Big Ideas and Essential Questions
Use the following questions to help you think about your topic of inquiry for the year. Also consider what historical figures,
fictional characters, or others you know would think about these questions, and how those answers might influence your
inquiry. These are not “cut and paste” topics; they are meant to be a starting point. Your topic of inquiry must be of real
personal interest.
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What does it take to be a survivor?
What is a generation gap?
What are you willing to sacrifice?
What is worth fighting for?
What makes a winner?
Why are we fascinated by the
unknown?
How important is status?
What makes someone
remarkable?
What is a teacher?
When is strength more than
muscle?
What makes a memory?
What is dignity?
What do you look for in a friend?
When is a risk worth taking?
Is revenge ever justified?
Where do you find adventure?
What are the different faces of
nature?
What if life had a reset button?
Why do we hurt the ones we love?
What are you really good at?
What does a community owe its
children?
Where do you go to escape?
How do expectations affect
performance?
What place do you call home?
What is the source of inspiration?
How far would you go to find
freedom?
How do you get the news?
How should you treat a guest?
What stories will you tell your
children?
Can a dream change the world?
How do you sell an idea?
Is privacy an illusion?
How do you promote a cause?
Could we live without television?
Who lives in your memory?
Can you think outside of the box?
What makes a great competitor?
38. What makes your imagination
soar?
39. What triggers a sense of alarm?
40. Do you set your own course?
41. Is fear our worst enemy?
42. Have you ever felt out of place?
43. What is a poet’s job?
44. What would win your heart?
45. What if everyone were the same?
46. What makes something valuable?
47. What do you take for granted?
48. Should you trust your instincts?
49. Is survival a matter of chance?
50. How can we achieve the
impossible?
51. What makes you feel like an
outsider?
52. How good are you at judging
people?
53. How important is telling the truth?
54. Who has made you a better
person?
55. Are old ways the best ways?
56. Why do people argue over silly
things?
57. Does knowledge come at a price?
58. Is technology taking over?
59. Can you recover from tragedy?
60. Can ordinary people be heroes?
61. Can you be from two cultures at
once?
62. What would you do for a friend?
63. Is the news always reliable?
64. Can reporters always stay
objective?
65. What do we owe others?
66. Why keep what is no longer
useful?
67. What would make the world
safer?
68. Do animals have rights?
69. Do the ends justify the means?
70. What would you sacrifice for
justice?
71. How important is wealth?
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What is our place in nature?
What if you couldn’t fail?
Which memories last?
What makes a good love poem?
What breeds terror?
What do we learn from
experience?
78. How can nature inspire you?
79. Can you paint a picture with
words?
80. What is your role in your
household?
81. What if you were declared the
enemy?
82. How can we change society?
83. Whose life is it, anyway?
84. What is cowardice?
85. How does it feel to start over?
86. What are the signs of the times?
87. What is your ultimate loyalty?
88. Do heroes get to be human?
89. Can your conscience mislead you?
90. Who owns the land?
91. What makes an explorer?
92. Are people basically good?
93. Who has the right to rule?
94. Is the price of progress ever too
high?
95. Is it patriotic to protest one’s own
government?
96. Does everyone have a “dark side”?
97. Where do people look for truth?
98. What divides a nation?
99. Why do people break rules?
100. What makes a place unique?
101. How are roles changing?
102. What is modern?
103. Can ideals survive catastrophe?
104. How can people honor their
heritage?
105. What drives human behavior?
106. Are we responsible for the whole
world?
107. What makes an American?
108. What is the American Dream?