Lori Thank you for your post. It was so refreshing reading about your thinking! I definitely agree with you. The brain is very complex and although we have a basic understanding of how it works, comprehension is multi-tiered. Those of us who have bee tracking our own comprehsion have found that we need different strategies at different times to help us along. Teaching children to ask valid questions makes a whole lot more sense than thick or thin, even though we might be able to categorize those questions AFTER the fact. Any question that helps move the reader toward "total and complete" comprehension is a valid question and deserves an answer. It's not always the answer that gets us thinking more, but some answers will lead to more questions...
Nancy >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 08/19/07 9:55 AM >>> I have been debating about whether to weigh in. I personally don't like the notion of thick and thin questions. If a child needs an answer, really needs an answer--regardless of the depth of the question, I feel that this particular way of addressing question is very value laden. In the new Mosaic of Thought, questions are addressed differently. They are classified by purpose. I like this so much better. We ask questions that are clarifying (that may be answered in the text, or that may be asked in the classroom to make sure we understand --directions, position, etc.), speculative (exploring predictions and suppositions) and rhetorical (the BG questions that linger, that may be unanswered). I want kids asking clarifying questions--I want them to fully understand, even if those answers are right there in the text. I want kids to speculate--to take chances, to make suppositions, to step out of the box of the known. And I want kids getting those unanswered questions into play and get comfortable with the idea of sometimes NOT knowing, sometimes pondering and wondering. A good friend of mine recently told the story of a physicist who pondered an unanswered mathematical question for what amounts to a lifetime--one question-- and finally answered what was assumed to be an unanswerable question. I guess the point I trying to make, is why not just question. Then classify and talk about those questions. When is it important to ask clarifying questions? Why is it important? Let me tell you, if I am lost--in a text or in an unfamiliar city, I want to be comfortable asking clarifying questions. Is the what this phrase means? Is this the right exit for the zoo? But most of all I want children to know that the world inquiry involves pondering unanswered questions. One question is not thicker or thinner, or better or worse (in my opinion, please understand), it simply is valid if it NEEDS to be asked. Lori On 8/18/07 9:01 PM, "Patricia Kimathi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Rosie, > I teach gifted 2nd grade. I teach the questions before and after we > read the first story. I teach what a thin and what a thick question is > and have them write thin questions and the answers. I then have then > ask the questions in class. We really have fun with the stories this > way. My student's questions are so much better than the ones at the end > of the story. > Pat K > > "to be nobody but yourself -- in a world which is doing its best, night > and day, to make you like everybody else -- means to fight the hardest > battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting." > > e.e. cummings > > On Aug 18, 2007, at 4:41 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >> >> >> I have just found out that I will be teaching the third grade gifted >> cluster class. We are required to use a basal and must teach the >> stories in a particular order. I want to teach the students about >> thick and thin questions, as a way of extending their knowledge of the >> stories read. Does anyone have any other suggestions? >> This is the first time that I will have the gifted class. >> >> Rosie >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________________________________ >> _ >> AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's >> free from AOL at AOL.com. >> _______________________________________________ >> Mosaic mailing list >> [email protected] >> To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to >> http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/ >> mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. >> >> Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. >> > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > -- Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach & Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 57555 http:www.tcsdk12.org ph. 605.856.2211 Literacies for All Summer Institute July 17-20. 2008 Tucson, Arizona _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
