Looking for some new question of the day activities for your classroom? The question of the day routine can be used for so many things in preschool, kindergarten or 1st grade. Here are 6 creative ways you can use this routine.
New to question of the day? Get 30 FREE questions about hobbies and activities here.
Attendance:
Display your question in a pocket chart or on a magnetic board. Then place a card/token with each child’s name in a space nearby. As students enter the room, they answer the question by placing their name below their response. It’s easy to tell at a glance who is absent, because they haven’t answered the question.
Conversation Starters:
Use the daily question to encourage oral language and turn-taking in your classroom. Share the question, then have students turn and talk, sharing their response with a partner. Allow 30-60 seconds for each student to respond, before having them change roles from speaker to listener. As an added bonus, have a few students share their partner’s response with the class.
Graphing:
You can easily turn an attendance question into a graph, making your question of the day activities do double-duty. As students place their names under their answer, help them to arrange the name cards in a tidy column. Students can use the graph to compare the popularity of different responses.
Student Surveys:
Add a question to the top of a sheet of paper and draw a line down the center for the two responses. (Add more lines if there are more response choices.) Students can walk around, asking friends the question. Classmates can sign their name, add a sticker or draw a smiley face under their response. Then students can count and compare the response totals.
If you are using my pre-made questions of the day, you might print the question-only cards 2 per page to make them smaller. In Adobe Acrobat, I find the button that says “multiple,” then use the drop down menu to select 2 pages per sheet. These smaller questions should fit easily at the top of a sheet of paper.
Class Book:
Add your question to the top of an 11X18 piece of paper and allow students to sign their name for their responses (similar to a student survey.) Save each day’s question and bind it (or use binder rings) to create a class big book. Students can look at the surveys later and see how their friends responded.
Writing Topics:
Help your class think of writing topics by displaying your question cards on a bulletin board. When students are out of writing ideas, they can look at the board for writing inspiration. A question like “Can you sled?” might remind them of the last time they went sledding, providing a perfect story idea!
Free Questions of the Day for these Activities
Are you inspired by all the exciting question of the idea activities? Can’t wait to get your hands on the questions used in this post? Get them here and find all kinds of fun ways to use them in your daily routines.
