Cheryl L. Riff
Title I Instructional Teacher Advisor
Zavala Special Emphasis School
361-878-2720
clriff@ccisd.us

BLOOM'S
   SEQUENTIAL CLASSIFICATION

OF QUESTION CUES

KNOWLEDGE (memory questions)
tell - list - describe - who - when - where - which - what - do you remember - state - does - define - identify - did you know that - relate

COMPREHENSION (translate)
change to different symbol of medium - tell in your own words - describe how you feel about - relate - interpret - compare and contrast - what is an analogy to - what can you extrapolate from that - discover and explain - what does it mean - what are the relationships

APPLICATION (problem solving)
demonstrate - use it to solve - where does it lead you - how can you use it - contrast - divide - utilize - alter - apply - estimate - decipher

ANALYSIS (reached, derived)
how - reason - why - what are the causes - what are the consequences - what are the steps in the process - how would you start - arrange - specify the conditions - which are necessary for - which one comes first, last - what are some specific examples of - list all the problems, solutions

SYNTHESIS (productive-divergent thinking, originality, and imagination)
create - devise - design - how many hypothesis can you suggest - think of all the different ways - how else - what would happen if - think of as many as you can - what would it be like if - how many ways are possible - compose - develop - in what ways can you improve - suppose - form a new - think of something no one else has thought of before

EVALUATION (judge to a standard, set criteria)
set standards for evaluating the following - which are good, bad - which one(s) do you like - what do you think are the most likely - rate from good to poor - select and choose - is that good or bad - weigh according to the standards - judge by how you feel - what is the problem - are these solutions adequate -will it work - decide which

1.   Knowledge (Remembering previously learned material)

Educational Psychology: Give the definition of punishment.

Mathematics: State the formula for the area of a circle.

English / Language Arts: Recite a poem.

2.   Comprehension (Grasping the meaning of material)

Educational Psychology: Paraphrase in your own words the definition of punishment; answer questions about the meaning of punishment.

Mathematics: Given the mathematical formula for the area of a circle, paraphrase it using your own words.

English / Language Arts: Explain what a poem means.

3.   Application (Using information in concrete situations)

Educational Psychology: Given an anecdote describing a teaching situation, identify examples of punishment.

Mathematics: Compute the area of actual circles.

English / Language Arts: Identify examples of metaphors in a poem.

4.   Analysis (Breaking down material into parts)

Educational Psychology: Given an anecdote describing a teaching situation, identify the psychological strategies intentionally or accidentally employed.

Mathematics: Given a math word problem, determine the strategies that would be necessary to solve it.

English / Language Arts: Given a poem, identify the specific poetic strategies employed in it.

5.   Synthesis (Putting parts together into a whole)

Educational Psychology: Apply the strategies learned in educational psychology in an organized manner to solve an educational problem.

Mathematics: Apply and integrate several different strategies to solve a mathematical problem.

English / Language Arts: Write an essay or a poem.

6.   Evaluation (Judging the value of a product for a given purpose, using definite criteria)

Educational Psychology: Observe another teacher (or yourself) and determine the quality of the teaching performance in terms of the teacher's appropriate application of principles of educational psychology.

Mathematics: When you have finished solving a problem (or when a peer has done so) determine the degree to which that problem was solved as efficiently as possible.

English / Language Arts: Analyze your own or a peer's essay in terms of the principles of composition discussed during the semester.

Verbs that can be used when writing objectives for each column of the cognitive process dimension.

Literature Questions Using Bloom’s Taxonomy

Knowledge:

1.      List the main characters

2.      What is the setting?

3.      What is the title

4.      Who is the author

5.      State two things that happened in the story.

Comprehension:

1.      Paraphrase the sequence of the story.

2.      Describe the main character’s actions

3.      Explain the meaning of the word ________.

4.      What happened first?  Second?  Etc.

5.      State one thing that happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

6.      Re-tell the story in your own words.

7.      List the events that lead up to the main event.

8.      Find two other words that mean the same as _______.

Application:

1.      How is the story like a real-life situation?

2.      Make a time line to show the events of the story.

3.      Write a letter to the main character.

4.      Illustrate the turning point or climax of the story.

5.      Use four of the vocabulary words in a new paragraph.

6.      Demonstrate the way the main character…

7.      Act our one scene or event.

8.      Draw a cartoon relating the main events.

Analysis:

1.      Name two characters (events, versions of the same story).  In what ways are they similar/different?

2.      Could this really happen.  What in the story makes it so?

3.      Compare the main character with yourself.

4.      Compare the setting to modern times, how would things be different?

5.      How would you solve the problem in the story differently?

6.      The main character (or topic) is like _______ as I am to ________. (analogy)

7.      The main character (or topic) is like __________ because ________. (analogy)

8.      Identify which parts are real or fantasy; fact or opinion.

9.      What is the main idea?

10.  Why did the characters react as they did?

11.  What other books have similar messages/themes? Explain

12.  What is the most significant…. in this passage?

13.  Compare this author’s style to the style of your favorite author.

14.  Explain why the author chose this setting.

15.  Compare this passage to another one by the same author.

Synthesis

1.      Predict what might happen if __________.

2.      Add yourself to the original story and write what role you would have.

3.      Create a new character/new event/new possibility and write how it influences the original.

4.      Create a new setting and time for the story, which better suits the character’s needs.

5.      Outline what would happen if the ending were changed.

6.      Create a book jacket that incorporates the most significant events in the book.

7.      Change the setting and rewrite the story based on the new setting and the changes it would cause.

8.      Write a sequel to the book that shows how the character matures.

9.      Draw a symbol for the main idea of the story.

10.  Make a collage using symbols for characters and events in the story.

11.  Write a diamante poem comparing the two main characters.

12.  Create a board game based on the characters and events in the book.

13.  Draw a symbol for each character, which reveals his/her most significant trait.

Evaluation:

