Asking+Questions

Asking Questions

Find a picture book to read aloud. Works best with a second teacher. I enjoy using the book [|Gleam and Glow] by Eve Bunting. The book is about children in Bosnia having to evacuate their home and leave their pet goldfish behind. I use this one because I have found my students have little back ground knowledge about the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, are engaged by the book, and have many questions at the most concrete level and the more abstract level so it is good for the range of students I have.

I start this activity with one teacher reading. The other teacher is the "voice in the head". Whenever that teacher has a question she would ask herself as a good reader, she puts her hand on the shoulder of the teacher who is reading. The reader stops and the "voice in the head" asks the question outloud. This continues for a page or two. The students, at this point, are usually clamoring to ask their own questions or answer the questions that the "voice is asking". When the excitement is at a good level, I let students start asking questions and answering questions...often resulting in a lively debate.

After guiding students through this technique in the first book, I will introduce my A--Asking Questions Poster. Depending on the class size and composition I will promise them a reward if they can get X number of post-it-notes with questions that they ask about their reading on it.

The next day I often pass out more of Eve Buntings books or some of Chris Van Alsburg, pair the students up and let them practice asking questions. They have to choose their 3 best questions to share out with their class.

As an extra help to generalize this skill, I will often count post-it -notes double or triple if they asked a question about their reading in a class other than mine.