Effective Open Ended Questions
So you’ve been practicing your open ended questions (see below for a list to help you). Now let’s focus on making sure you are using them effectively.
Once you ask an open ended question, are you getting answers from the children? Or are you leaving the question hanging in the air like Ferris Beuller’s teacher “Anyone?? Anyone??”
When you ask an open ended question:
· Leave enough space and time for the children to answer – not answering for them, or moving on to another child right away
· Give prompts and hints for them to come up with an answer
· Rephrase you question in a new way
· Relate your question to something they already know
Open ended questions/starters
What would happen if…
What do you think this book might be about?
Do you need anything else?
What do you need to get started?
How does that work?
How did that happen?
What is another way we could do that?
Can you think of…
How will you start?
What is your plan?
What’s happening?
How could you get that out?
How do you think we could fix that?
Want do you think happens next?
What could we do?
What do you think made this happen?
What should we put in this space?
How do you think…
What do you think about…
What made you think of that?
What are some ways…
How could we…
What else could we…
What else can you think of to…
What is another way to…
What is another way we could…
Do you have any ideas about…
What ideas can you think of for…
I wonder if there are other ways – what do you think?
How could we figure that out?
What would we need to…
Help me figure out…
What are your best ideas about…
I bet you have an idea about…
I need help figuring out…
What would be the best way to…
How many ways could we…
What are some other ideas about this?
How do you think we could…
Why do you think that this…
What do you think?
