Informational Writing: Research Questions

Active learning transforms abstract concepts like research questions into concrete skills. Students engage with real materials, immediate peer feedback, and tangible outcomes, which helps them see how refining questions leads to better research. This approach builds confidence as students move from vague ideas to precise inquiries.

• Grade 6
• Language Arts
• 4 activities
• 25 min–40 min

Learning Objectives

1. Design a focused research question that is specific and answerable about a given topic.
2. Differentiate between a broad research topic and a focused inquiry question.
3. Evaluate the effectiveness of a research question based on criteria for specificity and answerability.
4. Justify the selection of a research question for an informational writing task.

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Pairs: Question Refinement Relay

Partners receive a broad topic card. One student writes an initial question; the other refines it using a criteria checklist for specificity and answerability. They switch roles twice, then share the final version with the class. Display best examples on a wall chart.

Prepare & details

Design a research question that is both specific and answerable.

Facilitation Tip: During the Question Refinement Relay, circulate to listen for pairs debating the specificity of their questions, offering prompts like 'What detail could we add to make this clearer?'

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 35 min·Small Groups

Small Groups: Research Question Sort

Provide cards with topics, strong questions, and weak ones. Groups sort into categories and justify placements with evidence. Discuss as a class, then create group anchor charts of sorting rules. Extend by generating new questions.

Prepare & details

Differentiate between a broad topic and a focused research question.

Facilitation Tip: In the Research Question Sort, model how to justify categorizations aloud, showing students how to explain choices using criteria from the lesson.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 40 min·Small Groups

Whole Class: Inquiry Question Carousel

Post broad topics around the room. Groups rotate every 5 minutes to write and refine one research question per station. Vote on strongest questions class-wide and compile into a shared research question bank.

Prepare & details

Justify the importance of a well-crafted research question for effective inquiry.

Facilitation Tip: For the Inquiry Question Carousel, assign each station a different aspect of question quality so students analyze one criterion at a time, preventing overwhelm.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 25 min·Individual

Individual: Personal Inquiry Draft

Students select a self-interest topic and draft three questions, self-assessing with a rubric. Pair share for one round of feedback, then revise independently. Submit final question to start mini-research.

Prepare & details

Design a research question that is both specific and answerable.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Teaching This Topic

Teachers should model the thinking behind strong research questions, especially for students who default to broad or yes-or-no questions. Use mentor texts where authors pose clear, answerable questions and challenge students to compare weak and strong examples. Avoid rushing to correction; instead, let students discover flaws through sorting, ranking, and discussion. Research shows that students refine questions most effectively when they see the consequences of poor questions in their own work.

What to Expect

By the end of these activities, students will confidently craft specific, answerable research questions that guide focused inquiry. They will recognize vague questions as dead ends and use evidence to justify their question choices. Their writing will demonstrate clarity and purpose because their research is anchored in strong questions.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the Research Question Sort, some students may assume any question about a topic is acceptable.

What to Teach Instead

After sorting, have students explain why vague questions like 'What happened in the Canadian space program?' belong in the 'needs work' pile. Use the sorting cards to highlight that focused questions like 'How did Chris Hadfield's leadership affect Canadian astronaut training?' lead to stronger research.

Common Misconception

During the Personal Inquiry Draft, students may believe broader questions give them more freedom.

What to Teach Instead

Ask students to map their broad question to its potential sources and dead ends. Use the narrowing steps from the mind-mapping warm-up to guide them toward a question that balances scope and focus, like 'What three key events shaped Indigenous land rights in Ontario between 1960 and 2000?' instead of 'What is Indigenous land rights?'.

Common Misconception

During the Inquiry Question Carousel, students might prefer yes-or-no questions for simplicity.

What to Teach Instead

Set up a role-play where students pretend to research a 'yes' answer and realize they lack evidence. Then contrast this with a 'how' or 'why' question, using the carousel stations to show how open-ended questions lead to richer exploration and stronger sources.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

After the Research Question Sort, provide students with three potential research questions about a given topic, two broad and one focused. Ask them to identify the focused question and explain in one sentence why it is better for research.

Peer Assessment

During the Question Refinement Relay, have pairs write a research question for a shared topic. They then exchange questions and use a checklist (Is it specific? Is it answerable? Is it interesting?) to provide feedback to their partner. The feedback should include one suggestion for improvement.

Exit Ticket

After the Inquiry Question Carousel, give students a broad topic, such as 'Canadian Wildlife'. Ask them to write one specific and answerable research question about this topic on their exit ticket. They should also briefly state why their question is better than the broad topic.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge early finishers to transform a vague question into three increasingly specific versions, then choose the best and explain why.
• Scaffolding for struggling students includes a graphic organizer with sentence stems like 'I wonder how...' or 'What evidence shows that...' to guide question formation.
• Deeper exploration involves analyzing real research articles to identify the questions that guided each author, then comparing those to student-generated questions.

Key Vocabulary

Research Question	A specific question that guides an investigation or research project. It is focused enough to be answered through research.
Inquiry	The process of asking questions and seeking information to understand a topic. It is driven by curiosity and a desire to learn.
Specificity	The quality of being detailed and exact. A specific research question focuses on a particular aspect of a topic.
Answerability	The quality of being possible to answer. An answerable research question can be addressed using available resources and evidence.
Broad Topic	A general subject area that covers a wide range of information. It needs to be narrowed down for effective research.