Dinosaur Discoveries- Thick and Thin Questions

This week, we focused on different types of questions. In the past, we've mainly focused on, "I wonder." However, as we've had a lot of practice with wondering, we stepped it up and learned about different types of questions in the form of "Thin" and "Thick."

A thin question is a question that is easily answered and usually, "right there" in the text. For example, "What did Tyrannosaurus Rex eat?"

A thick question usually deals with large concepts, is more complex, has longer answers and is open-ended. In order to answer a thick question, we may need to "Think and Search" through the text or imagine. An example of a thick question would be, "What would you do if a Tyrannosaurus Rex wanted to be your pet?"

We practiced these types of questions all week. Kids picked a dinosaur and made a poster. On their poster, they included various thick and thin questions about their dinosaur. They even color-coded them! I must be rubbing off on them....

Dinosaur Discoveries Week One

Big. Heavy. Scaly. Lived a long time ago. These are some of the words that the kids have used to describe what they know about dinosaurs. Over the next few weeks, we will be doing a study on these fascinating creatures.
The overall goals for this unit are to:

• Use appropriate comprehension skills and strategies. Standard: learning to read independently.
• Interpret and respond to literature. Standard: reading, analyzing and interpreting literature
• Write a variety of texts. Standard: types and quality of writing
• Communicate effectively. Standard: types and quality of writing; speaking and listening