Ready-to-Use Classroom Synthesis Questions for Primary and Secondary

These questions are ready-to-use.

They are synthesis questions, based on the fifth level of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

You can use the questions as part of verbal questioning or as written questions.

The questions are based around the words ‘Create, Design, Propose, Construct and Hypothesise.’

All of which are synonyms for synthesis.

You can use the questions as they are, adapt them for your learners, or use them as inspiration to develop your own questions.

Create Synthesis Questions (Fifth Level of Bloom’s Taxonomy)

How might X have been created?
How might you create an image/dramatization/story/poem about X?
What might an image/dramatization/story/poem about X be like?
How might X connect to Y? (Can you create a connection between X and Y?)
Could you link X to Y and toZ? (Can you create a connection between X, Y and Z?)
What conditions are needed for the creation of X? Why? Are there multiple conditions? If so, what might connect these together?
What different stories of X’s origin can you tell? How do they differ? Why do they differ? Are there certain things which are common to all stories explaining the creation of X? Why?
What might X help to create?
What could you use X to create?
How might you use X to create Y/something new?
What circumstances might be needed for the creation of X? Why?
If you were to alter condition Y, would X still have been created?
Did the creation of X stifle other possible creations? What might these have looked like? How might the world be different if these, and not X, had been created first?
How might you solve problem X?
What solution(s) can you create for problem X?
Can you create X for situation Y? (For example: What might a constitution for Britain be like? Or: Can you create a constitution (X) for Britain (Y))
What motives might have been behind the creation of X?
Could you create a new/better/more streamlined/more effective/less restrictive version of X?
Can you explain the thinking behind your creation?
What consequences have come from the creation of X?
Can you create an answer to question/problem X?
What processes might be involved in the creation of X? How might these processes interact? What sort of relationship between them is necessary for the creation of X?
Does the creation of X require certain things to happen?
Does the creation of X always lead to certain effects?
Is the creation of X implicated in a chain of cause and effect? Could the creation be explained by indirect factors?
Can you create an image/story/experiment in the style of X?
What do you need to know to create something?

Design Synthesis Questions (Fifth Level of Bloom’s Taxonomy)

How might X have been designed?
What alternative designs of X might there be?
What would an alternative to X look like?
How might you design an alternative to X/alternative version of X?
Can you design a solution to problem X?
What might be a solution to X and how would you put this into practice?
What difficulties might you encounter when designing a solution to X?
How might the design of X differ from that of Y?
What constraints might be necessary to encourage a workable design for X?
When designing X, what things do you need to consider?
How might you prioritise the various requirements of the design brief?
Can you design a version of X that takes competing interests/ideas/demands into account?
If the situation changed, how would you design a response to this?
How might person A and person B design different responses to situation Y?
What influence might factor Y have on your design of a solution to problem X?
Why might X have been designed as it is?
What has influenced the design of X? Why has it?
What purposes or intentions do you think the designers of X had in mind?
What unintentional consequences has the design of X led to? What does this tell us about the design of X? What does it tell us about how people are using the design?
How might you design X so that it is future-proof?
Examine X. Use your findings to suggest how it was designed. Why do you think it was designed in this way?
How might you design X so that it is open rather than closed?
How might you redesign X?
What information would be most helpful to someone designing X? How might they get hold of this information? How might it influence their planning?
Look at X. Is there a difference between the design and the reality? Why?
What is the best way to go about designing something? What benefits are there to following a process? What drawbacks are there?
How are designs of X similar and different?

Propose Synthesis Questions (Fifth Level of Bloom’s Taxonomy)

