Questions to Ask First Graders
Questions to ask first graders that a six or seven year old can actually answer, for a parent at pickup, a teacher at morning meeting, or a reading buddy or classroom volunteer. The list follows the conversation: the school day first, then reading and math, friends and recess, feelings, favorites and pretend, and an end-of-year interview to keep. The notes say what a six-year-old tends to answer, which answers are ordinary and which to mention to the teacher, and which questions belong at home and not on the classroom rug.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
School Day
What part of today would you do again tomorrow?
Why ask it
Easier to answer than "how was school," because it asks for one piece and not a report. A good answer is small and exact: the read-aloud, a game of tag, pizza at lunch. If nothing comes, offer two parts of the day and let them pick.
What do you like best about first grade so far?
Why ask it
The plain one, and the right one for a grandparent, a new volunteer or anyone who was not there today. Recess, lunch and a best friend's name come first, so follow with "and what about inside the classroom?" to hear about the learning.
What did your class do first thing this morning?
Why ask it
Starting at the beginning helps a six-year-old walk through the day in order, and the morning routine is the part they know by heart. Say "and then?" two or three times and stop before it turns into a quiz.
What did the kids at your lunch table talk about today?
Why ask it
Nobody sends home a paper about lunch, so asking is the only way to hear about it: who is moving away, whose birthday is next, what somebody's big brother said. "Nobody talks to me" is an answer to ask about again tomorrow, in the same easy voice, before you decide what it means.
What was the loudest part of your day, and what was the quietest?
Why ask it
Two ends of the day in one question, and both have an easy answer. Listen to how they say the loud one: a child who loved the noise in the gym and a child who covered their ears at lunch are telling you different things.
What is your classroom job this week, and how do you do it?
Why ask it
Line leader, door holder, paper passer: the titles change from room to room, and first graders take them seriously enough to explain the procedure in full. If the class has no jobs, ask which one they would invent and who should get it first.
What does your teacher say all the time?
Why ask it
You will get an impression, voice and all, and with it a quick picture of the room: the cleanup song, the line for getting quiet, the words for a chair tipped back. If every line they do is a scolding aimed at them, ask what the teacher says when the class does something well.
What is a rule in first grade that you didn't have in kindergarten?
Why ask it
They notice the step up even when nobody has named it: longer at a desk, less time to play, new places they are allowed to go alone. A proud answer and a grumbling one are both fine; listen for a rule they find hard every single day. For a child who was somewhere else last year, or at home, ask which rule surprised them.
Which paper in your folder took you the longest?
Why ask it
Asks about effort and not about the best mark, so the answer may be the messiest page in the pile. Have them show you which part was slow. That is usually more useful than anything written at the top.
Was there a time today when you weren't sure what you were supposed to do?
Why ask it
Most days the honest answer is yes, and what matters is what they did next: watched a neighbor, asked, or sat and waited. If it is the same lesson every time, that is a specific thing to bring to the teacher.
What do you do when you finish your work before everyone else?
Why ask it
Shows what the room offers (a book bin, drawing, helping a friend) and whether finishing early ever happens. If you hear a flat "I never finish," ask which work runs out of time: the writing, the math page or the coloring at the end.
What is one thing you want the class to know about your weekend?
Why ask it
A Monday morning meeting question. Ask for one sentence, let anyone pass, and say out loud that small counts: pancakes, a cartoon, a walk to the mailbox. That keeps the child with a quiet weekend from having to follow a trip to the water park.
Reading and Math
Will you read me a page from the book in your bag, any page you like?
Why ask it
Letting them choose means you may get a page they know cold, and that is fine: a page read smoothly feels good to read. Hold back from fixing every word, and when they stall, wait a few seconds before you help. If no book comes home, any book on the shelf will do.
When you get to a word you don't know, what do you do?
Why ask it
A good answer names a move: say the sounds, break it into parts, read on and come back. "I just guess" or "I skip it" means they do not have one yet. Schools teach this in different ways, so ask the teacher which approach the class uses before you coach your own.
Do you like reading to someone better, or being read to?
Why ask it
Either answer is a good one. Plenty of new readers find reading aloud tiring and still love a story, so a child who picks being read to has not gone off books. Keep doing both.
What can you read now that you couldn't read when first grade started?
Why ask it
They will point at things: a cereal box, a street sign, the title on the TV menu. Hearing themselves list it is the point, because progress this gradual is hard for a child to see. On a discouraged day, this is the one to ask.
What do you think is going to happen on the next page?
Why ask it
For a reading buddy, mid-book, with a finger holding the place. Any guess that uses the pictures or the story so far is a good one, right or wrong. Turn the page together and let them be pleased or surprised.
Which character in this book would you want in your class?
