What makes a good essential question?
Essential questions are imperative because they give purpose and meaning to a text that students may otherwise not be interested in. Essential questions prepare readers for success by connecting to their prior interests. Essential questions must (1) grab the kids’ attention because it is interesting and relevant to their lives, and (2) get after the heart of the text you are reading. The question should be open-ended and debatatble—there should be several right answers and several ways to explore those possible answers. Next winter I will be doing my student teaching. I’ll be doing a unit on Romeo and Juliet and Lord of the Flies. My essential question for the former will be “What makes a good relationship?” And my question for the latter will be “What is out true human nature?”
A pretty good question for Romeo and Juliet, Blake. The Lord of the Flies might be better if restated. Are you trying to get down to what human nature is when stripped down from the veneer of civilization?
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