100 Guiding Questions for Summer

By kallerna (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or
GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

If you teach in an inquiry- or project-based classroom, you probably use guiding questions to help your students really dig into a topic. Well, now that summer is officially upon us, it's time to consider what questions will guide your summer and help you really dig in. Here's a list of 100 guiding questions that can help you get the most out of this season. Pick a question from the list, or let the ideas here inspire you to fashion your own. Then get busy with your summer of inquiry!

1. What self-improvement should I do this summer?
2. What positive health habit can I adopt?
3. What is my most negative health habit, and how can I end it?
4. What is my biggest physical complaint, and how can I get rid of it?
5. How can I get outside more?
6. What activity can I do with friends?
7. What preventive care should I do this summer?
8. How can I improve my attitude and outlook?
9. How can I become happier?
10. What part of my personality would I most like to change, and how?
11. How can I better manage stress and anxiety?
12. What self-talk do I do, and how can I make it more positive?
13. How can I improve my energy and strength?
14. What new hairstyle should I try?
15. What shift in fashion would make me feel better about myself?

16. What do I want out of this summer, and how can I get it?
17. What do I want out of the next year of life, and how can I go for it?
18. What do I want my life to look like in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years?
19. How can I build my confidence and self-esteem?
20. What professional development should I do this summer?
21. How can I create or expand my personal learning network (PLN)?
22. What book about teaching should I read this summer?
23. What style of teaching would I like to explore next year?
24. What webinars and conferences could I attend?
25. What social networking sites could I use to keep up on teaching trends?
26. What one big change would I like to make in my classroom, and how?
27. Whom could I team-teach with next year, and how?
28. How can I collaborate more closely with other teachers?
29. What one factor could I change to better connect with students?
30. Which students struggle in my class, and what can I do to help them?
31. What teaching mentors can I find?
32. What new technology should I learn to be a better teacher?
33. What students need my support this summer, and how can I give it?
34. What could I do to help stop the summer slide in students?
35. What new lesson plans should I write up this summer?
36. How can I avoid burnout and recharge my batteries this summer?
37. How can my family get the most out of this summer?
38. How can I connect more with family members?
39. How can I build a family out of my friendships?
40. How can I create great family memories?
41. What can I do with my family?
42. How can I deepen my relationship with my spouse?
43. How can I deepen my relationship with my children?
44. What relationships need repair, and how can I fix them?
45. What get-togethers should I plan or attend?
46. What family milestones should we celebrate this summer?
47. How can I show my family that I love them?
48. Why have I drifted from others, and how can we regain the closeness?
49. How can we build greater trust and harmony?
50. What new family traditions can we establish?
51. What project can we work on together to bond more?
52. How can we improve communication in our family?
53. Which family member is struggling, and how can the rest of us help?
54. What is our genealogy?
55. What improvements can I make to my living space this summer?
56. What room do I want to make over, and how?
57. What do I want to plant and tend?
58. What home repair or maintenance needs to be done?
59. How can I make my living space safer?
60. How can I make my living space more secure?
61. How can I find an attractive, durable, inexpensive _______________ ?
62. How could I rearrange this room to be more comfortable?
63. What poorly used space could be reworked into living space?
64. How could I make home projects into family projects?
65. What changes in decor would transform this space?
66. How can this space serve multiple functions?
67. What foods would I like to learn to cook this summer?
68. How could I help the kids learn to cook?
69. What's the least comfortable thing about my home, and how do I fix it?
70. How can I improve my community this summer?
71. What neighbors have I not met, and how can I do so?
72. What good deeds can I do to help my neighbors?
73. How many batches of cookies should I bake, and who gets them?
74. Which friend needs help, and how can I provide it?
75. What activities should I get involved with?
76. How can I make my community a better place?
77. What organizations should I volunteer for?
78. What's a big need in my community, and how can I help fill it?
79. What could I do to make the school a better place next year?
80. How can I build new relationships in the community?
81. What community events should I attend?
82. What local causes should I support, and how?
83. What changes in my life will positively impact the environment?
84. What travel and leisure activities should I be involved in this summer?
85. Where should I go this summer, and what should I see?
86. What wonderful destinations lie in my own backyard?
87. What special events should I attend this summer?
88. What new experience do I want to have this summer?
89. Whom should I go to visit, and whom should I invite over?
90. What historical site could teach me the most this summer?
91. How can I most affordably have the adventure of a lifetime?
92. What culture would I like to experience and explore?
93. Where can I hike, jog, boat, or bike this summer?
94. What big challenge would I enjoy accomplishing?
95. What would be the most relaxing trip?
96. What plays would I like to go see?
97. What concerts could I attend?
98. What museums would I like to tour?
99. If I could go anywhere, where would it be and why?
100. What can I do this summer that I will remember gladly forever?

We want to hear from you! What guiding question would you like to explore this summer? Please enter your answers below.