Understanding Why
Go beyond knowing *that* something is true — ask *why* it is true and *how* it works
Typical age: 8–9 years
“Does your child often ask 'but why?' when they learn a fact — wanting to understand the reason behind it rather than just accepting it?”
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- Justifying mathematical reasoning (age 8+)
Critiquing the reasoning of others in maths requires the elaborative-interrogation habit of asking why things work or fail
- Questioning First Impressions
Questioning your assumptions about why someone acted a certain way is elaborative interrogation applied to social cognition — asking 'why do I think this?' rather than accepting the first explanation
- Drawing conclusions from evidence (age 9+)
Reporting causal relationships and a degree of trust in results requires the elaborative-interrogation habit of asking why things are true
- Could there be another explanation?
Asking 'is there another explanation?' is the scientific form of the universal elaborative-interrogation habit
- Questioning Historical Sources
Sourcing is elaborative interrogation applied to historical documents — asking not just what it says but why it was made
- Reviewing Own Writing
Evaluating whether your writing works requires asking 'why does this passage succeed or fail?' — the elaborative-interrogation habit applied to your own text