Picture book conversations that lead to respect, consideration, and growth!
You can download 17 activity sheets (for A3 printing) and use them in class.

A special thought dialogue where you share thoughts that come to mind during a special scene.
Keyword-centered thinking conversations: understanding and sharing experiences through memorable keywords.
Question-centered thinking dialogue, where participants ask questions and share their perspectives.
"Problem-solving-focused thinking dialogue" where participants focus on the situation and method they want to solve.
Reflection-centered thinking conversations that encourage self-reflection and care for your daily life

We have included a 17-part thought dialogue that brings out the children's thoughts while looking at picture books with them.
Children love to talk.
However, during class time, there are many times when we just sit in one place and listen to the endless stream of words.
Because of this, I have few opportunities to reflect on what I have learned, and I think that asking questions that arise during learning reveals my weaknesses.
The 'Picture Book Thinking Conversation' class focuses on conversations that involve self-reflection.
It is a time when children gather together and enjoy conversation and realize the value of each other's existence.
Children experience firsthand the value of listening and respect.
During the picture book discussion class, children talk like this.


“Picture book discussion time is like ‘clothes’ to me.
Every time I read a picture book and share my thoughts, I feel like I'm wearing new clothes.
“It feels like the words of my teacher and friends are wrapping me up like warm, cozy clothes.”

I hope that children feel happy through class, and that is my calling as a teacher.
What does it mean to 'have a thought'?

'Now, at this moment, I look into the thoughts that came to mind in the new scene I encountered,
Actions to confirm that feeling.
And the work of organizing it and delivering it'

I think so.
However, children hesitate and find it difficult to express their position.
Because it takes time to fully explore what your thoughts and opinions are.
Additionally, we need time to clearly express what we have learned or felt through exploration.
So, I wanted to give children enough time to spend together, so I named it “Thinking Conversation” and created a time for them to express their thoughts.


Through this process, children truly experience the feeling of taking ownership of their own learning.
There are times when I have to overcome the helplessness and fear that come at me without warning.
Thinking conversation requires, above all, waiting for children.
Rather than rushing ahead, it's an atmosphere where any idea is valued and respected.
I hope that many children will encounter 'Picture Book Thinking Conversation' and develop the strength to endure the world together.

Children love to talk.
But during class, there are many times when we just sit in one place and listen to the endless stream of words.
The situation is not much different at schools as well as at academies.
Because of this, I think there are few opportunities to reflect on what I have learned, and asking questions that arise during learning actually reveals my weakness.

--- p.4

The same thing happened when I encountered the picture book 『Tunnel』2).
Children may find themselves drawn to a new perspective as they delve into what happens to the rabbit who must find a new path, or listen to their friend's story.
It's something the kids have never felt before.
And I start to feel new meaning in scenes that I had missed before.
So children try to look at the picture book scenes in more detail.

--- p.13

Keyword-centered thinking conversations that build confidence.
'Keyword-centered thinking conversation' is literally a method of reading a picture book and expressing one's own thoughts centered on a certain topic or keyword.
Rather than comparing and competing with others, we freely choose keywords that we feel are important and look at picture books from different perspectives.
Since we don't have to wait for others' evaluations, we can come up with new ideas by looking at things from our own perspectives and exploring them.
In this way, children become more confident as they welcome each other's keywords that they can comfortably bring out.

--- p.14

A reflective conversation focused on looking back on ‘myself’.
How often do children engage in self-reflection conversations in their daily lives? "Reflection-Centered Thinking Conversations" provide time for such conversations.
I read picture books and reflect on myself, thinking about what kind of experiences I am having by connecting them to the scenes in the picture books.
It's like comparing myself to the scenes in the picture book, and looking at me as if I'm unfamiliar.
As time goes by and we talk, I feel a warm feeling.
As I and others participate in the conversation, they learn new things about themselves and gain a deeper understanding of themselves.

--- p.16

It was a completely different atmosphere from the picture book class.
In the picture book class, the children just smiled comfortably because they were shown pictures and read the text, but when we started having conversations, I saw the children worrying.
The reason is that it was a moment when I had to bring out my own thoughts that I had not been able to properly deal with until now.
Because of this, children had to clearly examine their own thoughts in the picture book scenes and properly express and convey those thoughts.
Naturally, the conversation became richer as the children's ideas came together.
The children's expressions alternated between worry and comfort.

