96 'Aha!' Moments: Essential Questions to Jumpstart Your High School ELA Unit Plans

Transitioning from Autonomy to Collaboration: A New Perspective in Inquiry-Based ELA Teaching

MAKING THE MOVE FROM THEMATIC UNITS TO INQUIRY UNITS

If you’ve been asked to start using Essential Questions in your units or are simply curious to learn more about what Essential Questions are, you’ve come to the right place. Let me start with a quick story…

When I started teaching, curriculum and alignment amongst our department was a free-for-all. We taught whatever we wanted in any order and felt we had wonderful autonomy. But then, we got a new boss. And she put us on teams. And before we knew it, we were hard at work learning the ins and outs of inquiry-based learning and driving units through Essential Questions.

I can tell you that from the very beginning, I resisted. I remember how much I pushed back against a seemingly new “initiative.” But after practice and working with a fantastic team, we finally figured out how incredibly powerful inquiry-driven instruction really is. To this day, this is the single most significant professional change to my practice that has made the most impactful difference in my student’s education.

Now, I’m here to share all of that with you.

Reframing Units: Putting Essential Questions at the Core

Reframing a unit so that the QUESTION is the center instead of the TEXT is a massive step toward equity, critical thinking, and engagement. But writing Essential Questions is just the beginning. We need to write them, design the units and thread the EQ from the beginning to the end, develop assessments around them, and so much more.

That’s where I come in. This is my specialty.

START HERE: ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

Introducing the EQ Stack Pack: A Resource for Inspiration

Essential Questions can be difficult to brainstorm on your own, but with some help, they can inspire your instruction in ways you never thought possible. So, to help you with this, I’ve compiled a list of 96 Essential Questions to get you started. Here in the EQ Stack Pack, I’ve provided six possible questions and variations for the following categories:

• Coming of Age

• The Rise of Technology

• Family

• The Importance of History

• The Future

• The Past

• Dystopia

• Climate Change

• Human Nature

• The Importance of Finding Your Voice

• Leadership

• Happiness

• Truth

• Resilience

• Corruption

• Love

If you are seeking out new, powerful Essential Question inspiration — you’ve come to the right place! Grab your by clicking the button below!

PIN IT!

essential question BLOG POSTS TO SUPPORT INSTRUCTION

These blog posts will help you take your Essential Question experience to the next level.

PODCAST EPISODES to Support ESSENTIAL QUESTION DESIGN

Best Selling Resources FEATURING ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS & INQUIRY-DRIVEN INSTRUCTION