The document provides guidance on forming opinions about news topics by thinking of interesting questions to ask. It suggests using question starters like "What if...", "Would you rather...", and "Should..." to frame questions. It also advises asking questions about universal themes like hope, friendship, and fairness that are relevant to many news stories. Forming good questions can help someone think critically about an issue and develop their own view.
Generate Thought-Provoking Questions About News Topics
1. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
Forming opinions and ideas:
Think of a really
interesting
question to ask
2. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
To work out what you think about
something, it helps to think of really
interesting questions to ask about it.
Try coming up with interesting
questions about the news topic
using these beginnings!
3. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
What if _____?
4. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
Would you rather
____ or ____?
5. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
Should _____
do _____?
Example: Should the US apologise for Hiroshima?
6. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
Which is
more ______,
this or that?
Example: Which is more important, beauty or brains?
7. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
Should we
_____?
Example: Should we give more to charity?
8. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
How _____
is _____?
Example: How important is equality?
9. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
How can you
tell if _____?
Example: How can you tell if something is brave, not foolish?
10. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
When is ____?
Example: When is it right to go to war?
11. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
What’s the
difference between
_____ and _____?
Example: loneliness and being alone?
being good and being polite?
12. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
What is _____?
Example: What is fairness?
13. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
What counts as
being _____?
Example: What counts as being British?
Are you still a good person if you do a bad thing?
What makes you, you?
14. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
Ask a question about universal themes
“Universal themes” are ideas that
matter to almost everyone,
everywhere, forever.
For example hope, friendship,
racism, unfairness and power are
all universal themes.
15. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
Ask a question about universal themes
Lots of news stories are
interesting because they affect
these universal themes.
16. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
Ask a question about universal themes
To ask a really interesting question
about a news topic, you could try to
work out what the universal themes are.
To do that, imagine what ideas would
be left behind in the topic if you took
away all the people and all the
specific details.
17. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
Ask a question about universal themes
Example
Imagine that the story of Hansel and Gretel
was a news story.
If you strip away the people and all the details
you are left with: lies, temptation, hope,
cleverness, wickedness, danger and risk.
These are all interesting universal themes.
18. The Burnet News Club
THINK OF A REALLY INTERESTING QUESTION TO ASK
Ask a question about universal themes
Now you can create questions about the
news topic based on these themes.
For example, for a news story about a
war, you could ask:
“What should your country mean to you?”
or
“Is it ever OK to fight?”