“Keep reading books, but remember that a book is only a book, and you should learn to think for yourself.”
I Level Fiction Questions
Thinking within the Text Summarizing
o What is the main idea of the story (central message, lesson, or moral of the story)?
o What are some key details from the story (2 to 3)?
o Ask a question about key details in the text that begins with who, what, when, where, how, or why. Answer the question. (Students will develop and answer the questions.)_
o Summarize the important events or episodes from the text in the order that they happened. Tell me more. (This could also be written.)
o What was the problem in the story?
o How did the characters solve the problem?
o How did characters in the story respond to major events or challenges?
o How did the story end? If applicable, what was the surprise at the end?
o What new information did you learn about __________?
o Who is telling the story at different points in the text?
Thinking beyond the Text Predicting
o During Reading – How do you think the book will end?
o During Reading – How do you think the problem will be solved?
o Based on what you know, what might happen next?
o After reading the text, predict what might happen next. What clues from the book or personal experience helped you with this prediction?
o Based on the genre or text structure of this book, predict what might happen next.
o Has your prediction happened? How do you know? Making Connections
o What does this story remind you of?
o Can you think of another book that is similar to this one?
o How is the (topic, characters, ending) similar to (title of another book)?
o In a book series, how are the characters’ attitudes and behaviors the same? How does this help you as a reader?
o What connection can you make (personal, text, world)?
o Before, During, and After Reading - Based on what you already know about ____________, what connections can you make to the text?
o Before, During, and After Reading - How did what you know about the topic help you understand the text? Synthesizing
o What new information has been added to what you already knew about the topic?
o After reading, has the new information changed your thinking about the topic? (Have the students clarified their knowledge of the topic?)
o What did you learn about __________ after reading this book? Show where you found this information.
o How has your thinking changed after reading?
Guided Reading Goal Questions
o Why are ______________ important to us?
o Explain ___________ in your own words. Inferring
o Talk about how the character felt in the book. How do you know?
o Look at the dialogue in the text. What does the dialogue tell you about how the characters are feeling or thinking?
o Why do you think the character felt _______ or acted _________?
o What is the character like? How do you know that?
o Why did the character ______________? How do you know?
o How did the author show ___________?
o Why do you think __________?
o How did the character change from _________ to _________? Why?
o What happened to cause the character to feel or act ___________?
o What caused the problem or outcome?
o How did you feel when the character _________? Why did the character feel and act that way?
Thinking about the Text
o Analyzing
o What did the author do to make the characters or situation interesting?
o What is the genre of the book? What are the characteristics of this genre that you noticed? (traditional language, literary language, descriptive language)
o What types of illustrations are in the book (photographs, drawings, etc.)?
o What text features did you notice in the book? How did they help you understand the book?
o Could this story really happen? Why or why not?
o Why did the author use (juicy word) to describe ___________?
o Show me where the problem was solved in the story. How do you know?
o Explain the differences between fiction and nonfiction (informational) texts.
o How was _________ (character, events, items in story) different from the others in the text (character, events, items in story)?
o Locate the beginning of the text. Locate the series of episodes in the text. Locate the end.
o What is the text structure of this book? Why did the author choose this? (description, compare and contrast, temporal sequence, problem and solution)
o What nonfiction text features do you notice? Why did the author choose these features? (photograph, caption, pictures, etc.)
o How can you show the characters’ different points of view when reading aloud? (using a different voice for each character)If applicable, compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.
o Critiquing
o What did you like/dislike about this (book, beginning, characters, ending, pictures)?
o What did you like/dislike about the illustrations?
o What did you think about (book, beginning, characters, ending)? Why?
o What was the most important part of the story? Why?
o Why do you think the author included this information?
o How does the author use the photographs to give you more information about the topic?
o How does the author help you learn about _____________?
o Do you agree or disagree with __________? Why or why not?
Guided Reading Goal Questions
o Do the pictures or graphics add to your understanding of the book? How or why not?
o How could the characters have behaved differently?
o Was this story interesting, funny, or exciting? Tell me why.
I Level Nonfiction Questions
What do you already know about this topic? (prior knowledge)
What new information have you learned?
What predictions can you make about the text based on what you know and your experiences?
Where in the text can you prove your prediction was correct? Or disprove your prediction?
What connections can you make to other books?
How can you tell the text is nonfiction?
What connections can you make to other books? i .e. the same author, topic, content , etc
What caused the problem in the text?
Why did that happen?
Can you use any illustrations or graphics to learn information?
What did you notice about the layout of the text? (bold letters, italics…)
Why did the author organize it this way?
What did the author want you to learn?
Do you agree or disagree with ideas in the text?
Did the author make this book interesting? How?
Have you changed your mind about this topic after reading this text?
Do you agree with the author’s point of view about this text?
How can you use this information in other parts of your life?