Writing Survey Questions

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For teachers of English for Academic Purposes, surveys are par for the course, especially in speaking and listening classes. They're great for many reasons; they not only promote critical thinking, students must also talk to people outside of the classroom, synthesize information, analyze results, present results, create charts/tables, etc. I use them in all classes (not just speaking and listening), especially informal surveys. However, when students are responsible for formal surveys for formal presentations, it's necessary to teach them how to prepare and execute them appropriately.

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The first step when using surveys in class to to teach how to write survey questions. This is a very tricky step for all students, no matter their language level. Fortunately, ReadWriteThink.org is here to help. Here Patricia Alejandra Lastiri provides a series of four lessons to teach survey questions writing. She provides four 60-minute lessons along with wonderful printouts and websites. The original lesson is for grades 9-12, but it can be easily adapted for non-native English speakers and ESL classrooms. Included in the link is a survey evaluation form, sample questions and guidelines,  a great rubric (for participation, not just for surveys), and much more. You really should check it out for yourself to see what else can be adopted or adapted.

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P.S. Here's the link: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/question-writing-good-survey-1084.html?tab=3#tabs