To reflect upon how you can use questioning to extend young children’s thinking
Aim
To reflect upon how you can use questioning to extend young children’s thinking.
Evidence and reflection
To effectively plan for the development of language and communication skills for the unique child.
Choose a picture book that will appeal to the group of children. The main objective is to get children talking and having conversations with you and with each other. It is a good idea to make sure you are very familiar with the story; then think about the kinds of prompts and questions you will use to think and talk about it with the children.
Which visual aids will you use to support engagement with and comprehension of the text – for example, what would you use with very young children or EAL learners?
What key questions (story prompts) will you ask? Plan to ask open-ended questions so that you can recast and expand on children’s utterances. List the key story prompts on a plan.
Think about the ways in which children might be able to relate the story to their own lives. What prompts will you ask? List the key prompts on a plan.
How will you extend the children’s vocabulary? Decide the new vocabulary that you will introduce in reading and talking about the story. Decide how it will be introduced.
Finally, what follow-up experiences and activities will you plan to consolidate this vocabulary?
Extension
Ask a colleague to observe the session in light of your planning. Discuss with them the strengths of the session and ideas for enhancing the activity in the future. You may focus on children with particular needs and how well they were supported during the session.
