Developing Interview Questions

Active learning works well for developing interview questions because children learn best when they practice real-life communication in a supported setting. When students role-play as interviewers and helpers, they immediately see how different question types shape responses, making abstract concepts concrete and memorable.

• Class 3
• English
• 4 activities
• 20 min–40 min

Learning Objectives

1. Formulate at least three open-ended questions to gather specific details about a community helper's role.
2. Differentiate between a closed question (requiring a yes/no answer) and an open-ended question (requiring a descriptive answer).
3. Create a list of relevant questions for an interview with a chosen community helper.
4. Demonstrate active listening skills by paraphrasing a peer's question during a mock interview.

Expert Panel

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Pairs: Helper Role-Play

Pair students: one acts as a community helper like a doctor, the other prepares and asks three questions. Switch roles after five minutes, then discuss which questions worked best and why. Record one improved question each.

Prepare & details

What questions would you want to ask a firefighter or doctor about their job?

Facilitation Tip: During Helper Role-Play, model one question yourself and invite students to suggest alternatives before they practice in pairs.

Setup: Standard classroom arrangement with chairs or desks rearranged to seat 4–6 panellists facing the class; suitable for rooms of 30–50 students with a central panel table or row.

Materials: Printed expert role cards with sub-topic reading extracts, Audience question cards (one per student), Student moderator guide and facilitation script, Note-taking framework for audience members, Printed debrief synthesis and individual exit reflection sheets

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Expert Panel

⏱ 25 min·Small Groups

Small Groups: Question Sort

Provide a list of ten sample questions about jobs. Groups sort them into yes/no and open-ended categories, then create two new questions for each type about a firefighter. Share and vote on the best ones.

Prepare & details

How is a question you can answer with 'yes' or 'no' different from one that needs a longer answer?

Facilitation Tip: For Question Sort, provide sentence strips so students physically move 'statement' and 'question' cards into columns while explaining their choices.

Setup: Standard classroom arrangement with chairs or desks rearranged to seat 4–6 panellists facing the class; suitable for rooms of 30–50 students with a central panel table or row.

Materials: Printed expert role cards with sub-topic reading extracts, Audience question cards (one per student), Student moderator guide and facilitation script, Note-taking framework for audience members, Printed debrief synthesis and individual exit reflection sheets

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Expert Panel

⏱ 40 min·Whole Class

Whole Class: Live Interview

Teacher or volunteer acts as a helper, say a police officer. Class brainstorms questions together on the board, then takes turns asking. Note responses and refine questions as a group for clarity.

Prepare & details

Can you write three questions you would ask a community helper in an interview?

Facilitation Tip: In Live Interview, stand back once students begin but step in quickly if they struggle to move from closed to open questions.

Setup: Standard classroom arrangement with chairs or desks rearranged to seat 4–6 panellists facing the class; suitable for rooms of 30–50 students with a central panel table or row.

Materials: Printed expert role cards with sub-topic reading extracts, Audience question cards (one per student), Student moderator guide and facilitation script, Note-taking framework for audience members, Printed debrief synthesis and individual exit reflection sheets

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Expert Panel

⏱ 20 min·Individual

Individual: Question Cards

Each student chooses a helper and writes five questions on cards, mixing closed and open types. Practice asking them to a mirror or record on phone, then self-assess for improvements.

Prepare & details

What questions would you want to ask a firefighter or doctor about their job?

Facilitation Tip: For Question Cards, give red and green markers so students highlight strong open-ended questions and revise weak ones.

Setup: Standard classroom arrangement with chairs or desks rearranged to seat 4–6 panellists facing the class; suitable for rooms of 30–50 students with a central panel table or row.

Materials: Printed expert role cards with sub-topic reading extracts, Audience question cards (one per student), Student moderator guide and facilitation script, Note-taking framework for audience members, Printed debrief synthesis and individual exit reflection sheets

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Teaching This Topic

Teachers should first model both types of questions clearly, then scaffold students through gradual release. Avoid correcting too early; instead, let students test their questions in role-plays and discover gaps themselves. Research shows that peer feedback during such activities improves question quality more than teacher corrections alone.

What to Expect

By the end of these activities, students will confidently frame both yes-or-no and open-ended questions to gather detailed information from community helpers. You will notice clearer phrasing, purposeful question types, and richer follow-up discussions during role-plays and interviews.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Helper Role-Play, watch for students who assume all interview questions must be answered with yes or no.

What to Teach Instead

After the first round of role-play, pause the activity and ask pairs to swap a yes/no question for an open-ended one starting with 'what' or 'how', testing how the helper’s answer changes.

Common Misconception

During Question Sort, watch for students who treat statements like questions.

What to Teach Instead

Have students underline the first word of each card; if it isn’t a question word, they must rephrase it to start with one, using the sentence strips to test their fix.

Common Misconception

During Live Interview, watch for students who accept short answers from helpers without prompting more details.

What to Teach Instead

Model how to follow up with phrases like 'Tell us more about that' or 'Why do you think that happened?' during the mock interview, then ask student volunteers to try the same.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

After Question Cards, give each student a helper name card and ask them to write one yes/no question and one open-ended question they would ask this helper, then exchange with a partner for peer feedback on clarity.

Discussion Prompt

After Live Interview, ask students to share: 'Which helper would you interview next and why? What is one open-ended question you would ask them to learn more about their job?' Collect responses on chart paper for the class to see.

Quick Check

During Helper Role-Play, circulate and listen. Note students using clear openers like 'How do you...?' or 'What happens when...?' and those relying on yes/no questions, giving immediate whispered feedback like 'Try adding a 'how' to get more details.'

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge: Ask students to prepare three interview questions for a helper not yet discussed (e.g., farmer, astronaut) and explain why each fits its question type.
• Scaffolding: Provide a word bank with question starters (who, what, where, how, why) on a chart during role-plays.
• Deeper exploration: Have students record a mock interview on their phones, then listen back to identify which questions produced the most information and why.

Key Vocabulary

Interview	A meeting where one person asks questions to another person to get information.
Community Helper	A person who provides important services to the people in a town or city, like doctors, firefighters, or teachers.
Question	A sentence or phrase used to get information.
Occupation	A person's job or profession.
Tools	Objects or equipment used to do a particular job.