1.      Judge the character according to your life standards.

2.      Justify your opinion of this article, book, or passage.

3.      Did the main character make the right decision?  Justify your answer.

4.      Would the outcome be plausible in a different time?  Defend your view.

5.      Is the theme relevant for today’s youth?  Defend your position.

6.      Which character was most important?  Explain the criteria you used.

Math Questions Using Bloom’s Taxonomy

Knowledge:

1.      Circle a …

2.      Read the…

3.      Tell me what….

4.      Name the….

5.      Define the…

6.      Count how many…

7.      Show me…

8.      Identify…

Comprehension:

1.      Draw a picture of …

2.      Define and calculate…

3.      Explain how…

4.      In your own words, tell…

5.      Show me the…

6.      What is the value of…

7.      Call out answers to…

8.      Add the …

9.      Demonstrate how many…

Application:

1.      Label your picture as follows…

2.      Arrange results according to…

3.      Using what you have learned about this, how would you solve…

4.      Order the…

5.      Organize the …

6.      Find another set of objects that equals….

7.      Add one to each number, what do you notice…

8.      Classify and chart…

9.      Using multiples construct….

Analysis:

1.      What made your experiment work?

2.      Investigate patterns found in …

3.      How can you group these so that they will….

4.      Compare the….

5.      Identify the items that are alike.

6.      Prepare a chart and categorize….

7.      Make a graph using….

8.      Show how the problem can be solved.

Synthesis:

1.      Can you get the same result following a different procedure?

2.      Predict results if …was….

3.      Imagine what would happen if…

4.      Create new…

5.      Take and separate into other sets…

6.      Reconstruct the problem.

Evaluation:

1.      How can your experiment be done differently or improved?

2.      Decide the best use of…. In…. situation.

3.      Please tell why you think this will work.

4.      Critique each for clarity and interest.

5.      Defend your prediction.  Tell why you think it will happen.

6.      Defend your new product.

7.      Write five…problems.  Rate them according to difficulty.

Science

Questions and Tasks

Using Blooms Taxonomy

Knowledge

1.      What is the definition of….

2.      What do you see?

3.      List the objects…

4.      Look at these words, pick out the one that is…

5.      List the characteristics…

6.      List the steps

7.      Name the…

8.      Label the parts of ….

9.      What things have not been observed?

10.  With which…..do you…..

11.  What are the materials used …

12.  Tell some facts about….

Comprehension

1.      Write a paragraph explaining the concept of….

2.      What caused this to happen?

3.      Illustrate the list.

4.      Tell me in your own words.

5.      Use the following word in a sentence

6.      Which sense are you using to tell….

7.      Explain why….

8.      Name items that will….

9.      What happened first (second, last) in our experiment?

10.  Explain the meaning of….

Application

1.      Take the following objects and classify them into three groups.

2.      Can you think of another time this has happened or might happen?

3.      Make a chart to show….

4.      Use this information to build a different…..

5.      What uses do we have for these objects at…..

6.      Collect samples of…..

7.      Illustrate the things it has, but does not have to be a …..

8.      Compare….

9.      Show the first step of the experiment.

10.  When you are…., what senses are you using?

11.  Make a graph of….

12.  Make a model of….

Analysis

1.      List some things that might….

2.      Compare differences and similarities of…

3.      What did you learn from the experiment?

4.      Analyze each step of the experiment.

5.      What made your experiment work (not work)?

6.      Prepare a chart and categorize….

Synthesis

1.      Predict the outcome of….

2.      Can you imagine….

3.      For a hypothesis….

4.      Why do you think….is better than…..?

5.      What is the opposite of…..

6.      Define your own characteristics and design a new…

7.      Find a new way to group these objects…

8.      Create a ….using….

Evaluation

1.      What is the reasoning behind your facts?  Support your hypothesis…

2.      Which one produces the best results….

3.      Test your hypothesis.

4.      What made you think of that?

5.      Is it true?  Why or why not?

6.      Review completed experiment  Discuss why consistent standards are important for the valid results of an experiment.

7.      Which of the ….is the most important to you?  Why?

8.      Defend your answers.

9.      Justify your opinion on…..

Examples of Knowledge Objectives:

Mathematics: State the formula for the area of a circle.

State the definition of an isosceles triangle.

Recite the multiplication tables up to 12 x 12.

Examples of Comprehension Objectives:

Mathematics: Given the mathematical formula for the area of a circle, paraphrase it using your own words.

Tell what is meant by the definition of an isosceles triangle.

Tell what is meant by the statement 9 x 7 = 63.

Examples of Application Objectives:

Mathematics: Compute the area of actual circles.

Recognize an isosceles triangle.

Use the multiplication tables up to calculate that there are 144 people in a church with 12 pews and 12 people in each pew.

Examples of Analysis Objectives:

Mathematics: Given a math word problem, determine the strategies that would be necessary to solve it.

Examples of Synthesis Objectives:

Mathematics: Apply and integrate several different strategies to solve a mathematical problem.

Examples of Evaluation Objectives:

Mathematics: When you have finished solving a problem (or when a peer has done so), determine the degree to which that problem was solved as efficiently as possible