What is an essential question?

• An essential question is – well, essential:

– important, vital, at the heart of the matter – the essence of the issue

– One meaning of “essential” involves important questions that recur throughout one’s life.

– It’s the same concept as our Big Question.

Essential Questions from Miss Peregrine’s…

How do we find our way in a world that often works in ways that are in direct opposition to our own desires and aspirations? 

How much control do we really have?  Is it our character that determines our fate?  If character does determine fate, then how

do we explain innocents’ suffering?  To what extent do we create and control our

own destiny?  To what extent are we truly free?

“Essential Question” Revisited:1. Everyone get his/her writer’s folder and

find your responses to the gallery walk.2. As a group, share the visuals and quotes

that you were drawn to.3. As a group, be prepared to answer the

following question and discuss your thoughts with the class:• What is THE most important, essential

question for humans to ask and ponder? Why???