Year 4

The Big Idea

Australia is a multicultural country that is shaped by people’s beliefs, customs and traditions and, we have a responsibility to contribute to its harmony

The Big Idea is an idea that is continuously ‘unpacked’ through areas of the Curriculum. It allows students to explore concepts in a real world context and think critically and creatively about the world around them. 

 

ERPs

 

Thick and Thin Questions

As part of our Home Learning we asked students to create thick questions they can relate to their ERP topics. This was a continuation from in class learning where we introduced thin (or closed ended questions) and thick (or open ended questions). 

 

This importance of questioning for children include:

  • To develop interest and motivate students to become actively involved in lessons.
  • To develop critical thinking skills.
  • To review learning.
  • To stimulate students to pursue knowledge on their own and ask their own questions.

So why the focus on thick (Open ended) questions?

Thick questions cannot be responded to with one word answers such as yes or no. These types of questions enables a child to provide a more detailed response and encourages a child to stimulate their thinking and develop their language skills.  Open ended questions supports a child to focus and make meaning of their experiences and enables them to see various possibilities. 

 

Advantages of this line of questioning includes:

  • develop their language by using different words and a wider range of vocabulary to answer the question
  • provide more information and details
  • express their thoughts, ideas and opinions
  • be creative
  • develop positive relationships by engaging in meaningful conversations

How does this connect to their ERP?

An open-ended question is what it is: a question that is open to any answer. In the context of the students as researchers, open-ended questions are questions that do not limit students to one- or two-word answers. Instead, they have multiple potential responses, and they often give room for further curiosity, connections to prior learning and enables critical analysis skills to be developed.  

Open-ended questions are versatile in nature, and they prompt students to describe their feelings and thoughts in their own voice.

 

 

We will continue to explore this further as we continue to develop and then research for our ERPs.