Teaching Questioning Strategies with Picture Books
How do Illustrations Tell a Story? (Grades 12)
Curriculum Designed by: Samantha Fitzgerald Brigid vonVorysNorton Michael Pleasants
Focus: Creating Good Questions Essential Question: How do illustrations tell a story? Grade Level: 12 grade Timing: Twothree weeks with 30 minute lessons. This unit is ten lessons, which can be taught everyday for two weeks or can be spread out over the course of three weeks. Activity Summary: Students will practice using multiple levels of thinking when questioning a text and its illustrations. Bloom’s Taxonomy will be the guiding force behind this activity. The activity is scaffolded and begins with a teacher think aloud/read aloud using multiple types of questions, then having students create questions in their Literature Circle groups. A second book is utilized to elicit student questioning in groups after the first book has been scaffolded. Rationale: This activity will show students that questions have varying levels of inquiry. Using Bloom’s Taxonomy, students will be able to create higher level thinking questions to get a better understanding of a text, including its illustrations. Students will also create a bank of all types of questions that can be referred to throughout the school year, giving them practice in being good questioners. The aim is to get students to be aware of the higher order thinking questions that are important for strong learning and comprehension. Student Objectives: SWBAT create many questions from multiple levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. SWBAT follow group work/partner etiquette such as respectful listening and sharing. Background: This breakdown and guide was created with the idea that the students already have been taught and understand the rules and expectations for Literature Circles. The groups can be chosen as the teacher sees fit. Accommodations can be made by putting stronger learners/readers with weaker ones and/or the teacher spending additional time with a small group after whole group instruction. The groups will consist of four students in each group. The students should be familiar with the following: listening to a peer (respectfully via ThinkPairShare format)
small group working environment expectations (staying on task, ability to complete tasks independently)
role taking (taking turns, listening to peers, rotation of responsibility). Roles are rotated through the literature circle. The teacher can use his/her own method of roles/assignments or use the ones as listed: Scribe (writes on the PostIts), Presenter (the spokesperson), Sharer (brings the PostIts to the board), Observer (keeps group on task). *The observer role can be eliminated in the event of three students in one group.
Students should have a working small group (can be tables, can be different) and they should know who they are working with. Materials: The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade by Justin Roberts Blue on Blue by Dianne White Post It notes in four different colors (one color for each group) An empty Blooms Taxonomy Anchor chart (a blow up of the sample provided below) A mini version of the Bloom’s chart for each student (a sample is provided below) Anticipatory Activity: Begin with a KWL chart. Have the students think about questions. This lesson is just like any other beginning with a KWL chart (for example, “Everything We Know About Butterflies”), however, we will be asking “Everything We Know About Questions.” Discuss: Why do we ask questions? Are there different types of questions? What
types of questions are there?
Day by Day Breakdown of Mini Lessons and Activities Days 16 mentor text: Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade Days 710 mentor text: Blue on Blue
Day 1 Overview: Teacher read aloud/ think aloud of Smallest Girl. Focus questions on comprehension and illustrations. Majority of the questions will be provided by the teacher (see list below with suggested/example questions) StepbyStep: Teacher will do an interactive read aloud with the class. Before reading the book, the teacher will show the students the
cover have ask them what they see on the cover, what it makes them think about, and what it makes them wonder. This can just be done orally or in a chart.
The teacher will begin reading the book asking some of the probing questions from below.
Once the teacher has completed the reading of the story, they will ask the class if their predictions about the story from the cover were correct. Will go back into the book to find evidence if the students are correct.
Day 2 Overview: Remember questions (from Smallest Girl). Teacher scaffolding/ modeling and then students try individually. Discuss: What questions can we ask that we can answer by looking at the page? Ex. How many children are on this page? StepbyStep: The teacher will begin the lesson with a mini lesson about
Remember questions. Teacher will write on the board or reference clue words on sentence strips for this type of question. Students will each receive a Bloom’s Taxonomy Wheel with the cue words written on them. There will also be a large, anchor chart size version of Bloom’s Taxonomy Wheel.
Those words are: name, describe, relate, find, list, write, tell.
Using the text (Smallest Girl) as a reference, the teacher will guide the students through creating Remember questions about pages 12. Teacher will write questions down on the board.
Students will break into their small groups and create Remember questions about pages 78. Each group of students will get a pad of 3x3 sticky notes (accommodations can made by giving students sticky notes with lines)
Each group of students will get a photocopy of the spread and/or a SMART Board projection of the spread can be used.
