When we have speakers in first grade, all the little kiddies raise their hand to show their interest and curiosity. It makes the speaker feel so special! Then, they open their mouths and out pops, "One time,..... or My mommy ...."
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.
We've been measuring. 
