Sink or Float? WHY?
Engaging questions stimulate children's inquiry and investigation rather than suggest "correct" answers. These include questions that help children to describe observations, explain procedures, and make predictions. Following their investigations, teachers can ask children questions that encourage them to reflect on what they learned.
Asking "Why do you think so?" also supports planning. Sometimes it leads to surprises. When one teacher asked a child why he thought a golf ball would sink, he said "Because it's round." She had assumed that he was basing his prediction on the ball's weight. She decided to facilitate a follow-up investigation of round things rather than heavy things.
What do you think?
water. Teaching Young Children/Preschool, 8(1), 30-31.