--- p.17

The theme book for the special conversation is the picture book “Heart Journey.”
The reason I chose this book was because I felt that it was important to know one's own mind when the main character, a child, lost his mind and had no idea what to do or how to do it, and I wanted children to understand that as well.
Like the main character in this picture book, our children often don't know what's in their own minds.
So it's easy to get stuck in sadness, anger, and frustration.
However, the main character child does not remain in that situation, but through the process of finding his own heart, he realizes that he needs a heart right now.

--- p.23

Interestingly, even as I write my answers, questions keep coming up.
That question is a question asked to the protagonist child, but it is also a question sent to oneself.
After spending time asking questions like this, bright smiles appear on the children's faces.
This is the expression you see when you focus on your heart and understand and acknowledge it.

--- p.26

For example, I had a hard time talking about the characters in the book, their thoughts, events that happened, and important places.
Because of this situation, the process of connecting picture book scenes and having children share their thoughts was not carried out properly.
Because of that, it seemed like a picture book was something that children would only remember a few scenes from and then just skim through.
This regretful feeling was the starting point for the creation of the 'Wheel of Thought Conversation Questions'.

--- p.31

The theme book for the keyword conversation is the picture book 『The Fire-Breathing Dragon』.
The contents of the picture book are as follows.
The main character, Buruk, gets very angry.
One day, I suddenly got angry and didn't know how to control my upset feelings.
And the anger that came without even giving me time to think ended up hurting the people around me.
Based on this scene, I want to remind myself of a time when children were in a rush to vent their emotions like a tantrum.
It also makes you think about whether things would have gotten better if you had just let your anger out.
Then, as expected, the children bring up the story that, like a ember that grows in size like a firework, they cannot stop it.
I also said that I don't want to be around a friend who vents his anger.

--- p.47

The first question is, “What keywords come to mind after reading the picture book?” So, write the keywords in the center column without hesitation.
At this time, I watch my friends closely and write so that there is no duplication.
Friends who have a lot of keywords in mind can write their thoughts freely, but we are considerate of friends who write their keywords carefully.
The advantage of this activity is that friends who have trouble choosing keywords can get help from friends who can quickly come up with keywords.
This will help alleviate the burden of writing activity sheets for your participating friends.
Naturally, we pay more attention to each other's stories while being careful not to overlap with our friends.

--- p.49

Question-centered thinking conversations can also be conducted in four ways.
These four thought dialogues help you have a conversation by asking questions in a variety of ways, but the best part is that no one is left out.
Thanks to this, question-centered thinking conversations continue to create rewarding classes.
The overall structure is made up of 'Dan-gam Q Thinking Conversation', which creates one's own questions by connecting words and emotions, 'Glasses Q Thinking Conversation', which determines a question from two keywords, 'Honeycomb Q Thinking Conversation', which elicits a question by looking at various keywords, and 'Why Man-eo Thinking Conversation', which completes a question by using the questions 'Why, What if, How do I?'

--- p.63

"Let's take a look at what kind of thoughts you have." This is one of the values ​​I consider important when sharing thoughts about picture books.
Children who participate in a thought dialogue try to speak completely from the beginning.
But if you only pursue perfection, the conversation will not continue.
Conversely, if you treat yourself with a relaxed mind, you will finish the race without getting tired.
Conversations also create a sense of responsibility.
In short, if you participate with the mindset of practicing to clearly express your thoughts, you will listen more closely to other people's stories and value their feelings.

--- p.170

What strengths will children develop as they engage in comfortable conversation? The ability to closely examine a scene at first glance, to listen to different perspectives on the same scene, to kindly explain their thoughts and feelings, to write down their thoughts after a conversation, to appreciate how exciting conversation can be and to continue to engage with others, to empathize by genuinely considering another person's perspective, to be curious about the story being told, and to stay engaged in the conversation out of excitement. A tremendous gift of strength awaits us.
I calmly think about things that were overwhelming and burdensome.
I don't hesitate like I used to.
Because the time we spend talking together will be like a gift and will give you strength to live your daily life.

--- p.174