Why ask it
Gets an opinion about the story without a comprehension quiz. Ask what that character would do at recess and you will hear how much of the book they followed. It works with a picture book or an early chapter book alike.
What did you write about at school this week, and can you tell me one sentence of it?
Why ask it
Whole sentences are new work for many first graders, and they remember the topic far better than the spelling. If the page came home, read it back exactly as written so they hear their own words. Leave the spelling alone: what counts as on track differs from class to class, so that part is the teacher's to answer.
Can you make up a math problem for me to solve?
Why ask it
The problem they invent shows what they are working on, whether that is adding to ten or something with much bigger numbers. Get one wrong on purpose. Catching your mistake and explaining it is harder than solving it themselves.
How high can you count, and do you want to go by ones, twos, fives or tens?
Why ask it
A car or sidewalk question that needs no pencil. Let them pick the way of counting, and notice where it wobbles, often at the turn into a new ten or past a hundred. Count along under your breath and let them take the lead.
What helps you add: your fingers, cubes, a number line or your head?
Why ask it
All four are real tools and none is cheating, which is worth saying if they look sheepish about fingers. Ask them to show you with one small problem. Which tools the class uses depends on the school, so let them teach you their way.
Where did you see numbers today that weren't on a worksheet?
Why ask it
The clock, the lunch line, a page number, the score at recess. A blank look just means nobody has pointed this out yet, so go looking together: house numbers on the walk home, prices at the store.
Right now, is reading feeling easy, just right or hard?
Why ask it
Three choices give a six-year-old a way to say "hard" without it sounding like a confession. One hard week is ordinary. Hard for a long stretch, along with a child who has started dodging books, is a reason to ask the teacher what they are seeing.
Friends and Recess
What did you play at recess, and who decided the rules?
Why ask it
The second half is the real question. You find out whether they lead, follow or referee, and whether the same child always decides. "We argued the whole time and never played" is a very first grade recess and nothing to fix.
Who makes you laugh in your class?
Why ask it
A softer way in than asking who their friends are, which can put a child on the spot. The name may be new to you. Ask what that person does that is so funny, and you have someone to ask after next week.
Is there someone you would like to play with but haven't yet?
Why ask it
A name here is an opening: help them plan one line to say, such as "can I play too?" or "want to see my drawing?" Rehearsing it once at home makes it easier to say on the blacktop.
What do you do when your friend wants to play one thing and you want to play another?
Why ask it
Answers run from "I do what she wants" to "I go play by myself" to "we take turns." None is wrong, but always giving in and always walking off are both worth a chat about the middle options.
What happens in your class when two kids both want to be first?
Why ask it
Being first matters a great deal at six, and every room has a system for it: a line order, a helper chart, a teacher's ruling. Asking about "two kids" lets them describe a squabble without saying they were in it.
Did you see anyone having a hard day today, and did someone help?
Why ask it
It is easier at six to report on somebody else's tears than your own. If they were the one who helped, or wish they had, that is the part to talk about, and "what could you do next time?" is enough.
Has anybody said or done something lately that hurt your feelings?
Why ask it
Ask it calmly and take whatever comes without a gasp. A single unkind remark usually needs only a hug and a short talk. The same name coming up week after week, or a child who no longer wants to go out to recess, is something to tell the teacher about.
What kind thing did you do today that nobody noticed?
Why ask it
Now somebody has noticed. First graders pick up pencils, save seats and share erasers without a word of credit, and asking tells them it counts. If the answer is "nothing," make it tomorrow's secret mission.
Who has a loose tooth in your class right now?
Why ask it
Teeth are big news in first grade, and many children keep a running count of who has lost what. It is an easy opener for a volunteer or a visiting relative, and it leads straight to their own teeth, which they will want to show you.
Feelings
How much energy do you have right now: empty, half full or all the way up?
Why ask it
Ask this before anything else at pickup. "Empty" means snack and quiet first and questions after dinner. A child who is all the way up needs to run before they can talk.
Was any part of today hard for your body, like sitting still, waiting or staying quiet?
Why ask it
A first grade day can ask for a lot of sitting, and a six-year-old may file that under "I was bad" when it was closer to "I was wiggly." Asking about their body gives them a second way to say it. Notice whether it is the same stretch each time, the rug before lunch or the last half hour, and what came just before it.
Is there a part of the school day you wish you could skip?
Why ask it
Math and cleanup are ordinary answers. The bus, the bathroom or the lunchroom named more than once deserves a follow-up about what happens there, asked lightly. Those are often the parts of the day with the fewest adults close by.
What do you do when you make a mistake on your paper?
Why ask it
Listen for erasing until the page tears, starting over or hiding the paper. A child who shrugs and crosses it out is doing fine. For the one who can't stand it, tell them about a mistake you made today and what you did about it.
