Yes/No, Why?

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Teaching Academic Vocabulary 1

Module 4D:

Yes/No, Why?

Developed by the Adult Learning Resource Center for the

Illinois Community College Board Service Center Network

Yes/No, Why?: A High Impact Activity

In this module, we’ll explore another high impact activity, called Yes/No, Why?. Like the other activities you’ve seen, Yes/No, Why? is designed to push students to use higher order thinking as they consider the meanings and uses of the vocabulary words.

In some ways, Yes/No, Why? is the most challenging of the activities we’ve covered in this course, and as such should be used only after students have a solid understanding of the vocabulary words.

The Process of Yes/No, Why?

Just as with all the other high impact activities, Yes/No, Why? is a discussion activity. It is designed so that students focus on the relationship between vocabulary words. Teachers create yes-no questions like these for students to answer.

Does establishing a routine make life less hectic?

Is spending money spontaneously always detrimental to your budget?

Each question contains two vocabulary words. These pairings of words are unusual and should provoke critical thought and debate.

Students answer the questions with a yes or no, then explain why they chose their answer.

Once again, it’s the WHY that’s important. As you saw with the True/False, Why? and the Sentence Completions, asking students to explain their answer is the most valuable part of the discussion.

Warning: this activity can lead to spirited debate!

Effective Questions Lead to Discussion and Debate

It’s important to create thought-provoking prompts for Yes/No, Why? that allow students to debate their opinions. Let’s compare some good and not so good prompts.

Take a look at this question.

When your life is hectic, do you try to establish a routine?

This question is not very effective. When students answer it, they can’t give an opinion. They can only answer with a fact, like “yes I do," or "no I don’t." With answers like these, a discussion is impossible, since the answers can’t be argued.

Here’s another version.

Does establishing a routine make life less hectic?

What do you think? Will it lead students to think hard? Is it conducive to a discussion where students can have different responses?

Yes, on both counts. The question is general, not specific to the person answering it, and it is hypothetical. Students can answer either way and debate their answers.

In class, the teacher can ask the prompt question, then students can share their ideas.

As with the other high impact activities, encourage students to be playful as they answer. Using humor creates memory pathways that students will need as they’re learning abstract vocabulary.

Also make sure they use the vocabulary words when they’re explaining their answers. Remember that hearing and using the words orally are excellent  ways to reinforce students’ understanding of the new word meanings.

Guidelines for Developing Questions

Here’s another prompt to consider. Is it good?

Did you ever buy something spontaneously that wasn’t in your budget?

No. It's not a bad question to use in a different activity, but it's not right for Yes/No, Why? because it only has one vocabulary word in it, so students aren’t being challenged to examine the relationships among the meanings of the vocabulary words they are learning. 

What about this one?

Did you ever do something spontaneous that was detrimental to your budget?

No, this one won't work, either. It’s written as a real question, not a hypothetical query, so the students’ answers will be based on their personal experiences, with no possibility for debate or discussion. Again, it could be used for another kind of activity, but not for Yes/No, Why?. 

Would this one work?

When you spontaneously bought a new camper, was it detrimental to your budget?

No. The context is too personal and is limiting. What if your students haven't spontaneously bought new campers?

Here’s one last prompt to look at. 

Is spending money spontaneously always detrimental to a budget?

This one is a keeper. It's general and hypothetical, so it can be answered either way and argued.

Assignment

After a little cat nap, rewrite the Yes/No, Why? prompts on your Assignment Worksheet to make them stronger. Then write prompts of your own, using all of the words below. Remember, each prompt needs to have two words in it.

 hectic

feature

detrimental

spontaneous

intimidate

prohibit