Read Aloud Presentations

Starting in March and running until May, the grade 2 students will be participating in read aloud presentations. Your child is invited to choose a picture book (i.e. no novels) from home to read to a small group in the class. The book that they choose should be one that they really enjoy and one that they think their classmates will enjoy as well. It should also be one that they can read with accuracy, expression and fluency. The explanation sheet that I am sending home today includes more information, as well as a calendar schedule for the first few weeks' worth of presentations. I will send home additional schedule calendars as we progress. 

In addition to reading the book aloud in class, students will be required to ask their classmates at least 2 questions about the story once they have finished reading. One should be a “thick” question; these are questions that require some thought and reflection to answer. They often begin with starters such as ‘Why do you think…?’,  “What do you think…?’, “How would you feel if…?’, “What might…?”, or “Why did…?’.  The second question that they ask should be a thin question- one that has an answer found in the book. They often begin with starters such as “How many…?’, “Who.,..?’, “When…?’ or 'Where…?’.  For example, a thick question for the story Goldilocks and the 3 Bears would be “Do you think the bears would have reacted different had Goldilocks asked them to visit their house?”. A thin question would be “What did Goldilocks eat at the bears’ house?”. I encourage students to practice their read aloud at home and prepare their questions in advance.

Questioning

Currently in grade 2 we are practicing asking questions while we read to deepen our understanding. We have learned about the difference between thick and thin questions. Thick questions are those that require the reader to do some deeper thinking to find an answer. Thin questions are answered quickly in the book. We are learning about these question types in conjunction with hearing stories and biographies with a Black History Month theme. 

This song is to the tune "Oh My Darling Clementine".
It does a good job of explaining the difference between thick and thin questions.