Question... What's the right one?

As my students have now left the nest and are off on their first practicum experience I reflect on the past six weeks of my teaching at the faculty of education. My focus has been on inquiry and how that translates into good teaching in science. The trick is to teach children to ask the right questions – ones that are investigable and interesting, and questions that are written in a way that children understand them and can begin to discover ways to answer them.

My natural instinct is to turn to picture books and look at those books that ask questions or that ask us to ask questions.

A Room Full of Questions written and illustrated by Tracy Gallup

Synopsis: Open the door to the room in your soul where all your questions live. Is magic in every one of us? Is anything always? This is a book to explore, cherish, and mark life's most important passages. It will encourage the reader to linger over each question and examine his/her soul.

Professor Aesop’s Crow and the Pitcher written and illustrated by Stephanie Gwyn Brown

Synopsis: A hot, dry desert. A tired, thirsty crow. A tall pitcher of water. Think you know the story? Think again! In her reinterpretation of Aesop's classic fable of perseverance, Stephanie Gwyn Brown guides readers through all six steps of the scientific method—from question to communication—with Crow as the model scientist. But it takes a strong work ethic and a series of comic attempts before he invents a way to bring the water to a life-saving drinking level. Readers are ultimately invited into Crow's laboratory where they learn much more than just a moral to the story. This book is a wonderful way to introduce scientific inquiry and how to pose answerable questions.

How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? written by Margaret MacNamara, illustrated by Brian Karas

Synopsis: "How many seeds in a pumpkin?" Mr. Tiffin asks his class as they gather around the big, medium, and small pumpkins on his desk. Robert, the biggest kid, guesses that the largest one has a million seeds; Elinor, sounding like she knows what she's talking about, guesses the medium one has 500 seeds; and Anna, who likes even numbers better than odd ones, guesses that the little one has 22. Charlie, the smallest boy in the class, doesn't have a guess. Counting pumpkin seeds is messy business, but once the slimy job is done, to everyone's surprise, the smallest pumpkin has the most seeds! As Charlie happily exclaims, "Small things have a lot going on inside of them." Only one way to find out!

How Full is Your Bucket? written by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer, illustrated by Maurie J. Manning

Synopsis: When Felix wakes up one morning, he finds an invisible bucket floating overhead. A rotten morning threatens his mood - and his bucket - drop by drop. Can Felix discover how to refill his bucket before it's completely empty? This book offers some excellent jumping off points for dealing with bullying and self-esteem.