Have you ever heard of a question trail or tried one with your students? It can be a high-interest activity and a great way to review content, vocabulary, or get students ready for a test. That’s because it’s really just a multiple-choice test with the questions posted around your classroom room at stations. Students move around to answer questions and each of their responses leads them to the next spot on the trail. Correct answers result in reaching the end of the trail in record time. Incorrect answers result in some backtracking and delays!
In the past, I’ve used a question trail to review or reinforce content, but I started considering how the multiple-choice format could be used in other ways.
So, here are three ways you might incorporate a question trail with advanced students, a template for creating your own, plus a free trail to use on Powers of Ten Day, October 10th (see this blog post for more about that).
(1) ADD AN “OFF-THE-WALL” READING HUNT ~ This activity would be perfect if you wanted your students to read about something specific. You may have content related to an upcoming field trip or an event, or you may want to introduce a new unit by getting students familiar with the topic.
TO DO THIS: Create pages or mini-posters with the content you want them to read. Then, create pages with multiple-choice questions related to that content. Display all of these pages around your classroom and outer hallway. Students will have to find the content that relates to each question in order to determine correct responses. So, instead of having the content in their heads (as in a review for a test), they will “read around the room” to locate answers.
I’ve created a sample of this that you could use on POWERS OF TEN day. It has some trivia content, and also requires students to apply some math skills. Prerequisites would include understanding exponents and the powers of ten (again, see this blog post for lesson ideas) and some understanding of larger numbers.
PREVIEW / DOWNLOAD POWERS OF TEN QUESTION TRAIL (PDF)
(2) SHARE STUDENT PROJECTS
This is also a kind of scavenger hunt activity, and it can be a really fun way to share non-digital projects of all kinds.
TO DO THIS: Have each student write a question or two that requires classmates to take a closer look at their project to read or examine something. In this photo, the scavenger hunt questions were on clipboards and students moved around the room to find the answers. But a question trail would be an easy and unique way to present the questions as well.
(3) KID-CREATED TRAILS
To take anything to a higher level, have students create their own! I’m thinking of younger students for this one, since writing multiple-choice questions and creating an activity for others can be a challenge for K-2 scholars. Younger students love stumping others with their knowledge, so they would really enjoy creating something like this for PARENT NIGHT or for other classes. Several projects I’ve shared could be easily transformed into question trails such as Q is for Duck Research and Board Game projects.
If you would like to create your own, I found this FREE TEMPLATE which I used in creating the Powers of Ten trail. I see no reason to reinvent the wheel, so I’m happy to link to it. However, it is only ten questions, so if you want a longer trail, you can purchase one of these or create your own.
Do you have other ideas for incorporating question trails or have you tried any of the above? If so, please take a moment to leave a comment below and encourage many other teachers!