Questions that lead to deeper thinking in Science

As I sit here on the last day of winter break, my brain engaged once again with teaching and learning, I remembered that I forgot to make this post in a timely manner. I did still want to share how a single question motivated my students to learn more about electricity. To begin the unit I asked my students to reflect on the question "How would your life be different if there was no elecric power available anywhere in the world for an extended period of time?" They started by responding individually and shared together in small groups and then whole group discussion. The immediate responses were very narrow and personal=====no computer, cell phone, TV--nothing to do, but as they continued to talk and build on each other's ideas the depth of thought was amazing. The things that might be done about food production and preservation. How communication and transportation would be affected and changed. Would money mean anything or would there be a new barter system? New technology would need to be developed. This led to questions about what creates electricity. How does it work? Where does it come from? I was impressed by the depth of thinking and excited that the students were motivated to learn about our next topic of study.