Thick and Thin Questions

I love it when a fun game can be educational. My niece got the game Hedbanz last year at Christmas. As we played the game this summer with her 6 year old sister I was struck by the difference in their questions. When I thought about it, I decided that using the game at school would help me accomplish one of the goals I have set for my third graders this year which is to become good questioners. I used the game during the first week of school to introduce thick and thin questions. On the first day of school I explained how to play the game and then I demonstrated (you have to figure out what object is in your headband by asking yes or no questions). I let a couple of kids put a card in the headband and let them ask the class questions. On the third day we talked about the questions as they were asked and the several kids had already noticed that the best strategy is to start with broad questions. Starting tomorrow I'm going to explain when you ask a specific questions like "Am I a frog?" you are asking a thin question. When you ask "Am I an animal?" you have asked a thick question. As we play together this week I'll ask them, after the question has been asked and answered, if the question was thick or thin. I'm going to record them for reference later. I'm hoping by the end of the week to apply thick and thin questions to our reading.