How do you teach kids to ask good questions? The standards are pretty clear. In K-1 classrooms, children need to be able to ask and answer questions about key details in a text. And in second grade, students should be able to ask and answer questions such as who, what, when, where, why, and how to demonstrate understanding. Many children naturally ask questions and LOTS of them. But some kids, for … [Read more...]
Something from Nothing
👉 Being able to make something from nothing can be a valuable life skill. Making mountains out of molehills is the dramatic exception, of course. In my last post, I wrote about letting kids linger for a little bit after they announce "I'm bored." It's ok to be bored. Being bored allows time for creativity to develop. Boredom also motivates a search for novelty and can lead to new goals. If we … [Read more...]
Open-Ended Flip Books
Flip books are popular. I've made flip books about activists, presidents, mothers, even groundhogs. (Speaking of which, I'm so ready for spring.) I've also seen flip books for specific book titles, but sometimes you need a template for a different book. And that's when it happened... an idea for blank flip books... templates I could use with any book... fiction or nonfiction... and open-ended so … [Read more...]
How to Use Wordless Picture Books
A book without words? It seems like an oxymoron, right? If there are no words on the pages, is it still a book? Can it be "read?" Will children be challenged to think deeply when they're only looking at pictures? Yes. Yes to everything. I think some teachers look past wordless books because, well, there are no words. They seem like books for little kids... for "kids who can't read yet." … [Read more...]
Flipping Over Groundhog Day!
I am, that's who. And, actually, I never cared until I moved out of Florida. Floridians welcome winter. It's a temporary break from the oppressive heat and humidity. It's the one week of the year when your hair does what you always knew it could. And, if you happen to have a coat and a cute scarf, you can finally wear them. But now I live where it's cold. And I'm cold. I'm ready for … [Read more...]