Friday was our first speaker of the year. I thought I would do a little prep work to see if we could cut down on the story telling and really ask questions. I got this idea from Kristin @ A Teeny Tiny Teacher, but turned it into my own.
First, I taught students the Question Song which you sing to the tune of "He's got the whole world in His Hands." They love it when we sing. I gave 6 students the question words to the song & they held them up like cheerleaders at a football game as we sang the song.
After learning the song, we made an anchor chart about Reasons we may ask questions:
Then, students were ready for some practice. We played the game Headbandz in small groups. In this game, one student wears a headband with a picture on it. They cannot see the picture but must ask questions to figure it out.
After playing the game, I checked students understanding by giving each student a strip of paper. On it, they had to ask me a question about myself or my family.
Did this help! Yes! Not a single one of my students told a story during our time with the speaker. If they raised their hands, they asked questions!
You can also make your own Headbandz game. Make 6 headbands out of sentence strips. Cut a library pocket a little short & glue on to the middle of the strip. Have students illustrate objects, animals, people, etc on index cards. Presto! You have the pieces to the game.
What a great lesson! It certainly is a valuable lesson to do before a visitor comes. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteConnie Anderson:)
www.welcometofirstgraderoom5.blogspot.com
Love it!!!! This is such any important skill for kids to learn!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I'll have to do that soon.
ReplyDeleteWhat i have learned
That's a VERY good idea!
ReplyDelete❀Barbara❀
Grade ONEderful
Ruby Slippers Blog Designs
Great idea! I'd love to learn the Question Song. Can you share that?
ReplyDeletePetersons-Pad
The song came from Kristin @ Teeny Tiny Teacher.
DeleteHere is the link:
http://www.ateenytinyteacher.com/2012/09/raise-your-hand-if-you-have-question-i.html
:)
Tamera