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

Getting the Question Right

Learning to Learn · Learning to Learn · ages 11-13
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. A strong research question should connect to...

    • A bigger idea in the subject
    • Whatever is quickest to search online
    • A question nobody has ever asked before

  2. Which question is too broad to answer with evidence?

    • Was the internet good for society?
    • How did smartphone use change sleep hours at one middle school?
    • What year did the first iPhone come out?

  3. A question with one quick, easy-to-look-up answer makes a strong research question.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Priya's question is 'What was the U.S. unemployment rate in 1932?' Why is this too narrow on its own?

    • It's one fact and doesn't connect to a bigger idea about the Depression
    • It's impossible to find evidence for it
    • It's already a perfect research question

  5. Marcus starts with 'Is plastic bad?' How should he sharpen this question?

    • Keep it as is, it's already answerable
    • Narrow it to something measurable, like 'How much plastic washes up on one local beach in a month?'
    • Broaden it to cover all pollution everywhere

  6. Jamal's question is 'How did the cotton gin change slavery in the American South?' Which supporting question helps answer it best?

    • What color was the first cotton gin?
    • How much did cotton production increase after the cotton gin was invented?
    • What is Jamal's favorite subject in school?

  7. A student turns 'Did colonization help or hurt Africa?' into 'How did British rule change farming methods in one Kenyan region between 1920 and 1940?' What did they do right?

    • Made the question broader so it covers all of Africa
    • Removed the need for any evidence
    • Narrowed an unanswerable opinion question into one answerable with specific evidence

  8. Elena's question is 'How did music change over time?' Her supporting question is 'What is Elena's favorite song?' What's the mistake?

    • It doesn't provide evidence that helps answer the bigger question
    • It's too detailed and specific
    • There's no mistake, it works fine
LightMySky · lightmysky.comW1-mt_ngkBCLLMYu-s1

Answer key

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

Getting the Question Right W1-mt_ngkBCLLMYu-s1

  1. A bigger idea in the subject · If your question doesn't connect to a bigger idea, answering it won't teach you much about the subject.
  2. Was the internet good for society? · 'Good for society' is an opinion no evidence can settle, and it covers way too much ground.
  3. False · If one fact fully answers it, there's nothing left to investigate. That's a sign the question is too narrow.
  4. It's one fact and doesn't connect to a bigger idea about the Depression · Pairing that fact with a bigger idea, like how unemployment reshaped daily life, turns it into real research.
  5. Narrow it to something measurable, like 'How much plastic washes up on one local beach in a month?' · The narrower version points to real evidence he can collect and count.
  6. How much did cotton production increase after the cotton gin was invented? · Production numbers give real evidence of the cotton gin's impact. The other options don't.
  7. Narrowed an unanswerable opinion question into one answerable with specific evidence · The new question names a place, a topic, and a time span, so records and reports can actually answer it.
  8. It doesn't provide evidence that helps answer the bigger question · A supporting question needs to point toward evidence. Elena's favorite song can't tell her anything about how music changed.
Worksheet · LightMySky