"...Would it evaporate like steam?" - The Chicago Poetry Center

“…Would it evaporate like steam?”

I got the idea for “The Beauty of Questions” lesson awhile back when I was looking through the Book of Questions by Pablo Neruda and illustrated by Paloma Valdivia, which was published in 2022. I love Neruda’s questions because they fill my head with wonder. The lesson gives me a chance to share that the work of many poets, writers, scientists, and others begins – not with answers – but with questions. Today at Twain, 3rd graders talked about what it means to be curious. Students said that being curious means: “being interested,” “wanting to learn more,” “being suspicious,” “feeling shy and wondering about things.“

We looked at a few of Neruda’s questions, such as “Where can you find a bell/ That rings inside your dreams?” and “Where does the rainbow end,/ In your soul or on the horizon?” and noticed that these questions are kind of….well….unanswerable! I asked students to try to come up with questions that google can’t answer. Keep reading to enjoy the questions they came up with!

Mrs. Murphy 3rd Grade

collaboration

What would happen if the
world disappeared?
Would it evaporate
like steam?

Would all of our
skin, bones, trees,
colors, and oceans
dissolve?

Spider-Man A. J. S.

When the new Spider Man movie comes out
can we go watch it?

Can you buy me Spider Man toys?

Can we buy pizza, and popcorn to eat?

Natalia S.

If school wasn’t there would people still be smart?

Aislinn C.

Why don’t we remember the memories of when we were a baby?

Christian T.

Why are predators dangerous?

Andrii D.

What will happen if earth touches Mars?

Mitzi B.

What was the first flower made?

Ms. O'Reilly 3rd Grade

Alison G.

Why is it we sit and our legs
hurt
Why doesn’t the chair help?
it’s supposed to help.

Victoria G.

When it’s Opposite Day am I a boy or a girl or am
I alive or am I dead? If it’s Opposite
Day is my cat a dog? If it’s Opposite Day am I at
school or at home? If it’s Opposite Day am I writing or
am I drawing? If it’s Opposite Day am I an alien or
a human?

Aleksander H.

What’s at the end of a shadow?
How does a controller get made
by the stuff that makes it?
How do textures feel different?

McKenzie C.

If you drop soap on the
floor is the floor clean or
is the soap dirty?

Why do I dream? I don’t understand.

Why can’t animals see color?

If it rains does that mean
God is crying or clouds are crying?