ABC Countdown to the Last Day of School: Letter Qq is Question Day
Letter Qq is for Question Day!
Let’s encourage curiosity, critical thinking, and engagement. Here’s a lesson and ideas for activities for Kindergarten classes on Question Day.
Asking questions helps us find out new information. When we ask questions and find the answers, we learn new things!
There are a few words that help us ask questions: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? Five of these start with the same letter. One of these words starts with a different letter.
Question Marks
When we read a question, it will end with a question mark. The question mark tells us to change our voice when we read the sentence so it sounds like a question. Try making your voice go up at the end of a question. Read these questions:
Do you like it?
Can you see me?
What can we do?
Trivia Challenge
Trivia is a game where you answer questions to win points for your team. Let’s try it!
Families, find a great list of conversation-starter questions here. (These would be great around a campfire this summer! They’d also make a fun interview to record and keep for family memories.)
Storytime!
Let’s read a story that asks us a lot of questions. Here’s one called, Would You Rather?
Do you have a lot of questions? Do you wonder how things work? Do you want to know the reasons things happen? If so, you are curious. This is a story about Little Miss Curious, who has lots of questions but she forgets to listen for answers.
Here are ten more activities to make this day a success:
- Question Box: Place a box in the classroom where children can submit their questions throughout the day. At designated times, pull questions from the box and discuss them as a class.
- Question Circle Time: Begin the day with a circle time dedicated to asking and answering questions. Encourage children to take turns asking questions about topics that interest them.
- Question Walk: Take the children on a nature walk around the school grounds or nearby park. Encourage them to ask questions about the plants, animals, and environment they observe.
- Question of the Hour: Throughout the day, designate specific hours where children can ask questions related to different subjects, such as science, math, or animals. Research the answers together or conduct experiments to find out.
- Expert Visits: Invite parents, community members, or experts in various fields to visit the classroom and answer children’s questions. This could include scientists, firefighters, veterinarians, or artists.
- Question Journal: Provide each child with a question journal where they can write down questions they have throughout the day. Encourage them to share their questions with the class during circle time.
- Question Relay: Organize a relay race where children must run to a station, read the question, and run back to answer it. Include questions from different subjects to make it educational and fun.
- Question Art Project: Have children create artwork inspired by questions they have. This could include drawings, paintings, or collages that represent their curiosity and imagination.
- Question Experiment: Conduct simple science experiments based on questions posed by the children. For example, if a child asks why leaves change color in the fall, conduct an experiment to explore the process of photosynthesis.
- Question Reflection: At the end of the day, gather the children for a reflection session where they share the most interesting questions they asked and what they learned. Encourage them to continue asking questions every day.
By encouraging children to ask questions and explore their curiosity, we can foster a love for learning and empower children to take an active role in their education.
The themes of these days were chosen by my Kindergarteners during online learning. Here are the links to our 26 days: