You Can Ask Amazing Questions!

You ask a question when you want to find out something new. Questions help you learn about people, places, and things around you. When you feel curious, asking a question is the best thing you can do!

You can also learn about Making Observations to help you notice things that make you curious and ready to ask great questions.

Special words help you start a good question. Each question word has its own job!

• Who You use "who" to ask about a person. Example: "Who helps keep our neighbourhood safe?"
• What You use "what" to ask about a thing. Example: "What animals live in Canada's forests?"
• Where You use "where" to ask about a place. Example: "Where is the city of Ottawa located?"
• When You use "when" to ask about a time. Example: "When does it snow in Canada?"
• Why You use "why" to ask about a reason. Example: "Why do people in Canada celebrate holidays?"

You can also learn about Social Studies Vocabulary to help you understand more words used in questions.

First, you notice something and feel curious about it. Then you pick a question word and ask your question. A good question helps you learn and explore new ideas!

When you write a question, you put a question mark at the end. It looks like this: ?

After you ask your question, you look for the answer. You can ask a teacher or read a book to find out more. You can practice Gathering Information to get better at finding answers to your questions.

You ask questions in social studies to understand your community and your world. When you share your questions with the class, you help everyone learn new things together. Being curious and asking questions makes you a great learner!

Good listening helps you understand the answers you get. You can build this skill with Listening Skills.

Look at a picture and wonder about it. Try to ask one question using each question word: who, what, where, when, and why. You can also look at a Canadian flag or a photo of an animal and ask, "What is this?" or "Where does it live?"

You can practice sharing what you learn by exploring Expressing Ideas and Multiple Expression Methods.

Question: A question is something you ask when you want to find out new information. You put a question mark at the end when you write it.

Question Word: A question word is a special word you use to start a question. The main question words are who, what, where, when, why, and how.

Who: You use "who" when you want to learn about a person or a group of people. Example: "Who lives in my neighbourhood?"

What: You use "what" when you want to learn about a thing. Example: "What is on the Canadian flag?"

Where: You use "where" when you want to learn about a place or location. Example: "Where is Canada on the map?"

When: You use "when" when you want to learn about a time, like a day or a season. Example: "When does the event take place?"

Why: You use "why" when you want to learn about a reason or cause. Example: "Why do people celebrate holidays?"

Inquiry: Inquiry means asking questions to find out information about the world. You are doing inquiry when you wonder about something and ask a question to learn more.

Curious: Being curious means you want to know more about something. When you feel curious, it is a great time to ask a question!

Question Mark: A question mark is the punctuation symbol you put at the end of a written question. It looks like this: ?

Wondering Question: A wondering question starts with curiosity. It begins with something you want to find out, like "I wonder how people travel in Canada?"

Asking questions is connected to many other skills you will learn. Here is how they all fit together!

• Making Observations You notice things around you before you ask questions. Observing helps you find things to be curious about.
• Gathering Information After you ask a question, you gather information to find the answer. This is the next step after asking!
• Expressing Ideas You share what you learn by expressing your ideas. Asking questions and sharing answers go together.
• Listening Skills You need to listen carefully to understand the answers to your questions. Good listening helps you learn more.
• Social Studies Vocabulary You use special words in social studies. Knowing vocabulary helps you ask better questions.
• Multiple Expression Methods You can share what you learn in many ways, like drawing or talking. This connects to how you share your answers.
• Finding Answers After you ask a question, you will learn how to find the answer. Asking questions leads right into finding answers!
• Sharing Findings You will learn to share what you discover with others. Sharing your findings is an exciting part of learning.
• Thinking About Learning You will think about what you have learned and how asking questions helped you grow.

You do not need to know anything special before you start asking questions. All you need is curiosity! When you see something interesting, you are already ready to ask your first question. Start by noticing things around you and wondering about them.