Literacy Tidbit Bites 5 Kinds of Questions that Promote Language Development

CROWD Completion Recall Open-Ended WH-questions Distancing 5 Kinds of Questions that Promote Language Development

Completion Questions Over in the meadow, in a hole in a tree, lived a mother bluebird and her little birdies----  Ask child to complete the sentence in a book or a song,  Ask children to add a word, or complete a phrase.  Such as- “Not by the hair of my chinny, chin, -----” or “Old MacDonald had a farm ?” WHY?  Encourages child to listen to and use language

RECALL What happens after the wolf climbs onto the third little pig’s roof?  Ask details about what happens in the story.  Ask what the characters do in the story. WHY?  Builds a sense of story.  Helps children recall details.

Open-Ended Questions “Tell me what’s going on in this picture.”  Ask the child to tell you what is happening in the picture.  Ask what are your ideas?  How could that happen?  What was your favorite part?  How did the story end? WHY?  Provides child opportunity to use language.

“WH” Questions “What’s this called?” “What does the pig use it for?” “Who?” What?” “When?” “Why?”  Point to something in a picture and ask the child to name the object or action.  WHY- is harder for little children and dual language learners. WHY?  Builds vocabulary

Distancing From Story “Have you ever made a cake?”  Who was it for?  What did it look like?  “When did that happen?  Relate something in the story to child’s life. WHY?  Helps child make connection between books and life.  Provides child opportunity to use language.

MY CLASSROOM What can I do to implement this strategy into my classroom? What can I do in the next week? What can I do in the next month? How can you help parents use this information?

Questions?