Question Sorts Routine

This routine helps students sort questions to identify powerful questions that will guide inquiry.

Early in our new unit about Quality of Life, students created thick questions. A horizontal line was placed on the white board with tape. This horizontal axis represented how likely the question would generate insight, deeper understanding, creative action and new possibilities.

As a class, we sorted all of the questions along the continuum. Those at the far left were the questions that were least likely to inspire inquiry, those questions farther to the right were the "best" questions.

A vertical axis was placed, bisecting the horizontal line. This line represented how much we cared about investigating the question. A chart was established with 4 boxes. As a class, we discussed each question and moved it from the horizontal axis into one of the four boxes. The questions that ended up in the top right box were those questions that we deemed we cared the most about investigating which we had also decided would inspire the greatest inquiry.The questions in the lower left box were those questions that we deemed we cared the least about investigating and had decided were questions that were least likely to inspire great discovery or inquiry. The questions in the other two boxes were somewhere in between (on the continuum).

The questions in the top right box ended up being the main questions to guide our inquiry during the unit. Some of these questions include:

- How is my quality of life different than quality of life for people who live in a different city?
- I wonder how medicine affects quality of life?
- I wonder why some people have a great quality of life while others do not?

The students then sorted our guiding questions on our Inquiry board into the key concepts. 

This routine is a fantastic way to have students tune-in to the new unit! As well, it really helps students to critically assess their own questions.