Essential Questions

Continuing on from my last post, the next step in developing a unit using Understanding by Design is to create Essential Questions.  I love the idea of asking students questions that generate more questions, rather than have one simple answer that they can read in a book.  However, in developing my own essential questions for this unit, I do see how challenging it can be to develop quality questions that really encourage conversations and engagement with a topic.

Here is my draft of Essential Questions based around the 6 Facets of Understanding:

Explanation:
1. What were some of the environmental challenges for the first settlers in the American colonies?
2. Why did pioneers choose to expand westward?

Interpretation:
1. How do natural disasters impact people today?  How does that compare to early settlers?
2. Have humans had a positive impact on the geography of the US or a negative impact?

Application:
1. How can we use what we know about human effects on the environment to protect the environment today?
2. How could you decide if people should settle in an area based on the geography?

Perspective:
1. How would the geography of the New World have looked to a recently arrived colonist?
2. What are different points of view about how much people can change physical geography?

Empathy:
1. How might Native Americans feel about the effect that settlers had on their environment in the 1600s? How might they feel today?
2. Why would a person participate in an activity that negatively affects US geography or the environment?

Self Knowledge:
1. How can I best show that I know that my actions affect the environment?
2. What are the limits in my knowledge about other geographic regions of the US?