Thinking Through THUNKS

Have you heard of THUNKS? A Thunk is an enticing question that makes you pause, wonder and look at the world just a little more critically.  The alluring book A Little Book of THUNKS by Ian Gilbert is a great way to bring good natured debate into your classroom. 

I tried introducing THUNKs to my kindergarten students. Every day I put a Thunk on the board, and gave the students time to think about it. We then participated in a critical discussion. 

The insight into the answers made me pause and smile. One Thunk that we discussed was, “if you take all the books out of the library, would it still be considered a library?”  This question soon departed from yes/no answers as student struggled with the concept of sharing and how it would be wrong for someone to take all of the books from the library.

They also discussed how the books may return the next day, and then the problem would be solved, or that there are still shelves and as long as there are shelves (with no books) than it would still be a library.

As the students brainstormed together, I was amazed at the thought process of my young students. There were no right or wrong answers (that had been made clear at the beginning) so the students felt that they could really engage with the question. They were analyzing and evaluating, essentially engaging in higher order thinking skills. 

By engaging these skills first thing in the morning, I feel that I am setting up the day for success. The students come into the classroom strong- full of ideas and opinions and these tend to then flow through the rest of the day.