This document outlines nine instructional strategies to increase student achievement, with a focus on using essential questions and questioning. It discusses how essential questions guide lesson development and engage student thinking. Effective use of essential questions means focusing the lesson around an important learning goal, avoiding simple yes/no questions, using the question throughout the lesson, and assessing understanding with it. Teachers should aim to challenge students with higher-order questions using Bloom's Taxonomy and allow wait time for responses. The monthly goal is to review how essential questions are used and evaluate questioning practices.

1. TOP NINE INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES TO INCREASE
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS/QUESTIONING
Palmyra Area School District

2. 1. Essential Questions/Questioning
2. Previewing/Advance Organizers/Activating
3. Summarizing
4. Non-Verbal Representations
5. Active Student Engagement/Collaborative Pairs
6. Extending Thinking Skills
7. Differentiated Instruction
8. Vocabulary in Context
9. Student Writing
Top Nine Strategies

3. How Will I Remember this Strategy?

4. Strategy: Essential Questions/Questioning
Essential questions (EQs) express concepts or skills
in question form to guide lesson development.
Questioning engages students’ thought processes in
order to deepen student learning.

5. Focuses the lesson for teacher and students
Increases and improves student’s cognitive
ability
Models good question stems for students
Differentiates expectations based on questioning
Fosters natural curiosity
Why is this Strategy Critical to
Student Achievement?

6. Focus on important learning in the lesson with the EQ
Create an EQ that supports the level of desired learning
Avoid yes/no and definition type EQs
Post/verbalize the EQ at the beginning of the lesson
Utilize the EQ throughout the lesson for distributed
summarization
Use the EQ to determine level of student understanding
Use Bloom’s Taxonomy (revised) for deeper learning
Use assessment prompts throughout the lesson
Allow for wait time
How do We Effectively Use EQs /
Questioning?

7. Activity
Share your essential question with your partner
Answer the following:
 What is the focus of the lesson?
 Does the answer to the question show mastery of a
skill/concept?
 Does it require higher level thinking skills to answer? If so,
what skill?

8. Monthly Goal
•Review your Use of EQs
-Do your EQs challenge students?
-Do you utilize EQs throughout the lesson?
•Evaluate your Questioning Practices
-Do you utilize all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy?
-Do you scaffold questioning to assist students?
-Do you utilize cues to increase thinking?
-Do you allow sufficient wait time?