Questioning Techniques - Connection Questions

Carol Brewer
Sep 20, 2010

How do I use the Connection type questions to make the connection from instruction to assessments?

The Questioning Technique is the way in which you plan for and use questions. Connection questions require students to use prior knowledge to make the connections from text to text, text to self and text to world. Connection questions are often missed because they require students to think about and reflect on what they have read. The answers are not right there in the text and many times they are not referenced. The question might refer to the text, but students have to make personal connections. For example, "What experience is most like that of the character?"

Students should go back and reread the text and think about how the character connects to the different experiences. The question does not want the students to identify the character, it wants the students to think about the character traits and make connections to possible real life experiences. It is important for students to recognize and practice these questions at an early age.

The best way to implement connection type questions is for students to use their own writing. It is all about the questions that are being asked. For example, kindergarten student draws a picture of a farm, labels the details in the picture and writes sentences about their picture. Questions asked should be, "Have you ever been to a farm?" Students have to think about the ducks and the pond and the connections to real life experiences. Once this questioning technique is understood and trusted by students, it is a valuable strategy for any type of assessment. Using the results from the assessments is also a powerful strategy to use in small flexible groups to meet the needs of all students.

A suggested structure for the Questioning Techniques is for schools to have a monthly focus for their questions. Just like the Comprehension Strategy of the Month, teachers model and apply one type of question throughout the month to ensure that students can understand and use them independently. Additional type questions can of course be used throughout the month, but this is the focus type question for the month.

Additional information for the Questioning Techniques can be found with the Connecting Learning to Assessments training, book and flipchart.