This summary provides an overview of the key points from the document: The document discusses essential questions and how they can be used to spark meaningful learning and engagement. It describes essential questions as inquiries that help students gain understanding of their surroundings, explore knowledge, and spark imagination. Additionally, the document outlines how essential questions can be incorporated into curriculum through activities like interviews, book reports, and establishing an environment where students feel comfortable brainstorming and questioning.

1. Website Summary What I learned…
Galileo Educational Network This website contains a short article about I cannot point to something specific that I
http://www.galileo.org/tips/essentia essential questions. The authors describe their learned, although some comments (e.g.
l_questions.html view of the key components of essential essential questions help establish a sense
Essential Questions, by Pat Clifford questions, including (but not limited to) questions of community) were interesting. I would
and Sharon Friesen that help us to learn about our surroundings, gain not necessarily agree with all of the
better understanding, explore and gain characterizations in the article.
knowledge, and spark our imaginations.
From Now On Starting with the question: "How many gargoyles I learned more about Gargoyles than I
The Educational Technology are there on the Cathedral of Notre Dame?" this ever wanted to know. I still find them
Journal article proceeds to demonstrate how a seemingly creepy.
http://www.fno.org/feb01/pl.html meaningless inquiry can develop into an
From Trivial Pursuit exhaustive and enlightening process. The author
to Essential Questions discusses the differences between simply
and Standards-Based acquiring knowledge vs. gaining insight and
Learning, by Jamie McKenzie greater understanding.
http://www.fno.org/sept96/questio The second link takes us to a more general I had to chuckle at the thought of present
ns.html discussion about essential questions, and the and future generations who will never “go
Framing Essential Questions components of evaluation, synthesis and analysis. to the library” to look up information.
From atop Bloom’s Taxonomy, essential They will also perhaps miss the experience
questions touch our sense of curiosity and of wandering through books and
engage students. periodicals finding inspiration that they
never would have known to search for.
Filling the Tool Box (FNO) - The authors describe the process of using the The article correctly points out the
http://www.fno.org/toolbox.html natural curiosity of students to spark meaningful importance of the teacher’s modeling of
Classroom Strategies to Engender learning and questioning. The article includes asking creative and intriguing questions.
Student Questioning numerous ways to incorporate essential The additional importance of creating a
© 1986 by Jamie McKenzie, Ed.D. questions into the fabric of the curriculum, and fear-free environment for students to
and Hilarie Bryce Davis, Ed.D. areas like interviews and book reports. Having brainstorm and express ideas is also
students learn to categorize questions is also critical to the process.
discussed.
Questioning Toolkit (FNO) - This article urges every school district to develop Clearly this article was written well before

2. http://www.fno.org/nov97/toolkit.h a “questioning toolkit” containing a multitude of NCLB hit our schools. I also learned that
tml question types and question tools. Students there is almost a religious fervor in the
A Questioning Toolkit should be involved from a very early age in writing about essential questions. There is
learning to analyze types of questions. Essential also the often repeated perspective that
questions should provide an organizing focus for assumes all children and adults share the
units. same concern for “questions that touch
our hearts and souls.” These questions,
“which help define what it means to be
human,” do not exist for most of our
society.
Parenting for the Age of This article challenges parents to prepare their I note that this article was written twenty
Information (FNO) - children for problem solving, flexibility and years ago, back in the dark ages (smile).
http://www.fno.org/parenting/outli change. Parents should play “what if…” games Theoretically it would be fantastic if all
ne.html with their children, limit television, develop parents participated in their children’s
Preparing Your Daughter or Son puzzling skills and nurture their imagination and education, challenged their mental
for the Next Century, by Jamie inventiveness. The article contains suggestions development and actively engaged their
McKenzie, Ed.D. for parents to accomplish these excellent goals. children. I learned that Dr. McKenzie
suffers from a serious disconnect with the
majority of 2011 families
Themes & Essential Questions I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to include this Nothing earth-shattering or new to report
Framing Inquiry & Promoting link in our chart, as it takes us to a page detailing here.
Critical Thinking – Greece Central instructions given to teachers in Monroe County,
School District New York. Teachers are directed to use essential
http://web001.greece.k12.ny.us/aca questions and include them in their unit themes.
demics.cfm?subpage=923
Asking Essential Questions (Maine) This article describes the utilization of essential I learned of Maine’s efforts to use
By Kelly Arsenault questions while still meeting Maine’s “Learning interdisciplinary project-based learning
http://archives.mainelearns.org/ovc Results.” I would assume that this is the name of and essential questions while still meeting
/story_files/ess_quest.pdf Maine’s standardized testing. The document the requirements of Maine’s “Learning
gives examples of questions developed at a Results.”
conference in about 2004, for use in varied
middle school subjects.