Using storybooks to develop thinking skills

In Section 3, you learned about open and closed questions. Here we explore ways of how you can develop open questions to promote thinking.

You can judge whether the children in your class understand a story by listening to their answers to your questions. Asking good questions requires practice – questions should be clear and simple, and help children to think critically about what they have heard or read.

You should use questions for different levels of language ability and participation, and questions that will get children thinking and using their imagination. You can use different kinds of questions, like ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions:

  • ‘Yes/no’ questions are good for very young children, or for children answering in a second language. These questions are easier than ‘what’ and ‘who’ questions because there is one answer. You should not make all of your questions ‘yes/no’ questions.
  • ‘What’ questions are easier than ‘where’ or ‘when’ questions, for example ‘What did she see when she went outside?’
  • ‘How’ and ‘why’ questions are the most difficult, especially for new speakers of a language. There is not one ‘right’ answer, so children would have to draw on a range of vocabulary to give an answer.

In Activity 5.3 you will select a story that is a good story for asking questions, which will make children think. You will then do the activity with a small group of children.

Activity 5.3: Asking questions to promote thinking

Timing: (We recommend you spend 30 minutes on this activity)
  1. Choose any book that you want to read with children.
  2. Try reading the story aloud, with expression and gestures. How will you introduce the story to the children?
  3. Before you read the story to children, download the ‘optional reading’ at the bottom of the page. Read through and select three questions you can ask the children.
  4. Make a table in your study notebook like the one below.
    • a.Write down questions you can ask during or after the story. Use open-ended questions and questions that encourage children to use their imagination.
    • b.Write down questions you think children will ask about the story.
Name of the story:
Questions that you can ask:1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Questions that children might ask:1.
2.
3.
  1. Write your questions onto question cards, highlighting new words.
  2. Call aside a small group of children and read the story.
  3. Have a conversation with children about the story, using the questions that you prepared. You can show children the questions on the question cards as this will help them to recognise some of the key words.
  4. Allow the children to ask their own questions.
  5. When you have finished the activity, reflect on how it went in your study notebook:
    • a.Did the children enjoy the story?
    • b.Were the children able to make meaning from the story?
    • c.What did the children enjoy about the activity?
    • d.What did the children not enjoy?
    • e.How well did the children answer and ask questions about the story? What was easy for them, and what was not so easy?
    • f.What will you change or improve next time? For example, will you change the types of question you asked or maybe the way you read the story aloud?
    • g.What opportunities can children have to do this activity independently?

Discussion

Planning questions in advance will help you to make sure that you ask a variety of different types of questions. Thinking about what answers they might give and the questions they might ask will help you to prepare for a discussion after reading the story.

There are different ways that you can ask the children to respond:

  • the children can raise their hands
  • you can ask an individual by name
  • you can ask children to discuss the answer with a partner before giving an answer.

Sometimes it is helpful to ask more than one child for an answer – and if those answers are different, ask another child to say what they think.

In your questions and answers, try to use words from the story – especially if they are new words. This will encourage children to practise using those words when they answer the questions. You can use the words cards to remind them of the words!

Remember there might be more than one correct answer to the questions. Listen carefully to what the children say, and accept their answers if they are correct. There is no right or wrong answer to a question about feelings. Let the children use their imagination to think of an answer. As you become more confident in asking questions, you could ask children to ask their own questions about the story they have read or listened to.

We took an example from the ASb website of a story about a cat and a dog playing ball [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] . We thought of these questions as examples:

Name of the story:Cat and Dog and the Ball
Questions that you can ask:1. Do the cat and dog live in a house?
2. Is there a roof on the house?
3. What do the cat and dog play with?
4. What colour is the ball?
5. Who catches the ball?
6. Who throws the ball?
7. Where is the ball now?
8. Who gets the ball?
9. Why did the elephant get the ball?
10. How do the cat and dog feel when they cannot get the ball?
11. How do the cat and dog feel when the elephant gets the ball?
12. What do you think the cat and dog enjoy about playing ball?
13. Do you enjoy playing games with your friends?
14. What do you think will happen to the ball that the cat throws into the air?
Questions that children might ask:1. Why did the cat throw the ball high?
2. Why do the cat and dog live in a house?

Using pictures in books and asking questions supports children’s predictive skills. For example, in Cat and Dog and the Ball, you can stop on the picture with the sentence ‘Cat and Dog cannot get the ball’. Then ask the children, ‘What do you think the cat and dog can do to get the ball?’

You do not have to only ask the questions that you prepared. You can also ask the children questions that come into your mind while you are reading, for example, questions like ‘What do you think will happen next?’, and ‘What happened before this picture?’ Make sure you give the children enough time to answer questions. Remember that you want the children to explore the ideas, so don’t be too quick to come in with your own ideas and make sure that all the children who want to share their ideas have a turn. They don’t have to always agree with each other.

Put yourself on the side of the children in the discussion. Show genuine interest in the story and the questions, for example, asking ‘I wonder why …’ and ‘I was wondering about …’. Good learners are always ready to ask questions and are not ashamed if they don’t always have the answers.

Optional reading: Tell Me: Children, Reading, and Talk with the Reading Environment, by Aidan Chambers, published by The Thimble Press, UK, 2011. The book includes a list of the different sorts of questions that you can ask children about books.

Using storybooks to develop speaking and listening skills

Using storybooks to further develop reading skills