Introduction
As educators, it is important to teach kindergarten students the importance of focusing on questions and providing thoughtful answers in conversations. This skill is essential for building strong communication and fostering positive relationships with their peers. This blog post will guide you through an easy no-prep activity, discussion questions, and related skills to help your students improve their social skills and avoid making others feel sad or ignored.
No-Prep Activity: The Question Train
This activity requires no preparation or materials from the educator. The objective of the activity is to help students practice focusing on the questions asked by their peers and providing thoughtful answers.
- Ask the students to sit in a circle.
- Explain that they will be taking turns asking a question to the person sitting next to them.
- Encourage the students to listen carefully to the question, think about their answer, and then respond thoughtfully.
- Once a student has answered, they will then ask a question to the next person in the circle.
- Continue this process until every student has had a chance to both ask and answer a question.
By participating in the Question Train activity, students will learn to focus on the questions being asked and practice providing thoughtful answers, improving their social communication skills.
Discussion Questions
- How did it feel when you focused on the question and provided a thoughtful answer?
- What can you do to remember to focus on the question being asked?
- How do you think your friends feel when you listen to their questions and respond thoughtfully?
- Why is it important to think about the questions being asked and provide thoughtful answers?
- Can you think of a time when you didn’t focus on a question, and it made someone feel sad or ignored? What could you have done differently?
Related Skills
Teaching students to focus on questions and provide thoughtful answers is just one aspect of developing their social skills. Here are some other related skills that can help kindergarten students build strong communication and foster positive relationships with their peers:
- Active listening
- Empathy
- Taking turns in conversation
- Asking open-ended questions
- Being respectful and polite
Next Steps
Now that you have learned about teaching kindergarten students to focus on questions and provide thoughtful answers, it’s time to put these skills into practice. To access more resources, including free sample materials for this skill and others, sign up at Everyday Speech. With these resources, you can help your students develop strong social skills and foster positive relationships with their peers.
