Having a Science Conversation

In Scientific American (October 12, 2012), Daniel Loxton, author of science books and articles for children, talks about having a great science conversation with a kid:

"Science books provide a wonderful opportunity for young children to make insightful observations, to raise their own questions, and to propose their own explanations based on the available evidence. They offer the chance to think and talk scientifically and can make scientific thinking part of a treasured everyday activity like story reading.

"Having a great conversation about science with a kid follows many of the same principles of any conversation. For example, try not to ask questions for which there is an obvious right answer; reading a book shouldn’t be a quiz. The best conversations happen when both people are truly interested in what the other has to say and there is room for the unexpected. If you know the one right answer already, there's nowhere else to go with the conversation. At the same time, though, very open-ended questions can be difficult to answer and can stall the conversation while your young reading partner thinks about where to begin.  Kids can sometimes be overwhelmed by these questions and end up just answering with a timid shoulder shrug or quiet silence while they try to figure out what you're looking for.

"A great place to begin is with attention-focusing questions. These are questions that draw a child’s attention to a particular element of the story or illustration, but keep the actual answer open.  For example, 'Wow, look at that bird! What do you notice about its feathers?' The question isn't too open, your young reading partner will focus with you on the bird, but you’re actually asking about what she sees and what she thinks is important and relevant. This can lead in surprising and fun directions. Kids will often notice things that you haven’t."

Contributed by Zvia Dover

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