Program Design
Questioning
P. 169
Reading Strategies (Comprehension)
-asking questions to organize one’s search for information
p181. One of the ways in which teachers can help students grow in their
response to text is through questioning. Sometimes teachers use questions
to guide or focus the discussion. Sometimes they use them to
encourage students to reflect further, deepening their response. It is
important that students as well as teachers be involved in asking the
questions.
The kind of questions asked, however, is key. Effective questions are
significant questions that promote both critical and creative thinking,
open-ended questions that have more than one right answer, questions
that encourage students to use their prior knowledge and experience to
make meaning. Effective questions do more than simply ask students to
recall what was read. They make students think before, during, and
after reading.
Examples of such questions follow:
• What does the story make you think about? How is it like another
story you have read?
• Where and when does the story take place? How do you know?
• Which character do you think is the main character? What kind of a
person is he/she?
How does the author show you?
• Are there other characters who are important? Who are they? Why
are they important?
• Is there suspense in the story? How does the author create it?
• Is there a problem in the story? What is it? How do the characters
solve the problem?
• How did the story make you feel? Why?
• Why do you think the author … ?
• What questions would you ask the author if he/she were here?
• What do you predict the story will be about? What do you predict
will happen next? Were you right?
• What did you learn? What was the most interesting/surprising thing
you learned?
• What would you like to find out/what do you expect to learn? Did
you find the answers to your questions?
Reading Strategies (Comprehension)
-asking questions to organize one’s search for information
p181. One of the ways in which teachers can help students grow in their
response to text is through questioning. Sometimes teachers use questions
to guide or focus the discussion. Sometimes they use them to
encourage students to reflect further, deepening their response. It is
important that students as well as teachers be involved in asking the
questions.
The kind of questions asked, however, is key. Effective questions are
significant questions that promote both critical and creative thinking,
open-ended questions that have more than one right answer, questions
that encourage students to use their prior knowledge and experience to
make meaning. Effective questions do more than simply ask students to
recall what was read. They make students think before, during, and
after reading.
Examples of such questions follow:
• What does the story make you think about? How is it like another
story you have read?
• Where and when does the story take place? How do you know?
• Which character do you think is the main character? What kind of a
person is he/she?
How does the author show you?
• Are there other characters who are important? Who are they? Why
are they important?
• Is there suspense in the story? How does the author create it?
• Is there a problem in the story? What is it? How do the characters
solve the problem?
• How did the story make you feel? Why?
• Why do you think the author … ?
• What questions would you ask the author if he/she were here?
• What do you predict the story will be about? What do you predict
will happen next? Were you right?
• What did you learn? What was the most interesting/surprising thing
you learned?
• What would you like to find out/what do you expect to learn? Did
you find the answers to your questions?