In their groups, students will develop 35 questions and write them on sticky notes.
Once each group has 35 questions, the class will come back together and place their sticky notes on the anchor chart version of Bloom’s wheel.
The teacher will have each group share their best question and the class as a whole will revisit the page in the text and answer the question.
The lesson will end with a review of the Remember clue words.
Day 3 Overview: Understanding questions (from Smallest Girl). Teacher scaffolding/ modeling and then students try individually. Discuss: What questions can we ask that help us explain what is going? Ex. Predict what will happen on the next page. StepbyStep: The teacher will begin the lesson with a review of Remember
clue words from the day before. The teacher will introduce Understand cue words. These can be
written on the board written on sentence strips, which can be used again.
Those words are: explain, compare, discuss, restate, predict, translate, outline.
Using the text (Smallest Girl) as a reference, the teacher will guide the students through creating Understand questions about pages 12. Teacher will write questions down on the board.
Students will break into their small groups and create Understand questions about pages 1314. Each group of
students will get a pad of 3x3 sticky notes (accommodations can made by giving students sticky notes with lines)
Each group of students will get a photocopy of the spread and/or a SMART Board projection of the spread can be used.
In their groups, students will develop 35 questions and write them on sticky notes.
Once each group has 35 questions, the class will come back together and place their sticky notes on the anchor chart version of Bloom’s wheel. The Remember questions should still be on the chart.
The teacher will have each group share their best question and the class as a whole will revisit the page in the text and answer the question.
The lesson will end with a review of the Understand clue words.
Day 4 Overview: Apply questions (from Smallest Girl). Teacher scaffolding/ modeling and then students try individually. Discuss: What questions can we ask that help us use what we learned? Ex. Illustrate or draw your experience. StepbyStep: The teacher will begin the lesson with a review of Remember
and Understanding clue words from the days before. The teacher will introduce Apply cue words. These can be
written on the board written on sentence strips, which can be used again.
Those words are: show, complete, use, classify, examine, illustrate, solve.
Using the text (Smallest Girl) as a reference, the teacher will guide the students through creating Apply questions about pages 12. Teacher will write questions down on the board.
Students will break into their small groups and create Apply questions about pages 1920. Each group of students will get a pad of 3x3 sticky notes (accommodations can made by giving students sticky notes with lines)
Each group of students will get a photocopy of the spread and/or a SMART Board projection of the spread can be used.
In their groups, students will develop 35 questions and write them on sticky notes.
Once each group has 35 questions, the class will come back together and place their sticky notes on the anchor chart version of Bloom’s wheel. The Remember and Understand questions should still be on the chart.
The teacher will have each group share their best question and the class as a whole will revisit the page in the text and answer the question.
The lesson will end with a review of the Apply clue words.
Day 5 Overview: Analyze questions (from Smallest Girl). Teacher scaffolding/ modeling and then students try individually. Discuss: What questions can we ask to analyze, or explore, what we learned further? Ex. Compare and contrast the two dogs. StepbyStep: The teacher will begin the lesson with a review of clue words
already learned. The teacher will introduce Analyze cue words. These can be
written on the board written on sentence strips, which can be used again.
Those words are: explain, compare, contrast, examine, identify, investigate, categorize.
Using the text (Smallest Girl) as a reference, the teacher will guide the students through creating Understand questions about pages 12. Teacher will write questions down on the board.
Students will break into their small groups and create Analyze questions about pages 2122. Each group of students will get a pad of 3x3 sticky notes (accommodations can made by giving students sticky notes with lines)
Each group of students will get a photocopy of the spread and/or a SMART Board projection of the spread can be used.
In their groups, students will develop 35 questions and write them on sticky notes.
Once each group has 35 questions, the class will come back together and place their sticky notes on the anchor chart version
of Bloom’s wheel. All previous questions should still be on the chart.
The teacher will have each group share their best question and the class as a whole will revisit the page in the text and answer the question.
The lesson will end with a review of the Analyze clue words.
Day 6 Overview: Evaluate/Create questions (from Smallest Girl). Teacher scaffolding/ modeling and then students try individually. Read the book. Discuss: What questions can we ask that help us think outside of the text? Ex. Choose a side and/or plan how you would make your group. StepbyStep: The teacher will begin the lesson with a review of clue words
already learned. The teacher will introduce Evaluate and Create cue words.
These can be written on the board written on sentence strips, which can be used again.
Those words are: Evaluatedecide, rate, choose, recommend, justify, assess, prioritize; Create—create, invent, plan, compose, construct, design, imagine.
