Because the question the textbook asks at the beginning of the chapter is dry as a bone
A student looks up from the worksheet and asks, "Why do we need to learn this?"
If you've heard that this month (you’re definitely not alone), I can almost guarantee it’s not your content area or the material. Instead, look at the question holding your unit together.
Learning how to write essential questions is much simpler than you think, and I run every one of mine through the same six-point checklist.
Let's take a textbook unit question and make it juicy.
That’s the YouTube video version of this blog in case you’re more of an audio/visual person.
Why most essential questions aren't essential
Most of us don't even start with a bad question, per se. We start with a topic and pretty much just add a question mark.
"What rights are in the Bill of Rights?" looks like a question. But a student can find the answer, copy it down and forget it by Friday. It’s a good question for a quiz, or a learning check, but it can't carry a whole unit.
Now try this: "When, if ever, should safety come before freedom?"
There's no page number for that one. It’s a question that’s multi-faceted. Your students will need the Bill of Rights, personal experience, perspective, and more to answer it. So, you’re not losing any rigor by using it. In fact, you're giving students a reason to care about it.
There's a longer breakdown of the two question types in The Difference Between a Unit Question and an Essential Question.
How to write essential questions: the 6-point checklist
Draft your question first. It’s okay if it sounds a little wonky at first. We’re going to check it against these six factors.
Check 1: There's no single right answer
Here's the test: could a student look it up in the textbook in order to get the answer? If it does, it needs a rewrite.
Look-up-able: "What rights are in the Bill of Rights?"
Juicy: "When, if ever, should safety come before freedom?"
Check 2: Students will disagree (AND RIGHTFULLY SO)
Picture two kids on opposite sides of the room. Both are holding real evidence. Both are defending their answer. If you can't picture that, the question is still too dry.
Check 3: It uses everyday language
Save the content-area vocab for the unit. An essential question has to invite everyone into the conversation on day one.
Instead of: "What are the characteristics of a dystopian society?"
Try: "Why do people accept a world that hurts them?"
Your ELA students will still read the novel and learn the vocab. They'll just have a way in before they get there.
Check 4: It has a human hook
This one takes a little practice. The question should ideally touch something fundamentally human. Fear. Power. Loyalty. Fairness.
In a journalism class, you could ask, "Do lies spread faster than the truth, and whose fault is that?" Every kid with a phone already has an opinion because of social media.
Check 5: It's wide enough for the whole unit
Students should be able to answer it on day one with what they already know. Then they should answer it again in week two, after some reading and learning. And they should still have more to say on the day of the assessment.
That's where it gets fun. Sofia told me King George III reminded her of her toxic ex. Two weeks later, she was talking about how brave the colonists were to ditch tradition and start rocking the boat. Same student, same unit, just way more of a rich learning experience.
Check 6: It's sUCCINCT
It's tempting to add every qualifier and over-explain. Don't. If it can't be said in one breath, students don't have room to wrestle with it. Let them find the nuance themselves.
Instead of: "Exploring the economics of supply and demand and..." (wah wah wah)
Try: "Do humans care more about the short term or the long term?"
Once questions like this are part of your classroom culture, students will know it isn't a trick. They'll know it's meant to hold a whole spectrum of answers and grow with them.
How many checks does your question need?
Check as many as you can before your unit starts. If one is missing, you can probably get away with it, as long as the question is juicy enough to get the conversation going. If two or more are empty, I’d suggest revising it.
And if you're starting from a textbook question you've used for years, that's totally fine. Most of us do. That's what the checklist is for.
Stuck? Steal a stem
You don't have to start from a blank page. Stems can get your ideas moving, and they're in the free EQ Checklist. Print it and keep it wherever you plan.
Try one with your next unit:
When, if ever, is ___ justified?
Who benefits when ___ goes unchallenged?
Where's the line between ___ and ___?
Then run your draft through all six checks. There is no such thing as a question too big for your students. They will rise to the standard you set.
Now write yours
The hard part isn't making a question sound smart. It's being willing to ask one you can't answer for them.
Try this test tomorrow. Say your question out loud to a student. If they ask, "Wait, what do you mean?" and then start arguing, you've got it.
Want help with your essential question?
Build it with other teachers. The DHT Club is free to join. You get the Unit in 7 challenge and the EQ Lab preview, where you can run your own question through the six-point check. Want my feedback on your real units, plus the full Lab? That's Premium, at $22 a month. Join the Deeply Human Teaching Club
Or go deep on this one skill. The Essential Questions Workshop is $19.99, no subscription. You get the 6-phase process for keeping your question alive all unit, the EQ Bank and a unit planning template built backwards. Get the Workshop
Students rise to the standard you set. So do we.