The Power of Questioning: Guiding Student Investigations

This pedagogical picture book is a powerful tool in a small package.

The authors of The Power of Questioning invite you to nurture the potential for learning that grows out of children’s irrepressible urges to ask questions. The book’s foundation is a three-part instructional model, Powerful Practices, grounded in questioning, investigation, and assessment. To bring the model to life, the authors provide vivid pictures as well as links to special videos and audio recordings. You can actually hear teachers and students engage in questioning and watch two easy-to-adapt examples (involving plants and life cycles) of the model in action. Then, you can implement new strategies right away in your own classroom, regardless of grade or topic. Both you and your students will learn how to question effectively, making investigations more engaging. The book also illustrates how to integrate state standards, including the Next Generation Science Standards, the Common Core State Standards, and STEM education practices.

The Power of Questioningis a fresh, lively source of strategies both you and your students will enjoy. As the authors-both veteran educators-point out, the elementary science classroom is the perfect place to take advantage of natural curiosity as part of the learning process.