English Language Development

Questioning. As discussed in chapter 2 and other grade-level chapters in this ELA/ELD
Framework, teachers guide students in their analysis of text by asking text-dependent questions at
increasing levels of sophistication. For students in high school, questions take on new significance—
building independence and increasing motivation. Extending beyond the questions that teachers ask
to monitor understanding, generating their own questions helps students read actively (Simpson and
Nist 2002) and develop their purposes for reading (National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development 2000).

Generating and posing their own questions using strategies such as ReQuest (Manzo 1969;
Schoenbach, Greenleaf, and Murphy 2012) or reciprocal teaching (Brown, Palincsar, and Armbruster
1984; Unrau 2008) allows students to take the lead in the inquiry process exercising the autonomy
that young adults crave. The types of questions students consider are significant as well; debatable
questions or essential questions (McTighe and Wiggins 2013) are thought provoking and open-ended.
They are not easily answered with a correct response but require evidence and justification to support
a position or interpretation (W/WHST.9–12.1a-b; W.11–12.1f). When taken broadly, these questions
are the organizing themes of a curriculum unit or series of units. Questions and environments that
encourage intellectual risk-taking and respect the contributions of students engender ownership
and engagement. One important element relates to the role of questions, teachers, and students
(figure 7.4).

Figure 7.4. Questioning Culture Conditions

Conditions that support a

questioning culture

Conditions that undermine a

questioning culture

Teacher and student roles are explicitly

defined to support collective inquiry into

essential questions. Active intellectual

engagement and meaning making are

expected of the student. Essential questions

serve as touchstones, and answers are to be

questioned.

The teacher assumes the role of expert,

and the student is expected to be a willing

recipient of knowledge. Questions are used

to probe students’ grasp of material, and

answers are either correct or incorrect.

Source

McTighe, Jay, and Grant Wiggins. 2013. Essential Questions: Opening Doors to Student Understanding, 100.

Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Students who see themselves as contributing and valued members of an intellectual enterprise
begin to take on academic or literate identities (Katz, Graff, and Brynelson 2013, 6). This stance
towards questioning can pave the way for students to enter the academic conversation of school. The
rhetorician and philosopher, Kenneth Burke, is widely credited for posing conversation as a metaphor
for reading and writing (cited in Bean, Chappell, and Gillam 2014, 6–7). In his famous parlor metaphor
(figure 7.5), Burke suggests that academic inquiry is similar to joining a conversation. To join the
conversation in reading and writing, students think critically and interrogate the text, posing questions
as they read. These questions challenge the text: “What does this mean?” “Why did the author write it
this way?” “What is the author’s purpose or intent?” (RI/RST.9–12.6).

Grades 9 to 12 Chapter 7 | 677