Description

Interview Question Writing: What Do You Want to Know? (Part 1) (Grades 3–5)

Interview Question Writing: What Do You Want to Know? (Part 1) builds directly on the Community Interviews lesson by supporting students in learning how and why questions matter. Grounded in Ethnic Studies and SEL, this lesson helps students understand that thoughtful, intentional questions are essential tools for understanding identity, agency, and community connection.

Designed for grades 3–5, this 30-minute lesson guides students through analyzing real interview questions used in a previous community interview. Educators model how questions serve different purposes and how they help surface aspects of identity, lived experience, and cultural wealth. Using a Mind Map graphic organizer, students work collaboratively to sort and categorize questions based on what they help us understand about a person.

Through whole-group discussion, partner sorting, and guided reflection, students begin to recognize different levels of questions and how strong questions deepen understanding rather than extract information. This lesson prepares students for student-led interviews in subsequent lessons by grounding question-writing in empathy, curiosity, and asset-based thinking.

What’s Included

• Step-by-step lesson plan focused on question development

• Mind Map graphic organizer for sorting and analysis

• Modeled examples from a real community interview

• Structured partner and group work

• Clear scaffolding toward student-generated interviews

• Alignment with WAESN Elements of Liberation and OSPI SEL Standards

Why Educators Use This Lesson

• Builds critical questioning and interview skills

• Reinforces asset-based approaches to identity

• Supports student voice, curiosity, and agency

• Prepares students for meaningful, student-led interviews

• Strengthens SEL, collaboration, and reflection

This lesson is ideal for educators seeking developmentally appropriate, community-rooted Ethnic Studies instruction that teaches students how to ask questions with intention, care, and purpose.