Lesson Q3 L1 – What Makes a Good Research Question?
Lesson Overview
Quarter 3 · Research & Investigation · Week 1 · Grades 3–5 · Lesson length: 45–60 minutes
Essential Question: What makes a question one that scientists can investigate?
Tool Focus: Identifying questions.
Why It Matters: Research begins with a question. Students learn the difference between questions that can be answered by looking something up, questions of opinion, and questions that can be investigated with data — the starting point for every Quarter 3 investigation.
Standards & Learning Targets
NGSS: 3-5-ETS1-1 (define a simple problem); SEP: Asking Questions and Defining Problems; CCC: Cause and Effect.
ISTE: 1.3 Knowledge Constructor (3a: plan and employ research strategies); 1.1 Empowered Learner (1a: articulate learning goals).
Learning Targets — students will be able to: Sort questions into investigable, research (look-up), and opinion questions. • Explain what makes a question investigable. • Write one investigable question about the garden.
Key Vocabulary: question · investigate · research · opinion · evidence · scientist
Materials & Teacher Prep
Materials Needed
- Garden journals or research notebooks
- Sticky notes, chart paper, markers
- Question sort cards (investigable, look-up, opinion)
- Quarter 2 Garden Data Dashboards
- Student Worksheet 3.1 (Student Worksheets file)
Teacher Prep Checklist
- Prepare 20 question cards about the garden (mix of types).
- Post the three category headers.
- Display Quarter 2 dashboards and student questions.
Lesson Flow & Timing
| Engage · 5–10 min | Explore · 20 min | Explain · 10 min | Elaborate · 10 min | Evaluate · 5 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question wall hook | Question card sort | Three kinds of questions | My investigable question | Exit ticket + wrap-up |
Phase 1 · Engage — The Hook
Teacher Talk: PCM: Curiosity. “Scientists don’t start with answers — they start with questions. But some questions can be answered with an investigation, and some can’t. ‘Is compost good?’ is hard to test. ‘Do radishes grow taller with compost than without?’ is something we can measure. Today you’ll learn to tell the difference.” Preview the vocabulary for this activity: question, investigate, opinion, and scientist. The formal definitions come in Explain.
Ask Students: “Which question could we answer by doing an experiment?” • “Which could we look up?” • “Which question is an opinion?”
PCM Differentiation: Thinker Students: “What would you need to measure to answer this question? If nothing can be measured, can we investigate it?”
Harmonizer Students: “Which question would help our garden or the people who use it the most?”
Phase 2 · Explore — Kagan Cooperative Activity
Kagan Structure: Showdown (20 min): Showdown fits sorting tasks: every student commits to an answer privately before the team compares, so no one just copies.
Step-by-Step: Step 1 — Model (3 min): Teacher shows one card (“Why are plants green?”) and thinks aloud: can we change something and measure a result?
- Step 2 — Showdown rounds (10 min): The Showdown Captain reads a question card; each student writes “Investigable” or “Not yet” on a whiteboard; on “Showdown!” all reveal, then discuss and agree. Rotate Captain each card.
- Step 3 — Fix it (5 min): Teams rewrite two “Not yet” cards so they can be investigated (add what changes and what is measured).
- Step 4 — Share (2 min): Teams post their best rewritten question.
Teacher Moves During Explore: Ask: “What would you change? What would you measure?” • When teams disagree, ask each student to justify before the team decides. • Look for questions that need a tool — prompt: “Which Quarter 2 tool would collect that data?” • Collect strong rewrites to use as models in Explain.
Phase 3 · Explain — Direct Instruction
Three Kinds of Questions (10 minutes): Display one weak question and model rewriting it step by step (add a change, a measurement, and a tool) before naming the features of an investigable question.
Investigable question: Can be answered by collecting data through observation or a test (e.g., “Does mulch change soil moisture?”).
Research (look-up) question: Can be answered from a reliable source (e.g., “What is the planting depth of radish?”).
Opinion question: Depends on what someone likes; data cannot settle it.
Good research questions: Are specific, can be measured with tools we have, and can be answered in the time we have.
Key Teacher Message: Scientists turn wonderings into questions they can test. A good research question names something we can change and something we can measure.
Check for Understanding — Ask Students: “Is “Which plant is prettiest?” investigable? Why not?” • “How could we change it into an investigable question?” • “What tool could help answer your question?”
Phase 4 · Elaborate — Student Product & Differentiation
Student Product: Students write one investigable garden question and identify the tool they would use to collect data.
Differentiation by Grade Band: Grades 3–4: Use a question stem: “Does ___ change ___?” and choose a tool from picture cards.
Grade 5: Write two investigable questions, choose the stronger one, and explain why it is testable.
Phase 5 · Evaluate — Closure, Exit Ticket & Assessment
Exit Ticket: 1. What makes a question investigable?
- Change this into an investigable question: “Is compost good?”
- Write your garden question.
Answer Key / Look-Fors: (1) It can be answered by changing something and measuring or observing a result. (2) Example: “Do radishes grow taller in soil with compost than without compost?” (3) A question that names a change and a measurement.
Expanding Circles — how does this connect to… Self — What do you wonder about at home? • Classroom — What questions does our class have about the garden? • School — What questions could help our school? • Community — What questions do farmers near us need answered? • World — What big questions are scientists investigating around the world?
Formative Assessment (evidence for sorting students: each investigable garden question with its tool and the exit-ticket rewrite of “Is compost good?”): Meets (3): Writes an investigable garden question that names a change, a measurement, and a tool.
Approaching (2): Question is about the garden but missing the change or the measurement.
Not Yet (1): Question is a yes/no opinion or fact question — reteach with the “change → measure” frame.
Extend & Looking Ahead
To close, show your grade’s 1-minute recap video: Grade 3; Grade 4; Grade 5.
Extension: start a class “Question Parking Lot” for wonderings.
Sample team investigations: Does mulch keep soil moister? Does compost extract change plant growth? Does shade cloth lower soil temperature? Do worm castings speed up germination?
Looking ahead: Lesson 3.2 gathers new questions through a garden question walk.