Restating the Question Using Jokes... plus some go-to resources!

Every teacher has a handful of "building block" lessons—those foundational lessons you teach in the first few weeks of school year because they establish routines and set clear expectations for the year ahead.

One of my go-to building block lessons is teaching students how to restate the question in their answer. From day one, I want my students to understand that one-word answers usually aren't enough, especially when responding to questions about a story or informational passage. Instead, I teach them to answer in complete sentences by incorporating part of the question into their response.

Several years ago, I created a PowerPoint lesson to explicitly teach this skill, and set of worksheets for student practice. It has become one of my most popular back to school resources. Every year, teachers tell me it's one of the first lessons they teach because it creates a strong foundation for the rest of the year. One teacher shared this review:

"I use this resource at the beginning of every school year to explicitly teach restating questions in complete sentences."

If you're looking for a simple, effective way to establish this expectation from the very beginning, I'd love for you to take a look. Just click on the image below to learn more! (I recently updated it so that it now includes a link to a Google Slides version of the presentation, along with six practice worksheets.) 

Another Helpful (and FUN!) Way to Practice This Skill

Once your students understand how to restate a question, try practicing with jokes! Kids love the anticipation of hearing the punchline, and they're highly motivated to write their answers correctly.

Here's how it works:

Tell students the beginning of a joke that starts with a question, but don't reveal the punchline. Instead, have students write the beginning of their answer by restating the question. Once everyone has written their response starter, share the punchline so they can complete the sentence.

 

For example:

Teacher: What do bees chew?

Students write: Bees chew ____________________.

Teacher reveals: ...bumblegum!

 

Another favorite is:

Teacher: Why is Cinderella bad at soccer?

Students write: Cinderella is bad at soccer because ____________________.

Teacher reveals: ...she runs away from the ball!

 

You might also want to do one where the answer is best placed in the middle of the sentence rather than at the end:

Teacher: Where do cows go for entertainment?

Students write: Cows go to ____________________ for entertainment.

Teacher reveals: ...to the moooooo-vies!

 

It's a quick and engaging activity, gets everyone involved, and gives students meaningful practice with restating questions—all while sharing a few laughs.

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Teaching Rounding Through Number Lines

How many times have you heard a student say, 'Because 5 means round up' when asked to explain their thinking?" If you're an elementary teacher who teaches math, rounding is probably one of the skills on your checklist. In my experience, it's not always the easiest concept for students to master. While many students can memorize a rounding rule, truly understanding why a number rounds up or down is often more challenging.   One simple tool can make a big difference: the number line.   When we use number lines to teach rounding, we help students visualize the process and develop a deeper understanding of why numbers round the way they do. Instead of relying solely on a rule, students learn to think about which benchmark number a given number is closest to.   Moving Beyond "5 or More, Raise the Score" Many students learn catchy rhymes or procedures for rounding, but these shortcuts can sometimes lead to misconceptions. Students may know which digit to look at, yet still struggle to explain their reasoning. When rounding is taught only as a rule to memorize, students often have difficulty applying the concept to larger numbers, decimals, or estimation problems.   The Power of the Number Line A number line provides a visual model that helps students see rounding as a process of finding the nearest benchmark number.   For example, when rounding 47 to the nearest ten, students can place 47 on a number line between 40 and 50. Once they identify the midpoint (45), they can see that 47 is closer to 50 than to 40. This visual approach helps students understand that rounding is based on proximity—not just a rule to follow.   Benefits of Using Number Lines When students regularly use number lines to round numbers, they: Develop stronger number sense. Gain a better understanding of benchmark numbers. Build reasoning and justification skills. Strengthen connections between estimation and place value. Reduce common rounding misconceptions. Ready-to-Go Resources If you're looking for ready-to-use resources to support your rounding instruction, feel free to explore the materials in my store. Simply click on any of the images below to learn more about these activities and see how they can help your students build confidence with rounding. Worksheets and task cards are also available for more practice!

Below, you will see a few example slides from this 82-slide math presentation. I use ninjas to make this concept more engaging for students. I have found that students enjoy deciding whether a ninja needs to kick a number up to the larger benchmark number, or if the ninja needs to kick a number down to the smaller benchmark number.  It includes rounding numbers to the nearest hundred and nearest thousand, as well. Worksheets and task cards are also available for more practice! P

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Thanks for reading!

~Deb

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Leave a Comment 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, math, Number Sense

Teaching Upper Elementary Students to Decipher the Theme of a Story

Teaching upper elementary students how to infer the theme(s) of a book or a story can be daunting. This is a challenging topic for many students because it involves higher-level thinking skills. Providing scaffolds, like guiding questions and clue patterns, can be helpful for many students. Today, I am going to provide some tips that will hopefully help you teach students to decipher the theme. 

Tip #1: Connect this topic to a plot diagram.

Explain that authors leave clues that point toward the theme throughout the story. It is the job of the reader to recognize these clues when they are presented. If you have already introduced your students to plot diagrams, then showing your students a diagram like this can be beneficial.

Tip #2: Teach students clue patterns and guiding questions.

It's one thing to know that clues exist throughout the story, but it's another thing to recognize these clues while reading. Therefore, it is a good idea to teach students common patterns that authors use when they are dropping hints about their story's theme. Here are four patterns that occur frequently in books written for upper elementary readers. Below each type of clue, you will see a question that will guide your students toward deciphering the theme.

(The images shown above were taken from my "Themes in Reading" PowerPoint lesson.)

Tip #3: Read aloud a picture book and MODEL the process of deciphering the theme.

Any time I have the opportunity to model a reading skill by using a picture book, I jump at the opportunity! I love to integrate a good picture book into my lessons. If you are a fellow fan of using picture books to model reading skills (or you think you want to try it!), I invite you to download this book companion worksheet that I created to help students learn how to interpret the theme of a story. (Just click on the image to download it for free!)

Picture books written by Patricia Polacco are perfect for a reading lesson where you are modeling for students how to infer the theme. Below, you will see how you and your students might fill out this sheet after reading My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother to them.

If you are interested in having your students further explore the topics presented in this blog post, you should check out my brand-new "Themes in Reading PowerPoint"! I am super excited about this PowerPoint, as it has been percolating in the back of my mind for several years, and I finally buckled down and created it!

Have a great day!

Deb

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Leave a Comment 4th grade, 5th grade, reading, Theme