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Bloom's Taxonomy Math Question Stems | Creating a math dialogue with a Math Word Wall using Bloom's higher-level math questions stems!

Bloom's Taxonomy is a classification of learning objectives within education proposed in 1956 by a committee of educators chaired by Benjamin Bloom who also edited the first volume of the standard text, Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of educational goals (referred to as simply "the Handbook" below). Although named for Bloom, the publication followed a series of conferences from 1949 to 1953, which were designed to improve communication between educators on the design of curricula and examinations.

Bloom's Taxonomy refers to a classification of the different objectives that educators set for students (learning objectives). Bloom's Taxonomy divides educational objectives into three "domains": Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor (sometimes loosely described as knowing/head, feeling/heart and doing/hands respectively). Within the domains, learning at the higher levels is dependent on having attained prerequisite knowledge and skills at lower levels. A goal of Bloom's Taxonomy is to motivate educators to focus on all three domains, creating a more holistic form of education. source wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom%27s_Taxonomy

Bloom's Taxonomy Questions Stems Math

Knowing questions focus on clarifying, recalling, naming, and listing
- Which illustrates...?
- Write... in standard form....
- What is the correct way to write the number of... in word form?
Organizing questions focus on arranging information, comparing similarities/differences, classifying, and sequencing
- Which shows... in order from...?
- What is the order...?
- Which is the difference between a... and a...?
- Which is the same as...?
- Express... as a...?
Applying questions focus on prior knowledge to solve a problem
- What was the total...?
- What is the value of...?
- How many... would be needed for...?
- Solve....
- Add/subtract....
- Find....
- Evaluate....
- Estimate....
- Graph....
Analyzing questions focus on examining parts, identifying attributes/relationships/patterns, and main idea
- Which tells...?
- If the pattern continues,....
- Which could...?
- What rule explains/completes... this pattern?
- What is/are missing?
- What is the best estimate for...?
- Which shows...?
- What is the effect of...?
Generating questions focus on producing new information, inferring, predicting, and elaborating with details
- What number does... stand for?
- What is the probability...?
- What are the chances...?
- What effect...?
Integrating questions focus on connecting/combining/summarizing information, and restructuring existing information to incorporate new information
- How many are different...?
- What happens to... when...?
- What is the significance of...?
- How many different combinations...?
- Find the number of..., ..., and ... in the figure below.
Evaluating questions focus on reasonableness and quality of ideas, criteria for making judgments, and confirming the accuracy of claims

Which most accurately...?
Which is correct?
Which statement about... is true?
What are the chances...?
Which would best...?
Which would... the same...?
Which statement is sufficient to prove...?

📐 Reading Sage · Math Pedagogy

Bloom's Taxonomy
Math Question Stems

A complete guide to building higher-order mathematical dialogue in your classroom — from recall to evaluation.

🗓 Updated Quarterly

🧠 Aligned to NWEA MAP RIT

📖 Bloom (1956)

What Is Bloom's Taxonomy?

Bloom's Taxonomy is one of the most influential frameworks in education — a classification of learning objectives that has shaped how teachers design instruction, assessment, and classroom questioning for nearly 70 years.

First proposed in 1956 by a committee of educators chaired by Benjamin Bloom, the taxonomy emerged from a series of conferences held between 1949 and 1953. The goal was to create a shared language among educators for designing curricula and examinations — what became known simply as "the Handbook."

The framework organizes educational objectives into three broad domains: Cognitive (knowing/head), Affective (feeling/heart), and Psychomotor (doing/hands). Within each domain, learning at higher levels depends on mastering the foundations below — making it a true taxonomy, not just a list.

In mathematics, Bloom's Taxonomy is especially powerful because it moves students beyond rote computation into genuine mathematical reasoning — the kind measured on assessments like the NWEA MAP Growth test.

📊

NWEA MAP RIT Connection

This question-stem wall rotates quarterly and is aligned to RIT-level math standards. As students progress through MAP growth bands, the question stems shift from lower-order recall toward higher-order analysis, generation, and evaluation — mirroring the increasing cognitive demand of RIT-scored items.

The Three Domains

Bloom's framework spans three domains of human learning. In a math classroom, all three are at work simultaneously.

Domain 1 · Knowing / Head

Cognitive

Mental skills and knowledge. In math, this covers everything from recalling multiplication facts to synthesizing multi-step proofs. This is the primary domain for math instruction and the focus of the seven question-stem levels below.

Domain 2 · Feeling / Heart

Affective

Attitudes, values, and emotional responses. In math, this includes a student's math identity — their confidence, persistence, and willingness to take intellectual risks. Growth mindset work lives here.

Domain 3 · Doing / Hands

Psychomotor

Physical skills and actions. In math, this includes precise use of tools — rulers, protractors, graphing calculators, compasses — and the fine-motor coordination involved in constructing accurate geometric figures.

