What's the Big Idea?: Question-Driven Units to Motivate Reading, Writing, and Thinking [Paperback]

Look beyond the title. That's my advice for anyone thinking about purchasing this book. I bought the book out of respect for its author, an extraordinarily thoughtful teacher who has contributed much to the teaching profession.

What is especially valuable about What's the Big Idea is not just the "big ideas"--or guiding questions of the book's title. While questions may help a teacher structure a lesson, the book moves beyond being merely an application of the essential questions pedagogy. The book presents many practical ideas for structuring and sustaining deep levels of student inquiry into whatever the subject of study. And that is the book's grandness--wonderful lessons that help teachers create conditions of deep engagement that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls flow.

In addition to the materials in the book itself, there are helpful links from the book to parallel resources on the publisher's website that make the printing of clear copies of handouts easier.

There are books out there that attempt to frame teaching and learning through one narrow theory or approach. What's the Big Idea is different. In it, Jim Burke tells a wonderful story, a story informed by years of teaching, supported by research, and immersed within the individual journeys of his students to explore, learn, and discover.

Jim Burke has done it again--and perhaps better than ever before! What's the Big Idea? Question-Driven Units to Motivate Reading, Writing, and Thinking not only provides a researched foundation for implementing inquiry-based instruction, but it also provides a clear picture of what goes on in Jim's high school English classes every day. Through this book Jim models how to motivate all students to engage in rich literary experiences that are tied to standards-based instruction. The text is laced with his activity handouts (also available online for classroom use), pictures of how he models specific skills, and student work samples.

Jim's claim is that questions can and should be the core of our instruction--the foundation for delivering our curriculum; the result will be motivated students engaged in high level critical thinking throughout the year. He states, "...education should disturb when possible; it should challenge students' perspectives, inspire curiosity, and pose questions about why things are the way they are." (78)

To demonstrate the role inquiry plays within instructional units, Jim takes us through his teaching of Romeo and Juliet, Of Mice and Men, and Crime and Punishment so we can witness his instruction and student results from beginning to end. Another unit he shares is an end-of-year project focused on independent reading experiences in his senior AP course. At the same time, Jim shows how he differentiates instruction for struggling students by describing how he scaffolds lessons when necessary so that all students are able to master the same skills. He states, "I began the year committed to the idea that my students could do challenging work, wrestle with big questions and complex ideas, if I guided my instruction not by the questions, `How low must I go?' but, instead by, `What must I do to make real success a possibility for all my students without lowering my standards?' In short, I treated them as though they could learn to do everything I taught, and they pretty much did." (77)

Specifically, Jim addresses a number of uses of incorporating essential questions: to build background knowledge, to teach interviewing skills and connect them to note-taking and synthesis of information, to encourage students to generate their own questions, to motivate writing and thinking through blogging, and more. He emphasizes factual, inductive, and analytical questioning while also guiding students to determine which questions are the important ones to ask.

Particularly helpful are his handouts, including a thesis generator, graphic organizers, reading guides that still allow for reading flow, and unit planning sheets which allow us to take Jim's ideas and match them to our own curricula. The appendix also includes "The Big Questions" associated with the McDougal Littell Literature series and a study guide for teacher discussion of the entire book.

For further insight into this text, log on to [...] and participate in Jim's online book discussion.

Here are lessons and advice based on successful experiences with a wide range of Jim Burke's students, all based on the concept of using inquiry as the foundation of units, lessons, and learning.

Jim draws on and makes connections with many of the best contemporary thinkers as he provides the theoretical bases for his chapters. Although many of the lessons deal with specific texts, they are easily adaptable to any works a teacher might be using in class.

This important book is supported by superb graphics, online access to handouts and organizers, and useful appendices.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 9 reviews  4.7 out of 5 stars