G is for Guesswork: Building Skills How-Tos

Guess what?  Today's topic is guesswork and/or prediction.   Some children are afraid to make guesses in case they are wrong but it is a critical skill and it is helpful to determine how much they are able to comprehend.  Let's encourage them by making guesswork fun!

If a picture is worth one thousand words, it is still just a guess as to what is happening because it only represents a moment in time.  It is a snapshot that gives information but not all the details.  Even in a conversation it is hard to fully communicate our thoughts, We are using all the information we have to guess meanings in our encounters.  Sometimes words are taken literally but they were spoken with sarcasm so we need to use a variety of other cues to support the actual words and provide reference  The literal meaning is not always correct but we do our best to take all the information in and make a guess.  If we are wrong, we learn to adjust our assumptions or to hone our observation skills so they are more accurate in the future.  

Practicing guessing is an important building block and is a valuable skill to help improve reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in the child(ren) in our life. In order to build up our ability to guess correctly more often, we can use a wide range of games, play activities and conversations to make it a natural and fun skill building time.  Ideas follow.

What's in this bag?  I don't know but I can guess!  I can read the logo on the bag, remember where you said you were going or consider what I want that you may have gotten for me.  I can smell the contents, shake it to see if there are any auditory cues or I can reach inside and feel the item.  Is it hard or soft, big or small, room temperature or frozen?  Can I guess yet? No> Then I can look and see or ask a direct question.  Usually we start when the item is at the door, "What's in the bag? Where did you go?  Is it for me? Can I see it? Can I have it?"  Use that as an opportunity to practice guesswork.

Yes/No.  The game 20 questions allows you to only answer yes or no to a series of 20 questions your opponent asks.  Is it a living thing?  Is it smaller than a microwave oven?  Eventually there are enough clues to guess the item.

Who Am I?  Give clues to riddles.  Can  you guess what I am?

Can you guess, who can run the fastest?  Jump the highest?  Eat the most?  Track their efforts and see who will win the record in your group.  See if your guess is correct!

How many jelly beans, buttons or coins are in the jar? Will you win the prize if you guess?

Games likes Trivial Pursuit, Battleship and Clue are all about making guesses.  Even Chess, Connect 4 and Go Fish require guesswork or predicting your opponent's next move. 

When reading a book, guess what will happen in the story based on the cover and the text.  What does the title tell you about what the story is about?  Does the cover help you guess if it is fiction or non-fiction, romantic, funny or scary?  When you read the book, can you predict what will happen next?  Will the frog jump?  Will the dog be found?  Will the storm destroy the crops?  Can you predict it correctly?  What clues helped you do that?

Make everything easy as they start working on this.  Show them that everyone can have a different idea and that is okay!  Sometimes there may be no right answer as the author left the decision up to us to make individually.  Sometimes, we will get it wrong but sometimes we will get it right too.  That is all just a part of the learning process.  It takes courage to make mistakes but sometimes we have to figure out what is wrong before we can figure out what is right.  Sometimes we need to be ready to admit we are wrong and/or to learn how to be right humbly.  

Overall my message is that Guesswork is an important skill and I encourage you to make it a fun endeavour for the child9ren) in your life!