A question trail is an engaging activity that allows students to practice language and move around the classroom. Because it is a kinesthetic activity, it gets students up and moving which helps with brainpower. Students will follow the “trail” of multiple-choice questions that will show what they have learned from the class lecture, a story, or reading. The questions can be written for cultural information or signed to practice vocabulary. The questions are always written in English. Because there is added movement, it actually makes the activity a little more engaging to students.
Question trails can be collaborative or individual. It is really up to you the teacher to make that choice. Or even better, you can give that option to students to work in a small groups or independently. The basic premise of the question trail is for students to understand the material the teacher has provided. The students will answer a series of multiple-choice questions. If the questions on the trail are answered correctly, students will be prompted to move to the next question. If students answer a question incorrectly, they will end up at a question they have already answered which means they will need to backtrack to see where they made an error. They will need to determine where they went wrong.
How to Create a Question Trail
To create a question trail you will need 10 – 15 questions. I tend to use 15 but when working with the lower-level language learners I sometimes use 10. Any number between 10 – 15 is perfect.
All of the questions should be multiple-choice and printed on a single sheet of paper. The papers should be numbered so students know which question they are on since they will not follow the trail in numeric order. There should be 4 options on the paper A – D.
Each sheet of paper on the trail should have a question written in text or recorded using the target language. Then there should be 4 options for students to choose from. At the end of each option, it should tell students which question to go to next. For example
A. option 1 (go to question #3)
B. option 2 (go to question #9)
C. option 3 (go to question #14)
D. option 4 (go to question #12)
If the correct answer is B, students will go to question #9. When you are creating the questions, you will need to make yourself a master key. Each question should take students to a question they have not gone to yet. It helps to write the key out before creating the questions to keep yourself in check. It doesn’t matter where the incorrect answers take the students. In fact, the numbers can even repeat themselves.
Using Video On The Trail
If you are using video on the question trail, you will need to create a way for students to access the video while moving around the room. I generally give students options on how to access the videos by placing both a QR code and a short URL on the paper.
Since video is a digital activity, you will need devices for students. If you are not 1:1 devices in your school, you can still do a question trail by allowing students to use their own devices (phones).
When To Use Question Trails
Question trails can be used for a variety of situations in the classroom.
- to practice vocabulary
- to learn cultural information
- story comprhension checks
- station activity
- sharing student work
- reading articles
How Students Participate
A question trail is an activity comprised of different multiple choice stations. These questions are posted throughout the classroom to bring movement to students. At each station, students answer a multiple-choice question. Each answer (a, b, c, or d) will send the students to a different station. If students answer each question correctly, they will travel to each station and complete a full circuit. If students answer a question incorrectly, they will eventually find themselves at a station they’ve already completed, which tells them that they need to backtrack. This gives the teacher clear, immediate feedback to know who is understanding the content.
Do you have other ideas you use question trails with?
Check out these already made question trails:
Personality Trails Question Trail
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