What proposals could you make for situation X?
What solution do you propose for situation X? Why?
What ideas can you propose for altering X?
How might X be altered?
How might we deal with situation X?
What ideas might individuals A and B propose in situation X? Why?
What did you use to make your proposals?
How do you propose to explain your decision?
How might we best explain the actions of person A?
Why might person A have acted as they did? What do you think motivated or caused person A’s behaviour?
What theory might explain X? What theory might explain X, Y and Z?
Can you propose an alternative to that which currently exists?
Considering our discussion, what do you propose?
Based on your knowledge and understanding, what do you propose we do?
How might we maintain/analyse/critique/circumvent/challenge/delineate/infer X?
What plan do you have for situation X? How do you plan to do X?
What ideas can you offer as to why X is as it is?
What might have caused X? How? Why?
Who might be responsible for X? Why?
How might person A feel? What might have caused their feelings?
How might person A respond to X? Why might X elicit this response?
How might you improve X?
How might changes to X cause you to alter your proposals?
What factors influenced your proposals? If these were to change, how might your proposals change?
How might we solve problem X? What alternatives are there?
How might the proposal of an idea differ from the proposal of a plan?
Would problem X be better dealt with by a plan or an idea? Why?
If aspect Y of X were to change, what impact might this have on your proposals? Are certain aspects of X more important to your proposal?
Why might your proposal work? Why might it fail? Why might it address the problem? How might it fail to address the problem?
How might you improve your proposition(s)?
Why do you think your proposal will be successful? What evidence/examples/reasons do you have to support your belief?

Construct Synthesis Questions (Fifth Level of Bloom’s Taxonomy)

What theory might explain the information/observations/data?
How might you theorise X from Y?
How might you construct an argument to support your point?
Can you make an argument supporting your point?
Can you construct a meaning for X?
How might you bring X, Y and Z together to form a theory?
Can you construct a new theory which takes X into account?
What might you be able to build using these concepts?
How might these concepts help us to build a model or theory explaining X?
How could we use the concepts we have learnt about to construct a theory of X?
How has person A used observations/data to construct a theory? Do you agree with their theory? Why?
What relationships and concepts are important to theory X?
What might a theory/idea connecting X and Y be like?
What might be the strengths and weaknesses of a theory that tries to explain X, Y and Z?
How can we explain the data/observations?
How could someone go about defending X?
How could someone construct an attack/critique of X?
How can we account for X?
How might person A attempt to incorporate X into their theory?
Could a theory be constructed which challenges X/fits the evidence/gives suggestions for further investigation?
Why might it be possible to construct a theory of X? Why might it not be possible to construct a theory of X?
When/where might it be useful to construct a theory about X?
What might you use to construct a theory about X?
What difficulties might you encounter when trying to theorise X?
Can you construct an answer to X using the data/your knowledge?
What foundations can we construct for our answers?
What would you use to construct an answer to X?
How might individuals A and B construct different theories of X?
What does theory X depend on? How might theory X be proved wrong?
When and how could someone construct an alternative to X? How would they do this? What might make it effective?
How might someone use X, Y and/or Z to build an argument?

Hypothesise Synthesis Questions (Fifth Level of Bloom’s Taxonomy)

How might you explain X?
What might explain X? How might this explanation work?
Who might be able to explain X? Why?
What might happen if X were altered? What might happen if X were altered by means Y? What might happen if X were altered by person A?
What might happen if X was brought into contact with Y?
What hypothesis might fit the facts? What hypothesis might explain X?
What might happen in situation X? Why – what has led you to such a hypothesis?
Can you think of a hypothesis which accounts for X, Y and Z?
Why might X be as it is?
How might you improve X? Why would what you have suggested be an improvement?
What might make X better or worse? Why?
How might you explain X? Given new information Y, how might your hypothesis about X alter?
How could you test your hypothesis about X?
How could X be different?
Why/where could X be different?
Who might want to explain X? Why?
How might X be explained? How might X be explained using Y/by person A?
What might be the best course of action for achieving X? Why?
What assumptions does your hypothesis rest on?
How might your hypothesis influence how you look at X?
How could someone attempt to falsify your hypothesis?
How might a change in motivation influence your hypothesis?
How many different hypotheses might possibly explain X? What does this tell us about X? What does it tell us about proposing hypotheses?
Which hypothesis about X do you think is most likely to prove correct? Why?
How might you simplify your hypothesis?
What information do you need to prove or disprove your hypothesis?
What information might lead you to alter your hypothesis? Why? What changes will you make?
How might you develop a hypothesis that explains X?
Will your hypothesis about X be true in every situation? How could you test this?
Why might someone agree or disagree with your hypothesis about X?
How might you test your hypothesis?