I won’t get into all of the details of Bloom’s Taxonomy, but here are six different levels of questions that students are working through. When your student gets done with an assignment/reading they should be able to answer some of these questions based on where they are in their education. I don’t feel that this is an end all be all list, but even going through ten of these questions will give you a good idea of where your student is at. Students can be at different levels, for different subjects, and different assignments. These are from Bloom’s Taxonomy. HEre is the list.
We will use Peter Pan the Disney movie for our example.
| 1: Knowledge | Exhibits previously learned material by recalling facts, terms, basic concepts and answers. | who, what, why, when, omit, where, which, choose, find, how, define, label, show, spell, list, match, name, relate, tell, recall, select | What is …? How is …? Where is …? When did _______ happen? How did ______ happen? How would you explain …? Why did …? How would you describe …? When did …? Can you recall …? How would you show …? Can you select …? Who were the main …? Can you list three …? Which one …? Who was …? |
For basic comprehension or level one (1) students should be able to answer the above questions. Who are the main characters in Peter Pan? Where is Neverland located? Can you list three lost boys? We would call this surface level knowledge or information.
| 2: Comprehension | Demonstrating understanding of facts and ideas by organizing, comparing, translating, interpreting, giving descriptions and stating main ideas. | compare, contrast, demonstrate, interpret, explain, extend, illustrate, infer, outline, relate, rephrase, translate, summarize, show, classify | How would you classify the type of …? How would you compare …? contrast …? Will you state or interpret in your own words …? How would you rephrase the meaning …? What facts or ideas show …? What is the main idea of …? Which statements support …? Can you explain what is happening . . . what is meant . . .? What can you say about …? Which is the best answer …? How would you summarize …? |
What is the main idea of Neverland? How would you compare and contrast Peter Pan and Captain Hook? Level two is taking the facts and then organizing them as pieces of information that will create a greater meaning.
| 3: Application | Solving problems by applying acquired knowledge, facts, techniques and rules in a different way. | apply, build, choose, construct, develop, interview, make use of, organize, experiment with, plan, select, solve, utilize, model, identify | How would you use …? What examples can you find to …? How would you solve _______ using what you have learned …? How would you organize _______ to show …? How would you show your understanding of …? What approach would you use to …? How would you apply what you learned to develop …? What other way would you plan to …? What would result if …? Can you make use of the facts to …? What elements would you choose to change …? What facts would you select to show …? What questions would you ask in an interview with …? |
How would use Pixi Dust to better the world? What type of rules would set up if you lived in Neverland? Building of off level two students should be able to take the knowledge they have gained and begin to solve problems or apply what they know.
| 4: Analysis | Examining and breaking information into parts by identifying motives or causes; making inferences and finding evidence to support generalizations. | analyze, categorize, classify, compare, contrast, discover, dissect, divide, examine, inspect, simplify, survey, take part in, test for, distinguish, list, distinction, theme, relationships, function, motive, inference, assumption, conclusion | What are the parts or features of …? How is _______ related to …? Why do you think …? What is the theme …? What motive is there …? Can you list the parts …? What inference can you make …? What conclusions can you draw …? How would you classify …? How would you categorize …? Can you identify the difference parts …? What evidence can you find …? What is the relationship between …? Can you make a distinction between …? What is the function of …? What ideas justify …? |
Not personally knowing the author of Peter Pan; why do think he wrote it? What point was he trying to prove. Can you find evidence to prove your opinion or argument. This is the part of the process where students should be peeling back the multiple layers of text and creating their own opinion about the text/movie/book. These questions are critical thinking in the making.
| 5: Synthesis | Compiling information together in a different way by combining elements in a new pattern or proposing alternative solutions. | build, choose, combine, compile, compose, construct, create, design, develop, estimate, formulate, imagine, invent, make up, originate, plan, predict, propose, solve, solution, suppose, discuss, modify, change, original, improve, adapt, minimize, maximize, delete, theorize, elaborate, test, improve, happen, change | What changes would you make to solve …? How would you improve …? What would happen if …? Can you elaborate on the reason …? Can you propose an alternative …? Can you invent …? How would you adapt ________ to create a different …? How could you change (modify) the plot (plan) …? What could be done to minimize (maximize) …? What way would you design …? What could be combined to improve (change) …? Suppose you could _______ what would you do …? How would you test …? Can you formulate a theory for …? Can you predict the outcome if …? How would you estimate the results for …? What facts can you compile …? Can you construct a model that would change …? Can you think of an original way for the …? |
Once students begin to critically think about a subject they should be able to create new ideas and scenarios for the characters or problems in the text/book/movie. What changes would you make to Peter Pan so that it resembles a tragedy written by Shakespeare? Could you write a story of how Peter Pan came into existence? In other words, write a story about how Peter Pan became Peter Pan?
| 6: Evaluation | Presenting and defending opinions by making judgments about information, validity of ideas or quality of work based on a set of criteria. | award, choose, conclude, criticize, decide, defend, determine, dispute, evaluate, judge, justify, measure, compare, mark, rate, recommend, rule on, select, agree, interpret, explain, appraise, prioritize, opinion, ,support, importance, criteria, prove, disprove, assess, influence, perceive, value, estimate, influence, deduct | Do you agree with the actions …? with the outcomes …? What is your opinion of …? How would you prove …? disprove …? Can you assess the value or importance of …? Would it be better if …? Why did they (the character) choose …? What would you recommend …? How would you rate the …? What would you cite to defend the actions …? How would you evaluate …? How could you determine …? What choice would you have made …? What would you select …? How would you prioritize …? What judgment would you make about …? Based on what you know, how would you explain …? What information would you use to support the view …? How would you justify …? What data was used to make the conclusion …? Why was it better that …? How would you prioritize the facts …? How would you compare the ideas …? people …? |
In the final stage, all of the previous stages are combined. Students should be able to argue or debate their opinion. Essentially the student should be able to teach others about Peter Pan and all of the underlying levels of meaning and theme.