How to Teach Students to Restate the Question
Writing is an extremely important skill that students will carry with them for the rest of their lives! In your classroom, does it ever feel like the concept of writing can become overwhelming and stressful for both you and your students? Been there, done that! When it comes to writing, making it fun and comprehensive is key to getting students to become little writing pros! Using this fun unit “Restate the Practice Questions” is an effective and engaging way to teach students to answer questions in a complete sentence. This unit breaks it all down into 5 days of hands-on activities like anchor charts, games, and independent practice. It is sure to be a hit with students and help them master answering questions in complete sentences!
Day 1: Anchor Chart and Whole Group Practice
Kick-off day 1 with an anchor chart and whole group practice! Teach students all about answering questions by reading the whole question, spinning the words to make a sentence, and writing it out as a complete sentence! Then use the fun questioning cards as whole group practice. Just call on a student to pick and read a task card. Then students take turns answering the questions with a partner. As a class, students will decide if it is a complete sentence and then write it on the board. There are tons of fun questions like “what is your favorite color?” and “who is your teacher?” This is a great way to practice all together and a fun group activity!
Day 2: Review Anchor Chart and Scoot Game
The next day will consist of review and small group practice with a game. For the small group practice, students will identify sentences that were correct. There are 2 fun ways to play. First is a scoot game where you place cards all around the room and have students walk around the room with a partner reading the cards. This gets them out of their seats and learning in an interactive way! Or you can choose to play a group game. Simply place cards under the doc cam, have students write down their answers on their recording sheet, and then review them all as a class. You can really get into a discussion about what is incorrect, what makes it a complete sentence, and involve everyone!
Day 3: Anchor Chart and Practicing as a Class
These activities are great because they provide the opportunity for lots of review and repetition which is a great way for students to grasp a new concept. On day 3 there is another anchor chart with questions to answer and whole group practice. The questions will allow students to practice answering questions in complete sentences using the same read it, spin it, write it method!
Day 4: Review and Assessment
Time for students to apply everything they have learned over the last few days! Students take a question card, answer it in a complete sentence and then pass the card along to a friend. They have completed the task once they have finished 8 questions correctly. This also allows students to discuss why they are right or where they made mistakes. The questions are fun and engaging so they keep the students’ attention and spark conversation within the class!
Day 5: Daily Quick Check and Practice
It is time to assess student comprehension when it comes to answering questions in complete sentences. The answering questions quiz provides several questions for students to show off all that they learned over the last week! They will put their skills to the test and see if they can answer each one in a complete sentence! I have also provided an extension to this resource that includes questions that you can use for morning work, check-ins, or anything else you’d like!
Restate the Question Practice
Writing out complete sentences doesn’t have to be a hard concept to grasp, students can learn in a fun way that will make sense and stick with them! I hope you enjoy this week-long unit that will break things down into chunks and help students practice in an engaging way!