Lesson Q3 L1 – The Question Wall: I Wonder…
Lesson Overview
Quarter 3 · Unit 7: Asking and Finding Out · Week 1 · Grades 1–2 · Lesson length: 35 minutes
Essential Question: What do we wonder about plants and gardens?
Lesson Focus: A bare wall waiting for our questions.
Why It Matters: Research starts with good questions. Collecting “I wonder” questions from the whole year gives students ownership of Quarter 3 and supplies the questions for the class investigation in Lessons 3.13–3.16.
Teacher Note: Use sticky notes or paper petals. Accept drawn questions from early writers and scribe for them. Keep the wall up all quarter and move questions as they are answered.
Source: New lesson — New for this series (Quarter 3), building on questions students raised while growing Petal Pails.
Standards & Learning Targets
Standards Alignment
NGSS Performance Expectations (builds toward): K-2-ETS1-1 — Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
ISTE Standards for Students: 1.3 Knowledge Constructor (1.3d: build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems)
Student Learning Targets
Learning Targets — students will be able to
- Ask a question about plants or gardens beginning with “I wonder.”
- Tell the difference between a question and a statement.
- Add a question to the class Question Wall.
Key Vocabulary: question · wonder · curious · answer · research
Materials & Teacher Prep
Materials Needed
- Large bulletin board titled “Our Question Garden”
- Paper petals or sticky notes
- Photos of Q1 and Q2 pails and investigations
- Mystery object (a seed pod or dried marigold)
Teacher Prep Checklist
- Prepare the wall with a big flower stem.
- Cut petals.
- Print photos from earlier quarters.
Lesson Flow & Timing
| Engage · 4 min | Explore · 13 min | Explain · 6 min | Elaborate · 7 min | Evaluate · 5 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mystery seed pod | Jot Thoughts: I wonder… | What makes a question | Build the Question Wall | Exit ticket |
Phase 1 · Engage — The Hook
Teacher Talk
PCM: Wonder. Pass around a seed pod. “I wonder what’s inside? I wonder how it got here? Scientists start with wondering. What do YOU wonder?” New words for today: question and wonder. Say them with the children and point to examples.
Ask Students: “What do you wonder about this pod?” “What questions do you still have about our pails?”
PCM Differentiation
Thinker Students: “How is a question different from a fact? Can you turn ‘Plants need water’ into a question?”
Harmonizer Students: “Every question matters. How can we listen when someone shares a wondering?”
Phase 2 · Explore — Kagan Cooperative Activity
Cooperative Structure
Kagan structure: Jot Thoughts. Teammates write or draw as many “I wonder…” questions as possible in a short time, each on its own slip, so the team generates many ideas without judging. (See the Teaching Reference for the structure’s steps.)
Step-by-Step
- Step 1 — Photo walk (4 min): Look at photos from Quarters 1–2; remember surprises.
- Step 2 — Jot Thoughts (6 min): Each slip gets one question (draw or write). Say it aloud as you place it.
- Step 3 — Sort duplicates (3 min): Teams stack same questions together.
Teacher Moves During Explore
- Scribe for early writers.
- Prompt with stems: who, what, where, why, how.
- Celebrate unusual questions.
Phase 3 · Explain — Direct Instruction
Mini-lesson — What Makes a Question. Read back the wonders from Jot Thoughts; use students’ words first, then sort each into question or statement and name good wonders.
- Question: Asks something we want to find out; ends with a question mark.
- Statement: Tells something; ends with a period.
- Good wonders: Are about something we care about and can try to find out.
Key Message: Scientists begin by asking questions about what they wonder.
Check for Understanding — Ask Students: “How do you know it is a question?” “Turn a fact into a question.”
Phase 4 · Elaborate — Student Product & Differentiation
Student Product
Each student picks a favorite question and adds it to the Question Wall on a petal. (Student Workbook page 3.1.)
Differentiation by Grade
Grade 1: Draw a wondering and dictate or copy “I wonder…”
Grade 2: Write a question with a question word and question mark.
ELL Support: Question-word cards with pictures (who, what, where, why, how).
Phase 5 · Evaluate — Closure, Exit Ticket & Assessment
Exit Ticket
Ask each child (oral, show-me, or drawn — no reading required):
- Ask me a question about plants.
- Is “Seeds grow” a question or a statement?
- Point to the question mark.
Answer Key / Look-Fors: (1) Any question. (2) Statement. (3) The ? symbol.
Expanding Circles — how does this connect to… Self — What do you wonder about at home? • Classroom — What questions does our class have? • School — What could we ask about our school garden? • Community — Who could answer our questions in our city? • World — What questions do scientists around the world ask?
Formative Assessment
- Meets (3): Asks a clear question with a question word.
- Approaching (2): Asks a question with help.
- Not Yet (1): Gives a statement — practice turning statements into questions.
Extend & Looking Ahead
- Extension: Take home a petal to collect a family question.
- Harvesting Wisdom connection: Harvesting Wisdom podcast with UFE founder, Episode 1: Urban Farming Education (suggested pairing for this series; preview it and choose a short clip that fits this lesson).
- Looking Ahead: Lesson 3.2 sorts our questions.