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Created Nov 19, 2019
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If you haven't tried the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), Black History Month might be a good time to start. The QFT teaches students how to ask questions and how to use them effectively. In the process, students learn to ask new questions about historical stories they think they already know. They practice their question-asking muscle until it becomes a reflex, a tool they can pull out and use at any time to parse challenging texts, read sources with a critical eye, and discover what they are most interested to learn about.
The QFT starts with a Question Focus prompt, or QFocus — a springboard for students' questions. The prompt can be anything (anything except for a question, that is), but it works the best when the prompt is a) simple, b) provocative, c) open to divergent thinking, and d) directly aligned to your lesson objectives. We’ve found that primary sources can be provocative as QFocus prompts. For more information on how to develop a primary source QFocus, see our lesson planning workbook.
It’s important to think through your objectives before selecting a QFocus in order to pick something that will be most effective for your students, content, and goals. While the five primary sources I list here caught my eye as potentially powerful QFocus prompts, they’re not necessarily the best match for every QFT lesson. Hopefully this post sparks some new ideas. One thing to keep in mind: If something catches your eye, gives you a gut reaction, makes you wonder or scratch your head or itch to google more about it, it's likely to do the same for students!
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Highly recommended! These carefully selected primary sources reach across grade levels and content areas, so there's something for everyone here. I'd like to make two additional observations about this album:
- The album description itself includes an explanation of the QFT that I find extremely helpful for anyone doing professional development on the process and thinking behind the Question Formulation Technique, as well as its effectiveness when used with a primary source as a Question Focus (QFocus). If you're a PD provider, don't miss it! If you're a teacher, you can get right down to work!
- It is absolutely worth your time to open each primary source individually so that you can read in the Teaching Notes about the strategies Katy has suggested for each source.
Thank you for all the thought and effort you've put into this album, 
Katy Connolly
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