When were you brave today?
Why ask it
Brave at six looks like raising a hand, trying the monkey bars or reading out loud. If they cannot think of a time, name one you saw. Children often do not count the small ones until an adult does.
If you felt sad at school, which grown-up would you go to?
Why ask it
Any name will do, and it does not have to be the classroom teacher: the lunch aide, the librarian and the nurse all count. If the answer is "nobody," pick a person together and consider letting that adult know they were chosen.
What happened today that didn't seem fair?
Why ask it
Fairness is a large subject in first grade, and the list may be long. Hear it out before you explain the other side. Most of the time they want a witness more than a ruling.
What are you still getting used to about first grade?
Why ask it
"Still getting used to" assumes it will come, which is kinder than asking what is wrong. Homework, a longer day, a new lunchroom and a teacher with different ways are common answers. Ask again in a month and see what has dropped off the list.
Favorites and Pretend
Would you rather ride to school on a dinosaur or in a rocket?
Why ask it
A would-you-rather with no wrong side, so a child who rarely speaks up can answer in one word. The follow-up does the work: where would you park it, and who gets the other seat? With a class, hands on heads for dinosaur and hands on knees for rocket lets everyone answer at once.
Which animal would be the best at recess, and which would be the worst at sitting on the rug?
Why ask it
Cheetahs and monkeys win recess every time. The rug half is where the thinking happens: a kangaroo, a puppy, a snake with no legs to cross. Then ask which of the two animals they felt like this morning.
What is the best book anyone has ever read to you?
Why ask it
Often an old one from years back, picked for who read it as much as for the story. Find it and read it again, even if it is far below what they can read alone now.
If you could have only one all day long, would you pick recess, art or story time?
Why ask it
A forced choice gets an instant answer and then an argument for it, which is the fun part. In a group, send each choice to a corner of the rug and let one child from each corner say why.
What do you like to draw the most, and will you draw it for me?
Why ask it
Have paper within reach before you ask. A first grader will talk while drawing in a way they will not while sitting across from you, so save two or three other questions for when the pencil is moving.
Do you know a knock-knock joke, or should we make one up?
Why ask it
Six-year-olds are still working out how jokes are built, so the punchline may be a random word. Laugh at the delivery. Making one up together is a quiet lesson in how one word can mean two things.
If you had a hundred of something, what would you want it to be?
Why ask it
A hundred is a big number a first grader can still picture, and many classes make a celebration of the hundredth day of school. Ask where they would keep them all. A hundred puppies and a hundred dollars lead to very different plans.
If you opened a store, what would it sell and what would things cost?
Why ask it
The prices are the entertainment: a toy for two cents, a cookie for a million dollars. You get a look at how they think about money without teaching a thing. Offer to be the first customer and pay in pretend coins.
If your class got a pet, what should it be and what would you name it?
Why ask it
Everyone in the room has a stake, so this suits morning meeting. Ask who would feed it on the weekend and the conversation turns practical fast. If a real class pet is not possible, say so at the start so nobody goes home expecting a hamster.
If you wrote a book, what would it be called?
Why ask it
Take the title seriously: fold three sheets of paper, staple the spine and write it on the cover. A child who is learning to write sentences at school often jumps at the chance to be an author at home.
End of Year
How old are you today, and how tall do you think you are?
Why ask it
The opening line of an end-of-year interview. Write the guess down before you measure, because the guess is the keepsake, especially when it comes out as ten feet. Then mark the real height beside it.
What is your favorite food, color, book and song right now?
Why ask it
The quick-fire round. Record the answers word for word, including the song title they have slightly wrong. Ask the same four every year and the list becomes a record of who they were at six, seven and eight.
What was the best day of first grade?
Why ask it
Expect a field trip, a class party or a day something went wonderfully wrong, such as the fire drill during lunch. If they cannot choose, ask for the best day this month. The detail they remember is worth more than getting the day right.
What is the hardest thing you learned to do this year?
Why ask it
Reading comes up often, but so do tying shoes, the monkey bars and whistling. Ask how long it took. Hearing themselves say "a long time, and then I could" is something they can carry into second grade.
Who did you play with the most this year?
Why ask it
Asked this way, it records the friendships without ranking them. Write the names down in full. In a few years neither of you will remember who the Mateo from the blue table was.
What will you miss about your first grade classroom?
Why ask it
Answers are objects and corners more often than lessons: the reading nook, the class fish, a spot on the rug. If the answer is the teacher, help them say so with a card or a drawing before the last day.
What should next year's first graders know before they start?
Why ask it
Makes them the veteran. The advice is practical and specific to the building: where the bathroom is, which slide gets hot, how not to lose your lunch card. A teacher can collect these and read them to the new class in the fall.
