Big Questions and Supporting Questions · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Big Questions and Supporting Questions

Learning to Learn · Learning to Learn · ages 7-10
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which is a quick-lookup question, not a big one?

    • What is the capital of France?
    • Why do towns grow near rivers?
    • Why did people build big cities?

  2. Which of these is a big question?

    • What is 2 + 2?
    • Why do birds fly south in autumn?
    • What color is the sky right now?

  3. A big question always has just one correct answer.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Which pair of small questions best breaks down 'Why do towns grow near rivers?'

    • What is a river, and what is a town?
    • How do rivers help farming, and how do rivers help travel?
    • What is the capital of France, and what is 5 + 3?

  5. Leo wants to answer 'Why do people move to new places?' Which is a good supporting question?

    • What jobs were people looking for?
    • What is the capital of France?
    • What is 10 minus 3?

  6. Amy answered 'What jobs did people want?' How does that help answer 'Why did people move here?'

    • It does not help at all
    • It tells us one reason families might have moved
    • It only tells us today's weather

  7. Tom found the answer to 'What jobs were available?' but says the big question is now fully solved. What is wrong with that?

    • Big questions cannot be broken into small ones
    • Nothing, one small answer is enough
    • He still needs the other supporting questions answered to see the full picture

  8. Which is NOT a good way to explore the big question 'Why do people move to new places?'

    • Break it into smaller questions about jobs, homes, and family
    • Look up one single fact and stop
    • Ask what made the old home hard to stay in
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Big Questions and Supporting Questions W1-mt_JUHStYGUel-s1

  1. What is the capital of France? · You can look up the capital of France in one place. It has one right answer, so it is a quick lookup, not a big question.
  2. Why do birds fly south in autumn? · The first and last have one quick answer each. The birds question has many possible answers, so it is the big one.
  3. False · Big questions often have more than one answer or view. That range is what makes them big.
  4. How do rivers help farming, and how do rivers help travel? · Those two questions each explore a real reason towns might grow near rivers.
  5. What jobs were people looking for? · Learning about jobs helps explain why people might move, so it supports the big question.
  6. It tells us one reason families might have moved · Knowing about jobs is one piece of the puzzle that builds up to the bigger answer.
  7. He still needs the other supporting questions answered to see the full picture · One small answer is just one piece. Tom still needs the other pieces before the big question is answered.
  8. Look up one single fact and stop · One fact cannot answer a big question. It takes several smaller questions working together.
Worksheet · LightMySky