Do answers lead to learning and awareness or question sparks thinking in that direction? Questions are important tool to bring awareness and to reflect. Here are some to help you and you can keep depositing in this bank.
Questioning is part of our facilitation. Questions lead to thinking and brings awareness. When a child comes and ask ‘how is this looking? We ask “how do you think its looking? What in this you are liking? When a child comes and ask “how do I do this? We ask “how would you like to do?”. When a child comes and ask “how does this work?, we ask “how do you think this works”. And no surprise to us, they shift and start thinking. For some its difficult though.
So, questioning is not only for children, its equally a learning tool for us as facilitators. Every time we start to design and learning for kids, we start with questioning (we call them “KGQ – Key Guiding Questions). We write questions to make us think before we start designing, Questioning also makes us THINK. Here is just a simple question exercise we do – here is a small list of questions shared by Nimmi, before she started designing a workbook for kids
1. How can we use the animals in the picture for children to think about weathers?
2. How can we use the aspects of nature in the village for children to connect to friendship?
3. What are the different ways in which we can let children explore shapes using this scene?
4. What are the different ways to bring about games through the picture?
5. How can we get children to explore on tactile sense through the picture?
6. What are the various ways in which you can bring the children to think about musical elements through the picture here?
7. How would you get children to observe detailing through the picture
8. What can invite children to think of the problems and the possible solutions through the pictures?
9. How can you bring children to think about words and sounds through the picture?
10. What can make children reflect about their life through the pictures?
11. How can you bring in the aspect of movement using the picture?
12. If you have to think about bringing in concept of empathy through the picture – how would you do that?
13. How can the picture be used for bringing about aspects on motivation?
14. Can this picture help children to think of inventing something new?
15. How would you get children to debate about nature through the picture?
16. Is it possible to bring in different perspectives to one specific object from what is in the picture?
17. What about adding some creativity to picture? How can you let creativity seep in through the picture?
18. Can you bring in the child to think about the problem in his/her life by relating to the picture
19. What can lead children to observe about patterns by using this picture?
20. How could use the picture to bring about roleplay?
21. How can the picture help in bringing about the likes and dislikes about each child?
22. What if we can use this picture for children to think about past, present and future? How would you do that?
23. Can you think on how would you bring in the aspects of solar system through the picture?
24. How can you bring the connection of food through this picture to children?
25. What can you do for children to think about five senses through the picture?
26. Can the picture help in bringing out the aspects of pollution through the picture?
27. What are the different ways in which you can bring children to think about natural resources around us?
28. How can you bring in concept of day and night through the picture?
29. What all ways can make children think/bring about connection to water using this picture?
30. How can I bring children to think of a character from the picture?
31. How can I bring in the aspects about textures through this picture?
32. What are the different imaginations that can be brought in through the picture?
33. Is it possible for connecting the picture to the movie/cartoon character that children can relate to? How?
34. Can I bring forth the aspects of storytelling using this picture?
35. Can I play around with different combinations of patterns, sounds, colours, patterns in the same frame using the picture which brings these connections for children?
36. How can I invoke fun through the picture?
37. How would I connect children to team work using this picture?
38. If I were to make this picture into something that children can sell…how can I do that?
39. How about bringing the aspects about money using this picture?
40. What kind of connection that I can bringforth that children can relate to singing with this picture?
41. How can I bring in the concept of ascending and descending numbers using the pictures?
42. What about the concept of Division – through the picture?
43. How can I bring about “Change” concept through the picture?
44. If I were to use this picture for HOM’s how will I do that? Specifically HOM’s say – perseverance, honesty, value, respect
45. How will I let children explore the concept of time through the picture?
46. If I have to think relating the picture to countries – how will I do that ?
47. What will help me to invoke the interest of child that the child could connect to construction of buildings?
and many more. Questioning to Grow and Glow.