When you're as old as your teacher, what will your job be?
Why ask it
A fresh way to ask the growing-up question, and comparing ages with the teacher usually gets a laugh first. Write down the job and the reason. The reason ("because vets get to hold kittens") is the part worth keeping.
What do you want to learn in second grade?
Why ask it
Cursive, multiplication and chapter books are popular guesses at what the big kids do, whether or not their school teaches them next year. Jot it down and bring it out again next spring to see what came true.
Will you sign your name and write today's date at the bottom?
Why ask it
The last line of the interview, in their own hand. Do not correct a backward letter or help with the spelling of the month. Set next to last year's signature, it shows the year better than any answer above it.
How to ask a first grader and get an answer
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you ask
Snack first, questions second
A six-year-old at pickup has spent hours holding it together. Feed them, let them run or sit, and save the questions for the walk home, the bath or bedtime. The energy question at the top of the Feelings group is a quick way to find out which kind of afternoon it is.
Ask about a piece of the day
"How was school" asks for a summary, and summarizing is hard at this age. Ask about one piece: the loud part, the lunch table, the first thing that morning, one paper from the folder. A small question gets a real answer, and the real answer often opens onto the rest of the day.
Offer choices when you get a shrug
Easy, just right or hard. Recess, art or story time. Choices give a child something to point at, and they help children who are shy, tired or still learning English. Once they have picked, "how come?" is usually all the follow-up you need.
Talk side by side
Many first graders say more in the car, on a walk or with a crayon in hand than they do across a table with an adult looking at them. If a question matters to you, wait for one of those moments.
Answer one yourself
Tell them the loudest part of your day or the mistake you made at work. It shows what an answer sounds like, and it turns questioning into a trade. Keep yours short.
Three is plenty
Choose two or three questions for the day and leave the others for another time. A child who feels a list coming will shut it down with "I don't know" well before the end of it.
A parent, a teacher, a reading buddy
After school, for a parent
Start in School Day, and move on to Friends and Recess or Feelings only if the first answers come easily. Keep one question for a whole week and they may start saving up an answer for you. Change it when the answer goes stale.
At morning meeting, for a teacher
One question, one sentence each, and a pass for anyone who wants it. Give a sentence starter ("I would pick...") so the answer has a shape, and send an object around the circle so it is clear whose turn it is. Stay away from questions about presents, trips or what a family owns, which sort a room into those who have and those who don't before nine o'clock. Favorites and Pretend is the safest group for the rug.
With a book, for a reading buddy or volunteer
Learn the name and how to say it, ask one warm-up (the loose tooth question rarely fails), then open the book. Keep your questions on the story and on school, not on home. Ask the teacher beforehand what they would like you to do when a child is stuck on a word, because classrooms handle that differently.
On the phone, for a grandparent or relative
A call is hard for a six-year-old: no pictures, nothing to hold. Ask for something they can show or do, such as reading you a page, telling a knock-knock joke or counting by tens. Five good minutes beat fifteen of "what else?"
Running the end-of-year interview
Ask the same questions every year
The End of Year group is written to be repeated. A favorite food at six is nothing special. The same line at six, seven, eight and nine is a record. If you started in kindergarten, keep the questions you already have and add from here.
Write down exactly what they say
Do not tidy the grammar or correct the facts. "I am forty feet tall" and a best day that never quite happened are what you will want to read later. If writing slows you down, record the audio and copy it out afterward.
Keep it to ten minutes
Ten questions is about the limit before the answers turn silly. Pick a calm time in the last week or two of school, and hand over the pencil for the signature and a self-portrait at the end.
For a whole class
A teacher can turn four or five of these into a one-page sheet: children who are writing fill in their own, and a volunteer or an older buddy takes dictation for the others. Sent home on the last day, it is a keepsake that costs one sheet of paper per child.
When an answer worries you
One bad day or a pattern
Any first grader will say "nobody played with me" or "I hate reading" now and then. Make a mental note and ask again a few days later. The same answer over two or three weeks, or a child who has started resisting school in the morning, is the point to act.
Stay curious, stay calm
A big reaction teaches a child that the subject upsets you, and they may stop bringing it up. "What happened next?" and "what did you do?" get you the story. Leave "why didn't you tell someone?" out.
Take it to the teacher
The classroom teacher sees the part of the day you do not and is the first person to ask. Say what your child told you in their own words, and ask what the teacher has noticed. How a school handles worries about reading progress, friendships or unkind behavior differs from place to place, so ask how it works at yours.
If you are a volunteer
Do not promise to keep a secret, and do not investigate. If a child tells you something that concerns you, tell the classroom teacher the same day and follow the school's rules for volunteers. Ask what those rules are before your first session.