Cues+&+Questions

__**Introduction**__ Cues and Questions is a strategy that can be used through out all grade levels. The idea is to spark prior knowledge by asking a question that will yoke the answer to the student's memory. This can also be obtained with cues that will act as navigational tools back to prior information. We use cues and questions in our every day life from leaving post it notes on our bathroom mirror or waking up with a cup of coffee and asking, "What do I have to do today"? At least once in our life (probably a lot more) we have been cued by a bell or an alarm. How many times have we been asked the question, "Are you forgetting something"? We live our lives using cues and questions, so why not apply them to our teaching strategies?



[|Marzano Research Laboratory]defines the cues and questions teaching strategy as "using hints and questions to activate prior knowledge and deepen student understanding." media type="youtube" key="r_MxxmyJF-M" height="315" width="420"
 * __Definition__**

At the beginning of an instructional block would be a good time to use cues but they can also be used through out a lesson. The instructor does not need to be secretive but instead use this time to direct the student's minds in an appropriate direction. Use cues to allow them to focus on what is to come.
 * __Cues__**

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Sherri Miller of Gloucester County Public Schools listed, on her 2008 web publication [|Putting the Pieces Together], Marzano's recomendations for classroom practices. Among those practices was " asking inferential and analytic questions". This method allows the student to create a path of understanding. When answering the "why" we usually learn the "what" or the other way around. media type="custom" key="12955170" Asking this question or others like it creates an entire series of questions and answers. This also allows for opinions.
 * __Questions__**

__** Organization **__ So now we start organizing. We decide what are learning outcome is going to be and how we are going to get there.

This is not set up in a test format but instead during the delivery of the information.
 * **Learning Outcome** || **Question** || **Cues** ||
 * Lincoln was president during the Civil War. || Who were key players during the war? || We are going to look at the leaders during the Civil War. ||
 * The Confederacy fought the Union. || What were the northern states called and who were the southern states? || We will are going to see which states aligned themselves with the Union and which states aligned themselves with the confederacy. ||
 * Fort Sumter was the first battle of the war. || What happened at Fort Sumter? || We will see how the war started. ||
 * The Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery. || What ended slavery? || We will look at key documents during the war. ||
 * Lee surrendered to Grant. || How did the war end? || We will look at key figures of the war. ||

__**Benefit**__ Cues and questions benefits both the learner and the educator. According to an NETC's website [|Focus on Effectiveness] "Teachers set the stage for learning by finding out what students already know, then connect new ideas to students' existing knowledge base. Using a variety of instructional strategies, teachers guide students from the known to the unknown, from familiar territory to new concepts. Cues, questions, and advance organizers are among the tools and strategies that teachers use to set the stage for learning. These tools create a framework that helps students focus on what they are about to learn." This allows the teacher to focus on points that need to be learned and allows the student to stay focused on what the topic is.

__** Closing **__ Each teacher has to find the tool that works for them and the learner, but implementing cues and questions is a great way to add to an already successful teaching plan or boost up a teaching style that needs some help. It does not need to be the main tool but it can be.media type="youtube" key="dMdTBep3W9c" height="315" width="420"