The importance of riddles in the development of the speech of young children

The importance of riddles in the development of the speech of young children

The riddle occupies a special place in the work on the development of children's thinking. Ushinsky in the book "Native Word" said that the riddle "gives the child's mind a useful exercise." Solving riddles is a kind of gymnastics for the child, mobilizing and training his mental powers. In order to solve the riddle, you need to carefully observe life, recall what you saw, compare, compare phenomena, mentally dissect, single out the right sides each time, combine, synthesize what you find. Guessing riddles develops resourcefulness, ingenuity, speed of reaction, mental activity, independence, the habit of comprehending the world more deeply and comprehensively.

Children love to solve riddles. They enjoy both the process and the result of this peculiar mental contest. Guessing riddles sharpens and disciplines the mind, accustoming children to clear logic, reasoning and proof. Solving riddles develops the ability to analyze, generalize, forms the ability to independently draw conclusions and conclusions.
The main feature of the riddle is that it is a logical problem.
Each riddle contains a question posed in an explicit or implicit form.
To guess a riddle means to find a solution to a problem, to answer a question, that is, to perform a complex mental operation.
The object referred to in the riddle is hidden, encrypted, and the encryption methods are different. The type of logical task, its complexity, and, consequently, the nature of the mental operation that the guesser has to perform depends on the encryption method.
There are various ways of constructing logical problems. Most often, the riddle is based on the enumeration of the signs of an object, phenomenon. Among them may be the size, shape, color, taste, sound, movement, material, purpose, etc. According to these signs, you need to find a clue.
In the riddle “First shine, crack after shine, splash after crack” several successive actions are named - signs characteristic of one of the natural phenomena (crack, shine, splash), and at the same time, the sound of the words denoting these signs is taken into account. The logical sequence of enumeration, the meaning of words and their sound - all this creates a visible and audible picture of a thunderstorm.
The solution of logical problems of this type is based on analysis (selection of all features) and synthesis (combining them into one whole). A sufficient number of signs and their specificity allows you to perform the necessary mental operations and successfully solve a logical problem.
There are riddles in which the description of the subject is given briefly, from one or two sides. The guesser must, by two, or even by one sign, restore the integral image of the object.
To solve such a problem, the guesser must be well acquainted with this single sign, be able to isolate it, associate it by association with others not named in the riddle. This is possible in the presence of sufficiently complete ideas about the subject, phenomenon. To solve the riddle “I swam in the water, but remained dry”, one must observe this feature of the goose, understand why the feathers of the bird remain dry after bathing.
Such riddles are also difficult because they reveal signs that are perceived during long-term, long-term observation. During the year it is necessary to observe a pine or spruce in order to draw a conclusion about their color constancy. And then it is not difficult to guess the riddle “In winter and summer in one color”.
In such riddles, it is possible to find the whole by one or two signs only when these signs are distinguished by the guesser in the general system of examining the object (or familiarizing with the phenomenon) and are recognized by him along with other signs.
There are riddles built on the basis of a negative comparison: “Sir, but not a wolf, long-eared, but not a hare, with hooves, but not a horse”, (donkey)
Guessing such riddles is evidence to the contrary: the guesser must alternately compare different and at the same time somewhat similar objects, highlight similar features in them, group them in a new way, in a new combination and by eliminating erroneous answers, while accumulating new signs to find a clue. Such an analysis develops the ability to think logically and reason in the required sequence.
The most extensive type of riddles are metaphorical riddles: “A little red cockerel runs along a perch” (fire). Solving such riddles is deciphering metaphors.
Penetrating into the hidden meaning of the metaphor, the guesser must compare, compare objects or phenomena from different, often distant areas, see similarities in them, highlight them, attribute them to one semantic category and, on the basis of this, determine what was hidden, solve a logical problem. Solving metaphorical riddles develops both figurative and logical thinking.
Thus, at the heart of different riddles lies a different logical mechanism. The features of this mechanism determine the types of logical tasks and the nature of mental operations when guessing.
The success of solving the problem contained in the riddle depends on which aspects of objects and phenomena and with what completeness it reflects. Observation and study of life phenomena in complex and diverse relationships contributes to the construction of logically correct judgments and conclusions.
The logical task in the riddle is dressed in a peculiar art form. Thanks to this, the mystery is especially attractive. Both its construction and its vocabulary sharpen the listener's attention, arouse interest in the task put forward.
Guessing riddles contribute to the active development of children's speech. Riddles enrich their vocabulary, help to see the secondary meanings of words. For example, in addition to the main meaning of the verb to go (“to move”), the child is also aware of others: a mechanism is operating (“the clock is ticking”), it is raining (“it is raining”). Of course, the children more than once had the opportunity to both hear and use these combinations, but in a riddle they perceive the words collated, united: “They go around the clock, they don’t stand for a minute, but everyone is in one place” (clock). “Look out the window - long Antoshka is coming” (rain).
Riddles expand children's ideas about the possibilities of figurative use of the word:
When we walk, we stand, And we know how to stand lying down. Even if we run away, We don't move either, (hours.)
Thus, under the influence of riddles, the child develops the habit of considering the word as a living and multifaceted speech tool. This improves not only the language training of the child, but naturally and successfully develops his mental abilities, expands his ideas about the material and spiritual world.
Reflections on riddles contribute to a heightened perception of word-forming and morpho-forming means of the Russian language - its morphemes. Without understanding the meaning of a particular morpheme: root, suffix, prefix, it is impossible to grasp the meaning of a word.
In riddles, in order to meet the requirements of the genre itself, such words are often used in which one or another morpheme acquires an increased role. Such a load, for example, is carried by the suffix -n (-nya) - in the riddle about ants: “In the forest near the stump there is running around, bustle: the working people are busy all day, building a house for themselves.” With the help of this suffix, nouns are formed, denoting actions in the collective meaning - “running around”, “bustling”. The suffix -seek-, which has the meaning of magnification, involuntarily attracts attention: “Eyes, mustache, tail, and it washes all cleaner” (cat).

