Week #6

10-15-13
1. In Bb Learning Journal, before reading Afflerbach, describe qualities of good questions about
text. After reading Afflerbach, return to the Bb Learning Journal and expand upon your list
add new qualities, get more specific about the ones you have, show your thinking.
The qualities of good questions about text direct the reader to develop a deeper understanding
of the text. In order for that to happen the reader needs to be able to synthesis the text that
they have read and be able to draw out information that is important to the text while
disregard information that is not key to the text.
After reading Chapter 3: Teacher Questioning as Assessment, I was reminded that questions
should relate to the different levels of Bloom's Taxonomy of Thinking and that questions should
have the qualities as observed in the checklist that Slack developed for asking appropriate
questions those are listed as followed :
Questions that are appropriately phrased and understood by students.
Questions that are at an appropriate level for the materials being covered.
Questions that require student to think at various intellectual levels.
Questions follow a logical sequence.
Student responses guide the next question.
Questions are consistent with the intended goals or objectives of the lesson.
Questions that assess student understanding.
Questions that require the student to process if the answer was incomplete or superficial.
Encourage students to provide cues or rephrase difficult questions.
Avoid closed-ended questions that restrict students demonstration of learning.

I agree with the qualities as listed above. But when I read the question that is not how I
interpreted it. I guess that this is a great example of how students do not always interpret the
question the way the teacher intended. My thought process jumped to what qualities that I
would want the student to gain from the question not how the question should be presented to
the student. To expand on my original answer I would refer page 69 where Joan describes the
she is responsible that her student are able to learn from the text they read in all content areas
and that they must be able to apply what they have learned. She also goes on to state that she
needs to instill the idea that good questions lead to more good questions and that diverse
questions lead to new ways thinking and how we process this for future use.
2. Choose a text: I selected the book What Joe Saw by Anna Grossnickle Hines




3. Listed below in the table are the questions that I selected from the above text.
Page 6 Hurry up, Joe. You have to
keep up. Mrs. Murphy said.
What is Joe stopping to look
at?
(comprehension)

Why didnt his teacher and
class stop?
(evaluation)

Page 11 Come on, Pokey Joe, said
Pete, who was first in
line. Youll make us take all
day.
Why is Pete calling Joe Pokey
Joe?
(Knowledge)

What will take all day?
(comprehension)

Page 3 Joe was the last one to lineup
for the walk to the park.
What is Joe looking at?
(comprehension)

Why do you think he isnt
lining up with the rest of the
class?
(synthesis)


These are good questions because as Afflerbach sited the importance of using Blooms Levels of
Taxonomy of Thinking and also went on to talk about Slacks checklist for asking appropriate
questions. These questions follow both of those guidelines.
Chapter 5: In my current position the only type of Performance Assessment that I do with the
students is a cold running record. What I mean by that is the first time reading of a book that
they have never seen before. The outcomes of this assessment do two main things for me.
They show me what the students is able to do independently within text and it also gives me
direction on what area I still need to teach them in order for them to become independent. It is
a good assessment because it allows me to measure students reading and learning. Although a
short coming is that it is not always across the curriculum as Afflerbach talks about in the
chapter.