P Level Fiction Questions

Thinking within the Text -

SUMMARY:

• What was the problem in the story?
• How did the characters solve the problem?
• How did the story end? If applicable, what was the surprise at the end?
• What new information did you learn about __________?
• What was the big problem in the story? What other problems did the characters encounter?
• Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
• Tell the important ideas in an organized way.

Thinking beyond the Text -

PREDICT:

• Based on what you know about a character, predict what he or she will do.
• Based on what you know, what might happen next?
• After reading the text, predict what might happen next. What clues from the book or personal experience helped you with this prediction?
• Has your prediction happened? How do you know?
• Based on clues from the story, predict what the character will do next, feel, etc.

MAKE CONNECTIONS: 

• Can you think of another book that is similar to this one?
• How is the (topic, characters, ending) similar to (title of another book)?
• How is the character the same in this book as in previous books?
• What connection can you make (personal, text, world)? Explain how they are connected.

SYNTHESIZING:

• After reading, has the new information changed your thinking about the topic? (Different people and cultures)
• What did you learn about __________ after reading this book? Show where you found this information.
• How has your thinking changed after reading? Why?
• Why are ______________ important to us?
• Explain ___________ in your own words.
• What lesson did the character learn in the story?
• How are __________ and ____________ alike? How are they different?
• How did you group the information in the text as you were reading? How did you grouping change? Inferring
• Look at the dialogue in the text. What does the dialogue tell you about how the characters are feeling or thinking?
• Why do you think the character felt _______ or acted _________?
• Tell what you learned about (character).
• Why did the character ______________? How do you know?
• How did the author show ___________?
• Why do you think __________?
• How did the character change from _________ to _________? Why?
• What happened to cause the character to feel or act ___________?
• How would you feel if ________ happened to you? Would you solve the problem the same way the character did?
• Based on the dialogue, what are the characters feeling?
• Based on the characters actions or motives, why did he or she behave that way (even if you don’t agree with their actions or motives)?

Thinking about the Text - 

ANALYZING: 

• What did the author do to make the characters or situation interesting?
• What is the genre of the book?
• Could this story really happen? Why or why not?
• What descriptive language did the author use? How did it add to your enjoyment or understanding of the text?
• How is the setting important to the story?
• How did the dialogue help you to understand the text?
• What did the writer want you to learn from this book?
• How did the writer build interest and suspense throughout the story?
• How is your point of view different or the same as the narrator or characters in the text?
• What does the author mean by (figurative language example; literal or nonliteral word or phrase such as “it was raining cats and dogs”)?  How does it add to the meaning or enjoyment of the text?

CRITIQUING

• What did you like/dislike about this (book, beginning, characters, ending)?
• What did you think about (book, beginning, characters, ending)? Why?
• What was the most important part of the story? Why?
• What do you think (character) was thinking? Why?
• Do you agree or disagree with __________? Why or why not?
• How could the characters have behaved differently?
• What did the author do to make this topic/book interesting, funny, or exciting to read about? Why?
• Was the title of the text a good one? Why or why not?

P Level Nonfiction Questions 

• What do you already know about this topic?
• What new ideas have you learned?
• How did what you learned add to your knowledge?
• What connections can you make to other books?
• Have you changed your mind after reading this book?
• What did the author want you to learn or know?
• What caused the problem?  Why did that happen?
• How can you tell this book is nonfiction?
• How did the author organize the book?
• Why did the author organize the book this way?
• How well do you think the author used illustrations and graphics? How did they help you as a reader?
• What else would you have included if you were the author?
• What does the illustration mean?
• Do you agree with the author’s point of view? Support your answer.
• Judge this text. Explain your judgment.
• What did the author do that made this book interesting?