Information About Questions, Cues and Advanced Organizers
Cues­ straightforward ways of activating prior knowledge. It is a preview of what to expect.
Example: Mrs. Smith starts her lesson by asking her 2nd grade class if anyone has ever
noticed that there are no stars visible during the day. The students think about her question.
She responds with, “Today we are going to learn about the Earth rotating on its axis. This will
help us to understand why we can’t see stars during the day.”
Questions­ good questions demand that students inference or fill in some information in their
own way. Questions greatly aid students in the inferencing process.
The following are are inference questions:
What action does this thing or person usually perform? Why do you think that?
Where does this event usually take place? Why do you think it takes place there?
Analytic Questions require students to analyze and critique information presented to them.
The following are examples of analytical questions:
How is this information misleading?
What is an alternative perspective?
What is an argument that would support this claim?
Advance Organizers­ relevant or inclusive introductory materials that present students with an
opportunity to think at higher levels (essential questions are advance organizers)
Advance Organizers:
*Bridge the gap between what the learner already knows and what they need to learn.
* Focus on what is important.
Expository Organizers:
*Describe the content to be learned.
* A schedule of a professional development day is an expository advance organizer.
Narrative Advance Organizer:
*Use a story format.
*Telling a story about being in a tornado before your students learn about tornados is an example
of a narrative advance organizer.
Skimming before reading is a powerful form of an advance organizer.
Graphic Advance Organizers:
*Prior to showing a video on the Solar System, Mrs. Smith presented her class with a web
identifying the names of planets, stars and galaxies within the Solar System. As the students
were watching the video, she encouraged them to add details under each of the bubbles in the
web.