Entry #9: Riddles are Fun!

    The children that I nanny are in first and third grade and are obsessed with riddles. I have never thought about the implications that riddles have on education as whole and vocabulary development more specifically. I simply thought the kids were being silly! Little did I know that they are actually developing their language skills while they interact with riddles. I had never thought about this through an educational lens. Honestly, before completing this weeks readings along with the reading guide, I was skeptical of riddles being more than just fun games. I can now see clearly that they are playing with words to gain a deeper understanding of word consciousness as Tompkins states in chapter 7, whether they know it or not (or whether I know it or not!).

    When I was completing the wonderful deeper dive reading guide prepared by Ilish and Sarah for this weeks readings, I recruited the two children that I nanny to help me prepare some riddles for the last question. Immediately, I was met with children who were jumping up and down screaming different riddles over one another. I was shocked (but delighted) to see riddles in action with the kids! They know many riddles off the top of their head that they had heard from school, friends, and books. I heard them say "let's go upstairs to get the book of riddles." I know from reading Teaching Metalinguistic Awareness and Reading Comprehension With Riddles by Zipke that it is actually beneficial for the development of metalinguistic awareness for children to own and read riddle books. Clearly, I am able to see the benefit of riddles in the children that I nanny.

    Zipke says, "to evaluate and regulate comprehension of text, it is necessary to know that the words in a text can add up to more than one possible meaning and that context and alternative explanations need to be considered" (Zipke, 2008, p. 129). Children may not automatically think in a way that allows them to be aware of the different meanings that one word may have alone and in a sentence. However, it is clear that riddles allow them to view words in this way while having fun. Children want to understand the riddles because they are engaging and funny at times. Zipke says, "Humor enhances the learning environment, gives children an incentive to read, and promotes critical thinking skills as well as vocabulary and language development" (Zipke, 2008, p. 131). This shows me how important that the way in which students are learning content and curriculum becomes. It seems that children have intrinsic motivation to learn when it is something that they are genuinely interested in. 

    Learning about metalinguistic awareness has allowed me to think deeper about my understanding of phonemic awareness as well. Phonology is something that I am still learning about as a teacher. I am now able to further categorize phonemic awareness as a type of metalinguistic awareness. I am now seeing how vocabulary and phonology are interconnected. I am reminded that vocabulary, semantics, phonics, syntax, and more are all related. 

    Reading Zipke, Tompkins, and Muhammad this week has allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of vocabulary development in children. I am reminded of the significance of these readings as I see them in effect in the children I nanny! I will surely be stocking the shelves of my classroom with books about riddles because this was a really fun reading to complete!

Muhammad, G. (2020).  Cultivating genius:  An equity framework for culturally and 
     historically responsive literacy.  New York, NY:  Scholastic. 
Tompkins, G.E. (2017). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (7th ed.). Boston, 

     MA: Pearson
Zipke, M. (2008). Teaching metalinguistic awareness and reading comprehension with 
     riddles. The Reading Teacher, 62(2), 128–137. https://doi.org/