This is a page from an Elmo book in which a cutout figure of Elmo can be inserted into various settings such as a bakery. In lieu of reading the book I asked my 4 1/2 year old son questions about each setting, e.g. “what is Elmo now?”
The questioning approach I used was to ask open-ended questions and follow up or leading questions, e.g. “how do you know he’s a baker?” This approach works at all ages but is probably more common at earlier ages. What I have found is that students progress through school learning that math questions are typically right or wrong with little critical thinking. Students are afraid to answer questions because it’s all or nothing. On another post I address how we can shape critical thinking and this questioning is another approach.
I have a video showing this questioning of my son on youtube.
2 responses to “Questioning and Critical Thinking”
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