For those of us living in the south or mid west, the summer break from school is quickly drawing to an end. Despite the hot August temperatures, many of us will be returning to school within the next few weeks!

As I begin to prepare for the upcoming school year and my new group of students I am always looking for new ways to build a strong sense of classroom community and for activities  that will help make the children feel comfortable..  One such activity is to have each child create an “All About Me” page and then the pages from all the children are compiled into a classroom book.  It is by far the most popular and most frequently read book on our library shelf!  Another activity we do to help the children get to know each other utilizes the Interrogative Dice. 

Interrogative Dice

Have the children work in pairs or small groups.  One child rolls the die and then asks a who, what, where, when, why or how question of the child sitting next to them.  For example, the child rolls the die and it lands on what.  They then formulate a what question for the child next to them…What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?  The activity can continue for as long as there is interest.  To extend the activity you can then have children introduce each other based on the information they have gained by asking questions…This is John and he lives in Tulsa (where),  his favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate  (what) and he goes to bed at 8:00pm (when).

Learning to ask questions is a challenging skill for young children.  By using the Interrogative Dice you are giving the children an opportunity to practice this skill in a fun and engaging way!

Best wishes for the upcoming school year!

Lori