Toddler Tuesday: Questioning Edition

I work with first grade students, so the question stems that I ask my kids every day are very different than the ones I ask my toddler. One of the questions that parents always have for me is how can they help their child become a better reader. I usually tell them that the questions they ask help shape their critical thinking, communication, and comprehension skills.

For little guys, it's obviously very different, but there are still question stems that you can craft to specifically build these skills.

For working on language:

• What do you see? 
• What sound does he make? (pointing to an animal) 
• What's that called? 
• Can you find the letter A? 
• What's something that starts with SHH on the page? 

For working on spatial understanding:

• What shape is that?
• Where are the circles?
• How many squares are there? 

For working on critical thinking:

• Where do you think he will go? 
• What do you think will happen next?
• Do you think he will do that again?

For working on empathy: 

• How do you think she is feeling? 
• How would you feel? 
• Did he make a good choice? 
• Is he being kind? 

For working on comprehension:

• Where are they? 
• What happened at the beginning? end? 
• What was your favorite part? 

Studies have found that reading 14.2 minutes per day can drastically change a child's life. This starts right now! Even if they can't understand the book, they are learning vocabulary, how print works, and learning so many concepts! This is one of the most powerful graphics that I always show my parents. Fall is the perfect time to dig in with a good book too! Happy reading!