This document discusses ways for teachers to challenge students and encourage progress through questioning techniques. It provides examples of open-ended questions teachers can pose to students at the start of lessons to stimulate thinking on different levels of challenge. It also offers strategies for questioning students during lessons, such as planning questions in advance and using techniques like posing, pausing, bouncing and pouncing. The document emphasizes making questions an important part of the classroom by modeling questioning, providing opportunities for students to practice, and responding positively to student answers rather than just saying if they are right or wrong.

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN34FNbOKXc
Challenge 1
“An outstanding teacher tries to put the fun back into learning;
whilst never losing the focus that something challenging and
worthwhile is being learnt”
Sue Lane, senior consultant, Peterborough

2. Challenge all your students at the very
start of your lesson
Choose your level of challenge…
Super challenge: Create a title for chapter 3 and 4 – use your
timeline to help you.
Super-sonic challenge: If you were an animal from ‘Animal Farm’
– who/what would you be?
Ultra-sonic challenge: Write what you know about ‘Animal Farm’
so far …BUT your sentences must match the digits in your mobile
phone number!
For example: if your number was 07724976759 – you’d have to write a
sentences made up of a 7 letter word, 7, then 2, 4, 9 etc…

3. Challenge stars: progress enhancers
Use
personification to
hit a level ___.

4. Questioning
• Plan the questions you’re going to ask – write them on your
plan.
• Use pose, pause, bounce, pounce – it really does
work.
• Make sure you ask all students questions – plan to ask your FSM
students one day and then G&T girls another…
• Give them time. “What else?”
 95% of all questions in a lesson come from the teacher.
 The average time a teacher waits for a response is 2.7 seconds.

5. Questioning
Thunks: Students are encouraged to'generate imaginative ideas to stimuli;
look at and think about things differently and from other points of view and ask
"why", "how", "what if" or unusual questions...
Try them on your class and see what happens - you'll be amazed where the
ensuing conversations may lead.
And remember, there are no right or wrong answers with these questions.
Is there more future or past?
Can you cast a shadow into a dark room?
In a dark room what does a mirror reflect?
Can you touch the wind?
Can you touch a rainbow?
Is there more happiness or sadness in the world?
When preparing for ‘Romeo
and Juliet’ CA focused on the
theme hate – students were
asked: how love survive
without hate? Can hate
survive without love?

6. Questioning
‘Oops! Helping Children Learn Accidently’
Hywel Roberts
8 great ways a teacher can make questions important in their classroom:
1) Teacher vocalising thinking and wonder out loud. I’m really wondering
how we are going to convince the old lady to leave her home.
2) Teacher fallibility. I really don’t know the answer to this…do you?
3) Teacher modelling questioning for students. The questions I have for the
old lady are: how are you going to cope on this island alone? Etc. What
are yours?
4) Teacher provides opportunities for students to practice their skills. Hot
seating, generate questions for press conference, create own exam
questions…
Why does Orwell use the verb ‘whimper’ to
describe Napoleon…? Because whimper makes him
seem pathetic, right? But he’s powerful? I don’t
know why Orwell would chose that verb…what do
you think?

7. Questioning
‘Oops! Helping Children Learn Accidently’
Hywel Roberts
8 great ways a teacher can make questions important in their classroom:
5) Teacher plans time for students' questions and for dealing with them
effectively. Waiting time! What else?
6) Teacher uses wrong answers to develop understanding. Rather than
telling a student ‘no’ or ‘wrong’ – use other students to draw out their
thoughts.
7) Teacher prompts students. (pose, pause, bounce, pounce)
8) Teacher listens and responds positively. Try not to finish the student’s
sentence or respond with ‘yes, well done’.

8. Creating challenge

9. I’m stuck…
1) ok, so do something different
2) Well imagine you were someone who was not stuck – what
would they do?
3) If you could go home when you have finished this bit of work,
what would you do?
4) What have you forgotten to do?
5) Think what the answer is then work backwards to where you
are now.
6) Ok, do it wrong so we have something to work with
‘Whole School Progress the Lazy Way’
Jim Smith
Avoid “if you get stuck, put your hand up..”
Avoid setting yourself up as the expert – like
they can’t do without you!

10. Progress the fun way…

11. And before you go…