Using the text (Smallest Girl) as a reference, the teacher will guide the students through creating Understand questions about pages 12. Teacher will write questions down on the board.
Students will break into their small groups and create Evaluate/Create questions about pages 2930. Each group of students will get a pad of 3x3 sticky notes (accommodations can made by giving students sticky notes with lines)
Each group of students will get a photocopy of the spread and/or a SMART Board projection of the spread can be used.
In their groups, students will develop 12 questions for each and write them on sticky notes.
Once each group has 34 questions, the class will come back together and place their sticky notes on the anchor chart version of Bloom’s wheel. All previous questions should still be on the chart.
The teacher will have each group share their best question and the class as a whole will revisit the page in the text and answer the question.
The lesson will end with a review of the Evaluate/Create clue words.
Day 7 Overview: Teacher read aloud/ think aloud of Blue on Blue. Focus questions on illustrations. Majority of the questions will be provided by the teacher. List with suggested/example questions to follow. StepbyStep: Mirroring Day 1, the teacher will do an interactive read aloud
with the class. Before reading the book, the teacher will show the students the
cover have ask them what they see on the cover, what it makes them think about, and what it makes them wonder. This can just be done orally or in a chart.
The teacher will begin reading the book asking few of the probing questions from below.
Once the teacher has completed the reading of the story, they will ask the class if their predictions about the story from the cover were correct. Will go back into the book to find evidence if the students are correct.
Day 8 Overview: In depth look at the illustrations in Blue on Blue. Teacher reviews types of questions. In groups, students become familiar with the text and begin to ask questions for 1 spread. Students come up with 1 question at each level for the spread. StepbyStep: The teacher will review the six different levels of questioning and
the clue words that correspond with each one. The teacher will reference the anchor chart with Bloom’s Taxonomy Wheel.
As an example, the teacher will model the questioning technique by creating questions for spread 1. The class will assist the teacher in creating the questions.
Each small group of students will get one spread from the book and create one question at each level. Students will be able to
reference the anchor chart with question prompts as well as their individual Bloom’s Taxonomy Wheels.
As an accommodation, students can be provided with a graphic organizer with question starters to get the students started and scaffold their thinking. This could also be used for the entire class.
Once the groups have created their six questions, the class will come back together and share their best question they came up with.
Day 9 Overview: Teacher reviews types of questions and reminds students what they did the day before. Students continue to ask questions for using 3 more spreads from the book. Students come up with 1 question at each level for each spread (6 questions per spread, 18 total). StepbyStep: The teacher starts by reminding students about what they did
the day before. The teacher will review the same spread (spread 12) and questions from the previous day.
Each group will receive 3 spreads to complete questions for. They will get one spread as a time, and when they complete their 6 questions they will go to the teacher to get approval of those questions and receive the next spread.
Day 10 Overview: Students finish/ review their questions from the previous days, and share their strongest question with their small groups. Small groups will answer the questions and share the strongest/ most creative with the entire class. StepbyStep: Students will review their questions in their small groups. If they
have not completed all of their questions, they will be able to finish them.
Once all groups have completed their 3 spreads of questions, the whole class will come back together.
Going through the book, each group will share their best question about each spread, and the class will answer the question.
To close the unit, the teacher will review the different types of questions and will encourage the students to use them outside of looking at texts. The anchor chart will continue to be referenced throughout the year and get students to think smarter, not harder.
Students’ will be assessed throughout the presentation of questions, based on what questions they have created as well as through observation during the small group work.
*As a visual aid, have the students color in the spokes of their individual Bloom’s Wheel as they complete and master each part of the questioning lesson. Assessments: Students will be assessed formatively and summatively, individually and as a group. The formative assessments are included in the rubric under the “individual” heading and address the learners’ ability to work in the group setting. The summative assessments will be figured under the “group” heading and apply to the number and variety of questions created by the group. This activity is meant to inspire and redirect thinking about questioning and strategies. It is not meant as an end all summative assessment for using Bloom’s Taxonomy. A rubric is included below. Extensions: This activity would also work well for third, and even fourth grade since the goal is creating good questions and not the books themselves.
