HOTS Using Higher Order Thinking Skills to Write

HOTS Using Higher Order Thinking Skills to Write Essential Questions By: Schlenia Lynn June 2, 2014

Essential Question for Today How do we use questions to guide instruction and challenge our students?

The griney grollers grandled in the granchy gak. • • What kind of grollers were they? What did the grollers do? Where did they do it? What kind of gak did they grandle?

The griney grollers grandled in the granchy gak. • Place one line under the subject and two lines under the verb. • Explain why the grollers were grandling in the granchy gak. Be prepared to justify your answer with evidence. • If you had to grandle in a granchy gak, what item would you chose to have with you and why?

Essential Questions vs. Higher Order Thinking Skills Prompts • • • Essential Questions Concepts or skills in the form of a question (replaces the objectives) Organizes and sets the focus of the lesson Tool to help teachers gather evidence of learning Goal is to be answered by the end of the lesson One per lesson – may take more than a day or two to answer Cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” (Oliver, nd) HOTS Prompts • • Questions or prompts that are embedded into the lesson at certain points during instruction Provide opportunities for students to be challenged May be used to determine direction of instruction Present students with at least 3 higher order thinking questions per lesson. This is proof that you are presenting your students with challenging questions and meeting the needs of your advanced learners

Examples of Essential Questions Topic Example of Essential Question Not example of Essential Question Why are carbohydrates important for your body? List 10 carbohydrates? Habitats and ecosystems How do you distinguish between a habitat and an ecosystem? What is a habitat? What is an ecosystem? Making inferences Carbohydrates Civil War Graphing quadratic equations How do readers use authors’ clues to make inferences? What is an inference? What were the advantages of both the North and South during the Civil War? Who was involved in and won the Civil War? How do I graph quadratic functions? Can you graph a quadratic equation?

New Bloom’s Taxonomy High Level Thinking Skills Low Level Thinking Skills

HOTS Verbs and Product Outcomes Low Level: Remembering, Understanding, Applying High Level: Analyzing, Evaluating, Creating

Writing HOTS Questions Blooms Taxonomy HOTS ACTIVITY Activity 1: Remembering Say the Pledge Activity 2: Understanding Explain what indivisible , liberty, and justice mean. Activity 3: Apply What questions would you ask to Francis Bellamy, the composer of the original Pledge of Allegiance? Activity 4: Analyzing Discuss the meaning of “and to the Republic for which it stands’ in terms of its importance to the pledge. ” Activity 5: Evaluation Describe the purpose of the pledge and assess how well it achieves that purpose. Suggest improvements. Activity 6: Create Write a contract between yourself and a friend that includes an allegiance to a symbol that stands for something you both believe in.

Writing HOTS Questions • Select a topic from your grade level • Brainstorm 6 concepts related to the topic • Using a grid, select a verb from Bloom’s Taxonomy for each level, one of the concepts, and a product for each task • Translate grid into complete sentences

Topic: Mountain Lion Concept: HOTS Verb: Product: Sentence: Range and Applying population of the mountain lion Identify map Draw a map with a legend identifying the mountain lion’s current range and population. Preservation Evaluating of the mountain lion Criticize letter Write a letter to the U. S. Government criticizing their role in the preservation of the mountain lion. Food and Creating habitat of the mountain lion Design a 3 D Model that illustrates the mountain lion’s natural habitat and food source. 3 D model

Practice Using the Grid • Select a topic from your grade level • Brainstorm 3 concepts related to the topic • Using a grid, select a verb from Bloom’s Taxonomy for each level, one of the concepts, and a product for each task • Translate grid into complete sentences

How you can use HOTS in the classroom? • Write essential questions • Word of the day – get students familiar with the terms • Centers – choice menus • Homework – 1 -2 HOTS questions instead of 10 lower level questions • Group discussions • Notebook reflections • Exit slips • Quiz/Test • Student created questions

Personal Check-UP Answer the following questions: 1. Are your teaching objectives, activities, and assessments tied to higher order thinking? 2. Do all learners have the opportunity to interact with you and others? 3. Do you allow time in your course for debating? 4. Do your learners have to use inductive and deductive strategies? 5. Do you find yourself using "shock" statements and questions to get learners' minds running?

Essential Question for Today How do we use questions to guide instruction and challenge our students?

Teacher Share Drive • • Power. Point HOTS Verbs and Question Stems Planning Grid Additional Resources

References • Oliver, S. , Facilitator, A. , & Academy, C. C. (n. d. ). ESSENTIAL QUESTION (SESSION QUESTION): . Retrieved June 1, 2014, from http: //www. edutopia. org/pdfs/stw/edutopiacochrane-schturnaround-PD-essentialquestions. pdf