Field Trip Activities: Build-Your-Own Question Activity

Part 1: Before the lesson

Note: this activity can be done in small groups (3-4), partnerships, or independently, depending on the size of the group.
Print copies of Build Your Own Question Sentence Strips (enough so that each group or partnership, group, or student has their own copy)
Cut out the sentence strips and leave them in piles based on their labeled categories (questions, career words, action words, pronouns)

Explain the directions to students: Students will work in groups, partnerships, or independently to build their own questions about careers to ask professionals on the field trip. Students should use the sentence strips to build their questions. Each group, partnership, or student should try to come up with at least 3 questions. At the end of the 15 minutes, students will share out the questions they came up with and create a “class list” of questions to be used on the trip.

Students spend 10-15 minutes using the sentence strips to build their questions in partnerships, groups, or independently.

Students share out the questions that they came up with.
Jot down their questions on the board as a class list to be used on the field trip
You might have students vote on the top 10 or top 5 questions, or have one”top” question from each group, partnership, or student.

Alternatively, you can have students work independently to build their own questions using the Build Your Own Questions Worksheet
In this activity, rather than manipulating sentence strips, students use “sentence stems” and a word bank to try to come up with 3 questions.