Why is the sky blue?
What is thunder?
How does lightning happen?
Why do rainbows happen when it rains?
What happened to dinosaurs?
Why does ice melt?
These are just a few science questions we hear from kids. You can probably name a dozen more. But, don’t worry, as a teacher, you don’t need to have all the answers. Science is a big, broad topic to teach!
Instead of being a subject matter expert on everything from dinosaurs to weather, you can be a learner with your students.
Try the Capture the Question and Question Quest method for making your kids the scientists.
We’ve all been there when kids ask a question off-topic. Often, it’s a good question, and we all want to know the answer.
First, acknowledge the question. Say something like, “That’s a great question! But I don’t know the answer. We can find out together.”
Then, write the question on a sticky note or a list on the board or in a notebook. Tell the kids you’ll pick a particular time to go on a question quest and find the answer together.
Schedule a time to find answers. This makes a great reward!
The idea of the question quest is that you discover the answers with students.
Decide on one question to focus on as a class. If you want to do multiple questions, put students in small groups and assign each group a question.
There are three primary ways to start the question quest:
The kids must be scientists and do the research. They can use notebooks or notecards to document their findings. If they are too young to read the information or write their results, you can read it to them, and they can draw their interpretations of the answers.
Finally, have the kids present their findings using drawings or by sharing the answers to their questions and discoveries.
The key is to have fun and make discoveries with your kids! Watching you be delighted by learning will inspire them to take on more Question Quests!
RATATAZ helps kids find fun ways to explore and enjoy STEM, STEAM, and STREAM. In addition to being educational, our program also takes an approach with preparation for higher-level learning in mind.
Check out the RATATAZ STEM kits!
