Overview

Students learn four levels of questioning aligned with Bloom's taxonomy: knowledge and comprehension, application, analysis, and synthesising and evaluating. Provided with useful verbs and example questions for each level, students work in pairs or groups of three to write one question from each level about a text they have recently studied. This makes explicit that questioning goes far beyond simple comprehension.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Introduce or review the four levels: (1) Knowledge & Comprehension, (2) Application, (3) Analysis, (4) Synthesising & Evaluating.
2. For each level, provide example verbs and question starters (see handout).
3. In pairs or groups of three, students write one question from each level about the text they are studying.
4. Groups swap questions with another group and attempt to answer them.
5. Discuss as a class: Which level was hardest to write questions for? Which produced the most interesting discussions?

Tips

• Display the question levels and verbs prominently so students can refer to them.
• The goal is not to answer the questions but to develop the skill of asking them.
• Revisit this activity regularly — students get better at crafting higher-order questions with practice.

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