Centerpiece
A Questioning Strategy - Grades 6-12
BIG IDEA:
Centerpiece is a questioning strategy that encourages students to dig deeper into a topic or skill, while encouraging collaborative thinking.
DIRECTIONS:
TEACHER PREPARATION:
- Create a list of five or more questions that you want students to explore. The questions can be leveled - from simple to more complex.
- Write or type each question at the top of a half-sheet of paper (one question per sheet).
- Divide your class into groups of no more than 4.
- Arrange the questions in the center of each group (hence, your "centerpiece").
STUDENTS DO:
- Start: Students will take one sheet/question from the centerpiece. They have 2-3 minutes, depending on question complexity, to respond to/interact with the question. At the end of two minutes, they put the question back into the center of the table.
- Build On: Students grab a question they have not yet answered and build on to the thinking provided by the previous student. They can respond in several ways: 1) Answer the question without repeating what the other student(s) wrote - add new thinking. 2) They can respond to what the other student(s) wrote, affirming or disagreeing with their response. 3) They can post additional questions related to the topic.
- Exchange: Keep rotating until students have interacted with at least 4 questions.
WHEN TO USE:
This strategy can be used at a variety of times: activating background knowledge, as a warm-up after reading a selection of text/learning a skill, or as a pre-summative assessment. This could also be used to create or dig into a research topic or to help students gather ideas when writing to texts.
STRATEGY VARIATION
- Add Depth & Complexity Icons: Use the D&C icons to create the questions for the centerpiece. For advanced-level students, you could provide blank sheets with just the icon and ask them to create the initial question to begin the rotation.
- Pair-Share: Students partner with a student who has the same question, or the same icon if using Depth and Complexity icons, and share responses and discuss. Students could create an additional question together, and post in the room for the duration of the unit of study or for further exploration.
- Category Grouping: Each table has a focus or category (like theme, character, scientific method, vocabulary, historical facts, genres). You would have to create five different questions for each category, but use the same process. Students could then jigsaw across categories by creating new groups with five different categories.
STUDENT CHOICE
Students choose which question to engage with first, and have a choice on how they interact with subsequent questions.
ORGANIZATION
Directions displayed for students help them understand how to respond. A timer is suggested to keep students engaged in each question rotation.
ENGAGEMENT
Students get a chance to respond to 4-6 questions and build on to the thinking of others in a "silent" discussion that engages reluctant readers and participants.