X Level Fiction Questions

Thinking within the Text -

SUMMARY:

Summarize the important events or episodes from the text in the order that they happened.
Summarize ideas from a text and tell how they are related?
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 __________?
Summarize the important events at intervals during the reading of a longer text.
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.
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from the details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
Tell the important ideas in an organized way (orally or written response).
Summarize chapters, short stories, or sequels in order to understand larger themes.
What were the events that led to the ending?

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.
With new events in the story, how did you revise your prediction?
Based on what you know about the genre, what might happen next?
Based on personal experience, content knowledge, and knowledge of similar texts, how did you revise your prediction?

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.
Based on a personal experience, what connections can you make to the people of other cultures, times, and places?
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?

SYNTHESIZING:

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?
How do you have a better understanding of a character or plot after reading another chapter, connected short story, or sequel?

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?
How would you feel if ________ happened to you? Would you solve the problem the same way the character did?
What caused the problem or outcome?
What is the big idea/theme of the text? How do they apply to our lives today?
What were the major events that led to the problem or the solution?
How did the characters feelings towards each other change from _________ to ______? Why?
Based on the dialogue, what are the characters feelings and motivations?
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)?
How do actions of one character affect another?
What does the author mean by ___________ (symbol – objects, events, motifs, characters)? How does it enhance the meaning of the story?
Based on the characters actions or motives, describe the traits of the character.
How did the character’s thinking or actions impact the turning point of the story?

Thinking about the Text -

ANALYZING

What did the author do to make the characters, situation, or topic interesting?
What is the genre of the book? What are the aspects of this genre that you noticed? (realistic and historical fiction, complex fantasy, biography, autobiography, memoirs and diaries, myths and legends, hybrid texts and other nonfiction)
What text features did you notice in the book? How did they help you understand 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?
Show me where the problem was resolved in the story. How do you know?
How was _________ different from all of the rest?
Look at the way the writer ended the book. Do you think this was a good way to end? Why or why not?
What role does the setting play (realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy)?
What aspects of writer’s craft (style, language, perspective, theme) did you notice after reading several texts by this author?
What does the writer mean by ______________?
Find the part of the story where the writer showed _______________.
What did the writer want you to learn from this book?
What was the writer’s message?
What was the most important part of the story and why?
Show a place in the book where the writer showed you _________(descriptive phrases). How did this help you?
Identify and discuss examples of symbolism in the text. What else could this mean?
What is the genre text?
The writer used specific words or phrases to describe __________. Give some examples of words implied.
How did the character’s traits change throughout the story and what impacted this change?
Compare the traits of the characters in this story to _______ (other genre). (Comparing a well-developed character to a flat character.)
What are some examples of satire or irony used by the author? Why did the author use them?
Identify an example of an idiom and discuss why the author used it.
Identify the elements of fantasy and discuss what they represent (“the quest”, “the hero”, symbolism representing good and evil).
From what point of view is the book written and why?
What is the significance of ________?
What are other interpretations of the symbolism in the text?
Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e, g., how characters interact).

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?
Why do you think the author included this information?
How does the author help you learn about _____________?
Do you agree or disagree with __________? Why or why not?
Was the title of the text a good one? Why or why not?
How did the graphics add to the quality of the text or provide additional information?
Evaluate the author’s character and plot development. (i.e. believability, depth)
What is the author’s point of view? Does the author show bias? Cite evidence for both.
How does the author use exaggeration and subtle misinformation (propaganda) to express his or her bias in the text?
Critique the content of the story. Do you think the writer should have included any other information? What?

X 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?
How can you tell this book is nonfiction?
How did the author organize the book? (Text structure). Why did the author organize the book this way?
What else would you have included if you were the author?
What does the illustration mean?
Judge this text. Explain your judgment.
How can what you have read in the past help you understand the people and cultures in this text?
What qualifications does the author have to write an informational text?
How does this book give you a new perspective?