The Cognitive Pyramid

The seven levels of math cognition, from foundational recall at the base to evaluative judgment at the apex. Higher levels depend on the levels below them.

EvaluatingLevel 7

IntegratingLevel 6

GeneratingLevel 5

AnalyzingLevel 4

ApplyingLevel 3

OrganizingLevel 2

KnowingLevel 1

Math Question Stems by Level

Each level of the cognitive domain generates a different kind of mathematical thinking. Use these stems to craft questions, word wall prompts, assessment items, and classroom discussions.

Know
ing

Knowing

Clarifying · Recalling · Naming · Listing

01

Which illustrates…?
Write ___ in standard form.
What is the correct way to write the number of ___ in word form?
Name the property shown.
List all factors of ___.
What is the definition of ___?
Recall the formula for ___.

Organ
izing

Organizing

Arranging · Comparing · Classifying · Sequencing

02

Which shows ___ in order from ___?
What is the order of ___?
Which is the difference between a ___ and a ___?
Which is the same as ___?
Express ___ as a ___?
Sort these numbers from least to greatest.
How are ___ and ___ alike? Different?
Classify the following as ___.

App
lying

Applying

Using prior knowledge to solve a new problem

03

What was the total ___?
What is the value of ___?
How many ___ would be needed for ___?
Solve ___.
Add / Subtract ___.
Find ___.
Evaluate ___.
Estimate ___.
Graph ___.
Use the formula to calculate ___.

Ana
lyzing

Analyzing

Examining parts · Identifying attributes, relationships & patterns

04

Which tells ___?
If the pattern continues, ___.
Which could ___?
What rule explains / completes this pattern?
What is / are missing?
What is the best estimate for ___?
Which shows ___?
What is the effect of ___?
Break ___ into its component parts.
What relationship exists between ___ and ___?

Gene
rating

Generating

Producing new information · Inferring · Predicting · Elaborating

05

What number does ___ stand for?
What is the probability of ___?
What are the chances of ___?
What effect would ___ have?
Predict what happens when ___.
Create your own example of ___.
What would happen if ___?
Propose a different method for solving ___.

Inte
grating

Integrating

Connecting · Combining · Summarizing · Restructuring

06

How many are different ___?
What happens to ___ when ___?
What is the significance of ___?
How many different combinations are possible?
Find the number of ___, ___, and ___ in the figure.
Connect ___ and ___ to explain ___.
Summarize the relationship between ___ and ___.
How does ___ concept apply to this new situation?

Eval
uating

Evaluating

Judging reasonableness · Confirming accuracy · Defending choices

07

Which most accurately ___?
Which is correct?
Which statement about ___ is true?
What are the chances ___?
Which would best ___?
Which would ___ the same ___?
Which statement is sufficient to prove ___?
Defend your answer using ___.
Is ___ a reasonable answer? Why or why not?
Which solution strategy is most efficient? Justify.

Classroom Implementation Tips

Bloom's question stems are most powerful when woven into everyday math routines — not saved for test prep.

🗣️

Build a Math Dialogue Culture

Post sentence frames like "Who agrees? Disagrees? Who will explain why or why not?" Students should expect to justify, challenge, and build on each other's thinking.

🔄

Rotate the Wall Quarterly

Swap out the question stems displayed in your word wall each quarter to align with current RIT band targets and unit content. Keep higher-order stems visible as the year progresses.

📈

Ladder Your Questions

Open with a Level 1–2 stem to activate prior knowledge, then climb the pyramid. End lessons at Level 5–7 to push into genuine mathematical reasoning.

✍️

Use Stems in Writing Prompts

Math journals and exit tickets become richer when the prompt is drawn from a Bloom's stem. "Which solution strategy is most efficient? Justify." yields far more insight than "Solve the problem."

🤝

Pair with the 8 Mathematical Practices

Higher-order stems naturally activate the CCSS Standards for Mathematical Practice — especially SMP 3 (Construct viable arguments) and SMP 6 (Attend to precision).

🎯

Costa's Levels as a Companion

Costa's Levels of Questioning (Level 1–3) maps neatly onto Bloom's. Use both frameworks together to ensure you're asking input, processing, and output questions every lesson.

Related Resources

The resources below are referenced in the original post. Note: several are hosted as institutional PDFs and availability may vary — links open in a new tab.

