from the original Constitution. Very good, that’s one question. It is the next trio’s turn to read one of its questions.”

      One student reads, “What made slavery illegal in the United States?”

      “What is the book’s answer to this question?” Mrs. R. asks the other students.

      “An amendment,” one volunteers.

      “Correct,” she says. “Those are two questions.”

      The trios continue to alternate sharing until they’ve shared all questions. The class helps Mrs. R. decide whether each question should count. For example, one trio shares a question that is similar to a question that another trio shared. Everyone agrees only the first question should count. The last unique question a trio has after every other trio has passed is “What is the Bill of Rights?”

      “What is the answer, class?” asks Mrs. R.

      “Amendments,” say several students at once.

      “That’s right!” she exclaims. She congratulates them for asking all twelve questions she had thought of, so she has none to add to the total. The class gives themselves a silent cheer for coming up with twelve different questions for the passage that could be answered with the word amendment or amendments.

      Mrs. R. ends the day’s lesson by discussing with the class how the U.S. Constitution is amended and which amendments they think were probably the most important ones. She is pleased that their comments and questions reveal that they have read the text closely. Because everyone did reasonably well in this lesson, Mrs. R. decides that the next time she uses Question It, she can begin it with the “You do it together, and I help” phase.

       TIP

       The time limit you provide depends on the text’s length and difficulty and how many previous Question It lessons you’ve taught. Estimate what the best time limit will be under your specific circumstances.

       Planning and Teaching a Question It Lesson

      Select a short, dense text that will be challenging for many of your students and that you

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