Additional Books: The following books could be paired and adapted to this activity with very similar questions. Similar to The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade: Kang, A. (2014). You are not small. (C. Weyant, Illustrator). Seattle, WA: Two Lions. Rabinowitz, A. (2014). A boy and a jaguar. (C. Chien, Illustrator). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers. Similar to Blue on Blue: MacLachlan, P. (2011). Your moon, my moon: A grandmother's words to a faraway child. (B. Collier, Illustrator). Delran, NJ: Simon & Schuster. Swanson, S.M. (2008). The house in the night. (B. Krommes, Illustrator). Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers. Example Probing Questions for The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade: *The pages are not numbered in the book, but were started at the first page of text.
Pages Teacher Questions
Title Page How many children are in this picture? Do you see anything bad going on in the lines?
12 Predict: Which child in the picture is Sally? What do you notice from the illustrations? What stands out the most? Examine the illustration: what do you think the illustrator used (paint, crayon, etc)?
34 What is the illustrator trying to show on these pages?
56 How do you think the Sally McCabe (the smallest girl) feels in this illustration?
7 How does the illustrator use size to make a point?
8 In one word, what do you think Sally is feeling in this illustration?
9 How does this colors in this illustration make you feel? Does you feel lonely? What stands out in this illustration?
10 Any reaction to this illustration?
1112 Do you think Sally wants to help Kevin McKuen? What else is happening in this illustration?
1314 Does the Sally seem concerned for Billy? Yes or no? Why?
1516 Do you notice a pattern happening in this illustration from the previous pages? What seems to be happening to the other children that Sally notices?
1718 How do you think Sally feels that the flowers are being run over by a bulldozer? Even though Sally is not in this illustration, do think she would be sad?
1920 What do you think Sally is going to do by stepping out of the lunch line? Draw your school lunch.
2122 How does illustration make you feel? Are you happy for Sally taking a stand?
2324 Do you think Sally is being supported by her classmates in this illustration? Choose a side: would you stand up with Sally or no? Why? What do you notice about the hands on this page: what is different? What is the same?
2526 What does this illustration make you think about?
2728 Does it seem the classmates are working as a group in this illustration?
2930 Compare and contrast the differences between the first two pages and the last two pages. Design a plan to stop bullying in your school.
Example Questions for Blue on Blue: *There are significantly less questions posted here as the students should be coming up with some on their own. Every two pages is referred to as a spread, i.e. pages 12 is spread 1. There are no pages numbers but the spreads begin on the first page of text.
Spread Teacher Questions
1 Examine the picture: what do you think the illustrators used paint, crayons, etc)? What is the first thing you see? How many dogs are in this picture?
3 Where is the house from page 1? How have the clouds changed from page 1? Identify the different types of animals in this picture. Explain why the tree is bending.
4 How does this picture make you feel? Why? Which way is the wind blowing? How does the person feel on the little boat? How has the water changed from page 1?
5 What do the kids see? Imagine how they feel.
6 Examine the pigs’ expressions. How do you think they feel?
10 What has changed in this picture versus spreads 5 and 6?
13 Where is the house from page 1? What feeling do you get from this picture?
19 What is the first thing that you notice on this picture?
21 (final two pages)
Create a new cover for this book.
Bloom’s Taxonomy Wheel: This is a copy of the wheel used when creating this lesson. Make a large one as an anchor chart and create little black and white ones for the students (they can color them as you complete learning about each set of questions).
Image borrowed from: Mcknight, S. (2013). Bloom’s taxonomy made real. Patheos: Holding the Conversation on Faith. Retrieved from http://www. patheos.com/ blogs/jesus creed/2013/ 07/11/ blooms taxonomy madereal/
Rubric: Rubrics for Lit Circle Lesson: Creating Good Questions Individual Rubric:
1 2 3
Individual Student was not attentive during teacher read aloud.
Student was mostly attentive during teacher read aloud.
Student was fully attentive during teacher read aloud.
Work in Group
Student did very little to help the group create questions. Student was off task and unfocused.
Student helped the group create questions. Student was on task most of the time.
Student did a great job helping the group create questions. Student was on task the entire time.
Etiquette in Group
Student did not act appropriately in the group. Student was uncooperative and/or put down others.
Student behaved appropriately in the group. He/she had two or less redirections.
Student was a star with group etiquette. He/she did not have to be redirected.
Group Rubric:
1 2 3
Number of Questions
Students created 11 or less required questions.
Students created between 12 and 19 required questions.
Students created between 20 and 24 required questions.
Variety of Questions
Students used very little variety in Bloom’s Taxonomy questions. 3 or less levels were present.
Student used some variety in Bloom’s Taxonomy questions. 45 levels were present.
Students used lots of variety in Bloom’s Taxonomy questions. All 6 levels were present.
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