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Answering Essential Questions

Answering Essential Questions. How do I Get started?. What?. In English 20-2 Essential Questions are meant to contribute to your understanding of the world around you as it relates to your own communication.

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Answering Essential Questions

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  1. Answering Essential Questions How do I Get started?

  2. What? • In English 20-2 Essential Questions are meant to contribute to your understanding of the world around you as it relates to your own communication. • Essential Questions are questions that do not have easy or immediate answers. They are meant to provoke deeper thinking about issues or surrounding themes in the course. • When answering Essential Questions, you will need to show that you have been attentive to your personal experience, personal knowledge, as well as demonstrate an understanding of what you have studied in the course up to this point (when relevant).

  3. Getting Started 1. Answer from your own perspective. • Jot down thoughts of what YOU know, or have personally observed about the topic or key words in the topic. • Examining what you know of your topic, think of details to elaborate or support your knowledge. • This might involve giving a small explanation or description of an event or conflict you’ve experienced or observed. It could also be a chance to elaborate on other ideas that come up as a result of your brainstorming. • Essential questions are morevaluable when you can relate what you know to a new concept to demonstrate how you understand it. When you are brain storming, explore all options! Your experiences count for a lot when answering Essential Questions. When initially thinking about the question or brainstorming…

  4. 2. Look at what you have studied in the course to see how it might relate to your question. • Are there any pieces of text (from the course materials) that have sharpened your thinking about this Essential Question? Clarify what parts of your lessons might relate when continuing to brainstorm. • Some examples of possible connections may be found in a conflict a character is in, or the action(s) or motivations of a character. You may even wish to consider the purpose of an author, or the theme of the text overall. • Consider if there are there any predictions you can make about the question and what you’ve learned in the course that may help you explore your question further.

  5. Wait… What if I don’t understand the question? • Pick out the key words and phrases to explore their significance. E.g. “CAN I ADVOCATE FOR MYSELF AND OTHERSWHEN NECESSARY IN ALL ASPECTS OF MY LIFE, EVEN THE UNKNOWN?” • Are there any words you don’t understand? Make sure you look them up to be sure of their meaning. Often, checking the meaning will give you more ideas of what to explore in the question! • E.G. Advocate: To speak up for oneself or others, in support or defense of These are also great questions to get into conversations about. Talk to a friend, a co-worker, teacher or a parent/guardian. What do they think? Do they have some ideas you might not have thought of?

  6. “CAN I ADVOCATE FOR MYSELF AND OTHERSWHEN NECESSARY IN ALL ASPECTS OF MY LIFE, EVEN THE UNKNOWN?” • Look carefully at your key phrases above. Another strategy for understanding these questions is to break them up into chunks. What kinds of questions could come from breaking this Essential Question apart? • Write down ideas of questions you have relating to your Essential Question or its key words. Some examples of breaking up and exploring this Essential Question are: • Are there areas of my life I cannot advocate for myself or others in? Why, or why not? Is it necessary that I am able to? How might I go about that? • What does “when necessary” mean? Does it imply that it is optional for me to do this, or not optional? What do I think about that? • What is the “unknown” specifically, when it comes to my life? Is it the future? Is it something that might happen tomorrow? Is it something that I know will happen later but am unprepared for? • What does it mean then, to be able to advocate for myself and others now and in the unknown? What do I need to be able to do? Who might need me to advocate for them? • What skills or knowledge in regards to supporting myself do I have that might need attention? Are there skills and knowledge that I’m lacking?

  7. 3. Planning your response • After you have completed your brainstorming (notes, mind mapping, etc.), pick out the ideas you have that are the most relevant to what the question is asking. • Think about how to order your ideas in a way that makes sense to you and to the reader. Don’t worry about answering the question “properly” as much as providing good explanation and details of your exploration. If necessary, make a rough outline or set of notes to plan your composition. • Please note: This is not a formally written response. You can use casual language (“I”, “me”, “my” etc.) to communicate your ideas.

  8. 4. Writing your response • Remember to start out with an introduction that includes at least one feature of the question you are interested in. • Talking about what part of the question interested you the most can help set the direction of your writing in the beginning. (E.g. “I have never thought about self-advocacy before this. When I really started thinking about it, I realized some pretty interesting things about myself and what I’ve learned in the course so far.” ) • You should write minimum of half a page to answer your question, and use paragraphs. • Remember that one paragraph usually explores ONE idea. Write accordingly. • It will be important to have a clear introduction and a clear conclusion • In any piece of writing, you need to give your reader a clear indication of how and where you are beginning (introduction), and a clear indication of how and where you have reached a thoughtful end (conclusion).

  9. 5. Submission & Assessment of Essential Questions • You will be responding to Essential Questions in the labeled available space in the Workbook or online on the English 20-2 Course Blog. • Even if you are responding in print, if you have an opportunity to check out the course blog, please do! • Directions on how to log into the course blog can be found online, or by contacting your teacher. Your markers will be looking for: • Considered thought and detail (have you explored your question thoroughly and provided a detailed explanation of your ideas and connections? Have you referred to your own experiences as well as to what you have learned in the course so far? Are you showing a clear understanding and consideration of the question?) • Clear and effective presentation (is your response easy to understand, well structured, and edited for mistakes?)

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