Some riddles are memorized by children in order to consolidate and differentiate sounds, to develop clear diction. In this case, the content of the riddles must be explained. For example, offering a riddle about a rooster for memorization - “Tail with patterns, boots with spurs”, the teacher explains to the children the words “patterns” “spurs”, that is, he is working not only to enrich the dictionary, but also to get acquainted with some features of this bird.

Using riddles as speech material for fixing the pronunciation of sounds, for the development of other aspects of the sound culture of speech, it is necessary to take into account the general preparedness of children for guessing. In the classroom, you should not strive to get an answer faster. It is necessary to give each child of the group the opportunity to think about the content, about the answer. Even after the answer is given, it is advisable to ask 2-3 children: “What does Katya think? What (who) is this?”
In the formation of children's speech-description skills, an important role is played by the questions of an adult, helping children to compose their riddle. The content of the questions depends on the originality of the subject, about which the riddle is composed. If, for example, this is an animal, then the questions are appropriate: what is it? Where does he live? His voice? And others. You can ask about vegetables: where does it grow? What colour? What form? What taste? If we are talking about a household item, then it is necessary to clarify what it is made of, what it is needed for, etc.
The content of the questions also depends on the tasks of speech development that the teacher solves. If we want different signs (both appearance and actions) to be reflected in the riddle, then we pose the questions: which one? What does it look like? What is he doing?
Such questions direct the child to a complete and varied description of the subject using various speech means.
By changing the content of the questions, the teacher influences the choice of speech means for the riddle, its composition, artistic features. So, if we want a description of the appearance of an object (or animal) to be given in a riddle, then when examining it, one should pay attention to its shape, size, color, as well as those speech means by which signs are usually expressed. If we want children to name movements, actions of an object in a riddle, then when examining it, we should pay attention to these signs: what does it do, how does it move, etc.
So a systematic appeal to the riddle brings the child closer to understanding folk literary speech, ensures the fastest mental, speech and artistic development of the child.