The Lion and The Mouse

We recently read The Lion and The Mouse by Jerry Pinkney.  The children enjoyed seeing some of the original paintings at the Art Museum.  The author intentionally left the words out of the book.  As we turned the pages, many of the children contributed ideas about what was happening in the story.  We had opportunities to explore the setting, the characters, and the plot of the story.  It was interesting to observe the children as they noticed many details in the illustrations.  The Language Arts include reading, writing, listening, and speaking.  Looking at pictures in a book is part of reading.  When reading picture books to your child, it can benefit their development to ask them questions.  Open ended questions provide a better springboard for developing critical thinking skills.

One could ask, "Why is the mouse running away?"
Child: "Because the owl is chasing it."

In this example, there is a clear answer to the question.  Open ended questions that might inspire deeper levels of thought are,
"What do you notice about this picture?"
"What do you think might happen next?"
"How are the characters feeling?"

Try some open ended questions with your children next time you read them a story.
If you get met with some resistance, that is okay too.  Sometimes children just want to hear a good story.  There is something to be said for allowing a story to continue without interruption, so that it can maintain the integrity of the spell that it casts on the reader and listener...