Chapter 12 Getting Them to Talk

Creating Good Questions  Lower-level Questions Know Require children to recognize or understand basic concepts or facts  Higher-level Questions Apply The kind of learning often called skills.

Creating Good Questions  Higher-level Questions Examine Asks children to inspect parts of a topic  Look at similarities and differences  Reason from specific experiences to general truths  Set standards for decisions/evaluation Create Children generate something new

Planning for Good Questioning  Most teacher questions at the Know level Know questions are important Know questions are not enough  Higher-level questions help children Investigate God’s character and actions Understand deep meanings of the Bible See how Bible learning applies to their lives

Types of Thinking in Each Level  Know Recognize, clarify, label, illustrate, repeat, give examples  Apply Do, show, use, practice, carry out, demonstrate  Examine Differentiate, test, outline, critique, organize, judge  Create Hypothesize, produce, design, invent, construct, compose

Creating Questions for Reflection  Very important questions  Difficult to create  Two parts of reflection Thinking about the activity Thinking about a spiritual connection  Good reflection questions focus on the topic being studied

Reflection Questions  Possible focus for reflection Topic being studied Process of the activity Thinking during the activity Spiritual principles in the activity Feelings and emotions

Creating Questions for Reflection Generic questions on the activity “Tell me about what just happened. What made it difficult? What made it easy?” For younger children “What just happened in the story?” “What did [the activity] teach you about [the topic]?” (primaries and older) “What was going through your mind (or what were you thinking) while you were [doing this activity]?” (primaries and older) “What were you feeling (emotionally) as you experienced for while you were doing this activity? (Younger children generally do not think about their feelings or their thoughts. They simply act on them immediately.)

Creating Questions for Reflection  Generic questions on the activity “Have you ever experienced something like (this activity/topic) before in your life?” For younger children: “Did something like this happen to you?” “Tell me about a time something like this happened to your or someone you know.” For younger children: “Did something like this happen to you?” “What would you say to [character in the story]? What do you think that would do for [character]?” (primaries and older)

Creating Questions for Reflection  Generic questions on the activity I wonder what you liked best in this story? (kindergartners and older) I wonder if you are in this story? (primaries and older) I wonder what is the most important part of this story? (kindergartners and older)

Creating Questions for Reflection  Generic questions on spiritual connections “What connection do you see between this activity and the main point of our lesson today?” (primaries and older) “What is God trying to say to us in this [story or activity]?” (primaries and older)

Creating Questions for Reflection  Generic questions on spiritual connections “What guidance has God given to us about [this topic]?” For younger children try: “What does Jesus want you to do?” “How is [this activity] like [spiritual principle]?” (juniors and earliteens) “What does God want you to learn from this story?” (primaries and older)

Getting Children to Respond Three guidelines for using questions  Wait time  Sharing answer with a partner Pairs Think – pair – share RoundTable  Call on children equally Random call Informal recording

Guided Conversation  Guide children’s conversation toward the main idea of the lesson  Listen carefully  Be alert to opportunities  Use open-ended questions

What to do with Wrong Answers  Dignify the response.  Restate the question.  Give clues or hints  Correct mistaken ideas with a kind, gentle, spirit

Responding to Children’s Questions  Direct response  Reflective response  Balance use of direct and reflective responses  Respond in an age-appropriate way for your children

Responding to Children’s Concerns  Listen attentively.  Explain in simple terms  Ask the child for suggestions

Keys to Getting Them to Talk Questions  Focus children’s attention  Guide discussion Different levels promote different thinking Plan in advance Wait time

Keys to Getting Them to Talk Involve all children  Share answer with a partner first  Call on children equally Respect children by listening Help children explore solutions