Wikipedia

Bloom's Taxonomy — Overview

The original Wikipedia article referenced in this post. Good starting point for the history of the taxonomy and its three domains.

en.wikipedia.org ↗

NWEA

NWEA MAP Growth

The adaptive assessment tool referenced for RIT-level alignment. Explore RIT score ranges and what they mean for cognitive demand in math.

nwea.org ↗

PDF

Mathematics Question Stems

A widely cited PDF resource supporting collaborative math sense-making. Includes sentence frames to help students agree, disagree, and justify reasoning with peers.

asdn.org ↗ ⚠ Link may be inactive — check host institution

PDF

Stem Questions for the 8 Mathematical Practices

From Hull, Balka & Harbin Miles (Pearson / MathLeadership.com). Question stems mapped directly to the CCSS Standards for Mathematical Practice.

mathleadership.com ↗ ⚠ Original PDF link unavailable — visit site directly

PDF

HOTS Questions for Mathematical Thinking

A framework for developing Higher Order Thinking Skills in math. Focuses on problem-solving starters: "What do you need to find out? What strategy will you use?"

Search for PDF ↗ ⚠ Original link unavailable — search recommended

PDF

Higher Order Thinking Question Stems

A general HOTS reference covering Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create — aligned to the revised Bloom's (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001).

Search for PDF ↗ ⚠ Verify current host before sharing with students

PDF

Quality Questioning to Elicit Mathematical Thinking

From HubSpot-hosted research based on Watson & Mason's framework. Prompt and question examples for fostering genuine mathematical inquiry in K–12 classrooms.

Search for PDF ↗ ⚠ Original HubSpot link may have changed

PDF

Costa's Levels of Questioning — Math

From Irving ISD. Costa's three-level questioning model applied to mathematics: Level 1 (input), Level 2 (processing), Level 3 (output/transfer). A natural companion to Bloom's.

irvingisd.net ↗ ⚠ Navigate to curriculum resources section

DOC

Bloom's Taxonomy Math Question Stems (Original Doc)

The original Google Doc / Word document version of this content. Useful for downloading, printing, and posting on your classroom word wall.

Search for DOC ↗ ⚠ Verify source before downloading

A note on linked PDFs: Several of the original resources are hosted on institutional servers (school districts, university sites) that frequently change or remove documents. Where a direct link is unavailable, a search link is provided so you can locate the most current version. If you're an educator seeking these for classroom use, your school librarian or curriculum coordinator may have local copies.

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*Mathleadership.com (LCM2011 Hull, Balka, and Harbin Miles). **Pearson Stem Question Cards. Stem Questions to Promote the 8 Mathematical Practices.

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Developing Mathematics Thinking with HOTS (Higher Order Thinking. Skills) Questions. To promote problem solving… ♢ What do you need to find out?

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HIGHER ORDER THINKING QUESTION STEMS. REMEMBER (Level 1). Recognizing and recalling. Describe what happens when___________. How is (are) ...

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Question and Prompt Examples for Mathematical. Thinking (Watson ... http://www.asdn.org/wp-content/uploads/Mathmatics-Question-Stems.pdf.

[PDF]Costa's Levels of Questioning Math - Irving ISD
Costa's Levels of Questioning. Math. Level 1. What information is given? What are you being asked to find? What formula would you use in this problem?

[PDF]Costas Question Stems by Content Area.pdf
Costa's Levels of Thinking and Questioning: Math. LEVEL 1. LEVEL 2. LEVEL 3. • What information is provided? • What additional information is needed to solve ...

[DOC]Blooms Taxonomy Math Question Stems
Blooms Taxonomy Math Question Stems. A goal of Bloom's Taxonomy is to motivate educators to focus on all three domains, creating a more holistic form of ...

Thousands of free high-quality math lesson plans, worksheets, curriculum maps, and sample word problems for all grades that are copy ready! One stop for every CCSS math standard with doc or pdf formats.

[PDF]Bloom's Taxonomy Mathematics Chart Levels Verbs ... - monte math
Bloom's Taxonomy Mathematics Chart. Levels. Verbs. Sample Tasks. KNOWLEDGE. Learn terms, facts, methods, procedures, concepts. Draw, Recognize ...

[PDF]Sample Question Stems Based on Revised Bloom's Taxonomy ...
Sample Question Stems Based on Revised Bloom's Taxonomy. Remember. Understand. Apply. Who? Where? Which one? What? How? Why? How much?

Developing Mathematical Thinking with Effective Questions

Using Questioning to Stimulate Mathematical Thinking - ERIC

Questions and PromptsforDeveloping Mathematical Thinking

Effective Questions for Developing Mathematical Thinking

Developing Mathematical Thinking with Effective Questions To promote problem-solving, ask…

• What information do you have?

What do you need to find out?

• What strategies are you going to use?

• Will you do it mentally? With pencil and paper? Using a number line?

• What tools will you need? Will a calculator help?

• What do you think the answer or result will be?

To promote problem-solving, ask…

• How would you describe the problem in your own words?

• What facts do you have?

• What do you know that is not stated in the problem?

• How did you tackle similar problems?

