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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