Look for: Make note of any closed-ended questions and u…

1.B Ask questions that arise from initial observations of populations in an ecosystem to help seek additional information about the parts of the ecosystem and how they interact.

Make note of any closed-ended questions and use navigation time throughout the unit to turn closed-ended questions into open-ended ones that necessitate a need to examine additional evidence. As you move into the discussion of ideas for future investigations and data we need, have students focus on categorizing their questions and then identifying the kinds of data and additional information that would help answer a category of questions.

Make note of the parts of the ecosystem that have many questions and the parts that have few or no questions. If a part of the system has few or no questions, prompt students to generate more questions in this space so that each part of the system has a set of questions to guide investigations. When students share their questions, make a note of how your students are doing in terms of asking “how” or “why” open-ended questions. Use Asking Question Tool—Open/Closed Questions as a scaffold to support students in turning closed-ended questions into open-ended questions. This scaffold does not need to be used as students build the initial DQB. Consider using it throughout the unit when students investigate a set of questions that may include many closed-ended examples.

First and foremost during the formation of the DQB is reinforcing a classroom community, wherein all ideas are valued and everyone has a question up on the board. Use your judgment on how to press students to form “how” and “why” questions. If a student struggles with sharing, encourage them to go public with questions, rather than focusing specifically on forming a “how” or “why” question.