What colour is happiness?
Is being a good friend easy?
Does more mean happier?
Big Questions are the ones that don’t have an easy answer.
Children ask so many questions every day and most of them start off with that little word, ‘Why?’
Big questions are often open and difficult; they may even be unanswerable or there may be more than one answer. The aim of us asking and discussing big questions at home and at school is to encourage deep and long conversations, rather than finding easy answers.
These questions encourage children to offer theories, work collaboratively, use reason and think critically. A good Big Question will connect more than one subject area: “What is a spider?” for instance, does not touch as many different subjects as “I wonder would happen to Earth if all spiders disappeared…”
Big Questions should be ones which encourage research, debate and critical thinking. Big Questions aren’t just about getting the ‘right’ answers, but about learning the methods and skills needed to find the answers.
Why do we ask Big Questions?
- To encourage children to think beyond the obvious.
- To encourage children to think of as many possibilities as they can, before deciding upon the best or most appropriate answer.
- To increase their understanding of a topic
- To promote critical thinking
- To encourage children to articulate their thoughts
Each month we will be sending a special Big Question home with the children to hopefully encourage the children to practice chatting with you at home and hearing different points of view and opinions.
We find that the pupils really enjoy this chance to talk/share/think/argue/debate and use their reasoning skills. Above all, it helps them to learn to ‘think outside of the box’ and see ‘the bigger picture’.
3-year rolling spirituality BIG QUESTIONS to go home each month with children.
| Year: 24 to 25 | Year 2: 25 to 26 | Year 3: 26 to 27 | |
| September | How or why does the weather affect our mood? | Why do people sometimes disagree? | What makes you unique? |
| October | How do you know what is right and wrong? | What makes you feel calm? | Can nature teach us anything? |
| November | What are feelings? | What does forgiving look like? | What is more important: being right or being kind? |
| December | Is being fair always the right thing to do? | How do you know what the right thing is to do? | What makes a friendship strong? |
| January | Do colours have moods? | What is your favourite colour in nature and how does it make you feel? | What does it mean to believe in something? |
| February | Is being a good friend easy | How big is the sky? | Why do people find different things beautiful? |
| March | Does more, mean happier? | What does it mean to be part of a community? | Where do our thoughts come from? |
| April | What is the most beautiful thing in the world? | Can something be beautiful even if it is broken? | How does nature make you feel connected to something bigger? |
| May | If you can’t see something, is it real? | Can something be beautiful even if it is broken? | Why do people help each other? |
| June | Why do we have rainbows? | Why do we enjoy stories? | Is there something bigger than us? What could it be? |
| July | Would you rather be an unhappy human or a happy sheep? | What does it mean to be happy? | What matters most in life? |