What is question walls?

Designate a wall or board as the class question wall (or draw a question tree) As learners generate questions during lessons, they write them on cards and add them to the wall Categorise questions by type, topic, or whether they have been answered Revisit the wall regularly to answer questions, add new ones, and celebrate unanswered ones

Question Walls - Ongoing Class Enquiry

How it works

A question wall (or question tree) is a living display that collects learner-generated questions over the course of a unit, term, or year. Questions are written on cards and added to the display as they arise. Over time, the wall becomes a map of the class's curiosity and inquiry.

The question tree variation uses a tree graphic where questions are written on leaf-shaped cards and attached to branches. This can be organised by topic (each branch represents a subtopic) or by question type (factual questions on lower branches, evaluative questions at the top).

The display should be interactive. Learners can move questions from "unanswered" to "answered" as they find answers through lessons, research, or discussion. They can also add new questions that arise from answering earlier ones. This demonstrates that good inquiry generates more questions, not fewer.

Question walls work best when they are genuinely used, not just decorative. Refer to the wall at the start and end of lessons. Ask: "Have we answered any of these questions today?" or "Has today's learning raised any new questions for the wall?" When learners see that their questions are taken seriously and returned to, they invest in generating better ones.

Classroom example

A Year 5 Science and Technology class in a Gwynedd school has a question tree for their "Living things" topic. At the start of the unit, learners add questions like "Do plants feel pain?" and "Why are some animals nocturnal?" After each lesson, they check whether any questions have been addressed. One learner adds: "If plants make their own food, why do Venus flytraps eat insects?" This question, which arose from a lesson on photosynthesis, becomes the focus of an extension investigation.

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Curriculum for Wales connection

Question walls develop the "Plan" strand of thinking skills by building a visible culture of inquiry and curiosity. They support the Four Purposes by developing "ambitious, capable learners" who direct their own learning and "ethical, informed citizens" who value questions as much as answers.

Rainbow Curriculum's Thinking Tools lens helps you plan where inquiry displays are embedded across your curriculum, making questioning a visible and valued part of classroom culture.

Tips

Make the display accessible so learners can add questions independently, not just during dedicated activities.
Use different coloured cards for different question types or different topics.
A common pitfall: starting a question wall and then ignoring it. Schedule regular revisits into your lesson routine.
Celebrate unanswered questions. Some of the best questions have no easy answer, and that is valuable.
At the end of a unit, review the wall as a class. How has your understanding changed? Which questions remain open?

Related tools

Big Questions

Open-ended, thought-provoking questions that push learners beyond simple recall into genuine problem-solving, reasoning and creative thinking.

KWL/KWHL Grids

A simple grid where learners record what they Know, what they Want to find out, How they will find out, and what they have Learned, structuring inquiry from start to finish.

Learners Set Questions

A strategy where learners generate their own questions about a topic, developing deeper understanding because creating good questions requires more thinking than answering them.

Quescussion

A discussion format where participants may only contribute questions, never statements or answers, creating a deep exploration of a topic through the power of questioning alone.

Question Bubbles

A visual scaffold where question stems are displayed in speech bubbles around a central stimulus, prompting learners to generate questions at different cognitive levels.