Big Questions and Small Questions
Not all questions are the same size. Some questions have a quick, simple answer. What time is lunch? How many legs does a spider have? What color is the sky? You can answer these in one second. These are small questions — and they are very useful! Other questions take months or even years to answer. Why do we dream? What is the universe made of? How can everyone in the world get enough food? These are big questions — and they are the ones that change the world. Both kinds matter. Today you will learn the difference and when to use each one.
Small Questions: Quick and Useful
Small questions are questions with clear, findable answers. They help you get things done. Imagine you are baking cookies with a grown-up. You might ask: how much sugar? How hot should the oven be? How many minutes do we bake them? These are small questions. You need fast answers so you can keep moving. Small questions are wonderful when you need facts quickly. They are the building blocks of bigger thinking. If you want to understand something big, you often start by asking lots of small questions first.
Small questions get you facts. Big questions help you think deeply about the world. You need both kinds in life — and a great thinker knows when to use each one.
Big Questions: Deep and Lasting
Big questions are questions that do not have a simple, one-word answer. They make you think hard. They might not have one right answer at all. Here are some big questions that kids have asked: Why do some kids get to go to school and others do not? Is it fair that animals are kept in zoos? What would the world be like if nobody ever told a lie? Could a robot ever be a real friend? These questions make your brain stretch. You can talk about them for a long time. Different people will have different answers. Exploring big questions is how we grow as thinkers.
Match each question to whether it is a big question or a small question.
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Here is something interesting: big questions are often made of many small questions. Suppose you have the big question: why do people fight? To explore it, you might ask small questions like: what does it mean to fight? Do all animals fight? What are people usually fighting about? Do wars and playground arguments count the same? Each small question is like one piece of a puzzle. When you put enough pieces together, you start to see the bigger picture. Scientists do this all the time. They break a giant question into smaller, answerable pieces and work through them one by one.
When a big question feels too huge and scary, break it into smaller questions. Smaller questions are easier to tackle. One step at a time, you can explore even the biggest ideas.
Which of these is a BIG question?
Why are small questions useful when you are exploring a big question?
Sort the Questions
- Write these six questions on separate slips of paper: How many bones are in the human body? What makes life meaningful? Why do leaves change color in autumn? Is it always wrong to break a rule? How far away is the sun? What is the best way to treat someone who is sad?
- Now sort them into two piles: Small Questions and Big Questions.
- For the big questions, write one smaller question that could help you start exploring it.
- Share your sorting with someone — did they agree with your choices?