e all strive to become skillful questioners in the classroom. By and large, we generally ask more questions than the students do. By seeking their questions first, we can help them explore considerations they might not otherwise have. Once again the point is to ask them to write their questions so that all students are involved, not just the quick thinkers who give us the questions we wanted, allowing us to hasten to the points we had in mind all along.

If you asked students to write on authenticity or vulnerability, as suggested in the previous exercise, they might pose the following questions: How do I recognize the authentic from the unauthentic? Am I authentic? Is vulnerability desirable? When does vulnerability become injurious? Do I understand my own vulnerabilities? Other subjects would have different questions: What is missing from this author’s argument? What do I want to know that was not provided in this information? What are the consequences of X? Formulating questions (learning what to ask and how to ask) helps students better understand the material and assess the relevance of what they are studying to themselves and their world.

Students can bring their questions to class as a homework assignment, or the questions can be generated in class.

Continue to other writing-to-learn activities
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Reader-Response Writing
The Sentence/Passage Springboard
Writing Definitions to Empower the Student
Student-Formulated Questions
The Short Summary
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Dialectical/Double Entry Notebooks
Microthemes
Answer the Question!
Clarification/Review Letters