• Could you try it with simpler numbers? Fewer numbers? Using a number line? What about putting things in order?

• Would it help to create a diagram? Make a table? Draw a picture? • Can you guess and check?

•If you compared your work with anyone else’s, what did they try?

To make connections among ideas and applications, ask…

• How does this relate to…?

• What ideas that we have learned were useful in solving this problem?

• What uses of mathematics did you find in the newspaper last night?

• Can you give me an example of…? To encourage reflection, ask…

• How did you get your answer?

• Does you answer seem reasonable? Why or why not?

• Can you describe your method to us? Can you explain why it works?

• What if you had started with… rather than…?

• What if you could only use…?

• What have you learned or found out today?

• Did you use or learn any new words today? What did they mean? • What are the key points or big ideas in this lesson?

Developing Mathematical Thinking with Effective Questions To help students build confidence and rely on their own understanding, ask…

• Why is that true?

How did you reach that conclusion?

• Does that make sense?

• Can you make a model to show that?

To help students learn to reason mathematically, ask…

•Is that true for all cases? Explain.

• Can you think of a counterexample?

• How would you prove that?

• What assumptions are you making?

To check student progress, ask…

• Can you explain what you have done so far?

What else is there to do?

• Why did you decide to use this method?

• Can you think of another method that might have worked?

•Is there a more efficient strategy?

• What do you notice when…?

• Why did you decide to organize your results like that?

• Do you think this would work with other numbers?

• Have you thought of all the possibilities?

How can you be sure?

To help students collectively make sense of mathematics, ask…

• What do you think about what ____ said?

• Do you agree? Why or why not?

• Does anyone have the same answer but a different way to explain it?

• Do you understand what _____ is saying?

• Can you convince the rest of us that your answer makes sense? To encourage conjecturing, ask…

• What would happen if…? What if not?

• Do you see a pattern? Can you explain the pattern?

• Can you predict the next one? What about the last one?

• What decision do you think he/she should make?

What do the numbers used in the problem represent?
What is the relationship of the quantities?
How is _______ related to ________?
What is the relationship between ______and ______?
What does_______mean to you? (e.g. symbol, quantity,
diagram)
What properties might we use to find a solution?
How did you decide in this task that you needed to use...?
Could we have used another operation or property to
solve this task? Why or why not?
What mathematical evidence would support your solution?
How can we be sure that...? / How could you prove that...?
Will it still work if...?
What were you considering when...?
How did you decide to try that strategy?
How did you test whether your approach worked?
How did you decide what the problem was asking you to
find? (What was unknown?)
Did you try a method that did not work? Why didn’t it
work? Would it ever work? Why or why not?
What is the same and what is different about...?
How could you demonstrate a counter-example?
What number model could you construct to represent the problem?
What are some ways to represent the quantities?
What is an equation or expression that matches the diagram,
number line.., chart..., table..?
Where did you see one of the quantities in the task in your equation or expression?
How would it help to create a diagram, graph, table...?
What are some ways to visually represent...?
What formula might apply in this situation?\
What mathematical tools could we use to visualize and represent the situation?
What information do you have?
What do you know that is not stated in the problem?
What approach are you considering trying first?
What estimate did you make for the solution?
In this situation would it be helpful to use...a graph..., number line..., ruler..., diagram..., calculator..., manipulative?
Why was it helpful to use...?
What can using a ______ show us that _____may not?
In what situations might it be more informative or helpful to use...?
What mathematical terms apply in this situation?
How did you know your solution was reasonable?
Explain how you might show that your solution answers the problem.
What would be a more efficient strategy?
How are you showing the meaning of the quantities?
What symbols or mathematical notations are important in this problem?
What mathematical language..., definitions..., properties can you use to explain...?
How could you test your solution to see if it answers the problem?
What observations do you make about...?
What do you notice when...?
What parts of the problem might you eliminate..., simplify...?
What patterns do you find in...?
How do you know if something is a pattern?
What ideas that we have learned before were useful in solving this problem?
What are some other problems that are similar to this one?
How does this relate to...?
In what ways does this problem connect to other mathematical concepts?
Explain how this strategy work in other situations?
Is this always true, sometimes true or never true?
How would we prove that...?
What do you notice about...?
What is happening in this situation?
What would happen if...?
Is there a mathematical rule for...?

2 comments:

AnonymousFebruary 26, 2012 at 8:20 AM
I accidently hit "Biased" and lost it before I changed it. I apologize.
This information is helpful to me as a reading teacher to familiarize students with the language of math and I will share it with colleagues. Thank you for posting! ltw
AnonymousSeptember 8, 2015 at 7:47 PM
Love it thanks for sharing!

Thank you!

Sean Taylor M.Ed. Reading Sage: Advocating for Every Child to Read, Learn, and Thrive

Tuesday, October 11, 2011