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Answering Questions in Reading

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answering questions

Below I have outlined 2 steps in teaching elementary aged students how to answer questions they have during reading. These strategies are very helpful when it comes to answering comprehension questions on tests. I spend a good amount of time practicing how to search for answers in the text. I spend even more time practicing how to make inferences from what we have read. This is a very difficult concept. I have also displayed the common core standards that are covered in these lessons.

ELACC2RL1: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

ELACC2RL10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, in the grades 2-3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

ELACC2RF4: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

Finding Answers in Text:

Refer back to the questioning posters you made in previous lessons. Model for students how to search for the answers to your questions in the text. Answer, together, all the questions that can be found right in the text making sure to point out the exact parts in the text that answer the questions. Jot the answers to the questions in notebooks. Allow for guided practice, buddy practice, and independent practice.

Inferring Answers:

Explain that sometimes the author does not directly answer our questions in the text, but we can infer the answers using what the author did say and what we already know. You can write the equation:

what we read + what we know = inference

Look for the questions on the chart that could not be answered in the text. Have students create an H-Chart with headings: What we read, What we know, Inference. In this chart students can jot down the clues from the story relating to the question. Model and help students find these clues in the text. Next jot what we already know about this topic that may help us answer the question. Then make an inference to answer the question. Practice with students, and allow for partner and independent practice. Reiterate that students should always make sure that their inference makes sense.

**Tip: When teaching students how to answer questions from their reading, make sure you guide them into finding their answers. Try hard not to point things out. One way I make sure I do this is by helping students find a word or two from the question that they can look for in the text to help them find a good spot to start looking for their answer. Once we find the spot in the book, we remind ourselves of which question word is in the question and what type of answer we’ll need. Then we search for the answer together. Once we find what we think is a good answer, we read the question again and ask ourselves if our answer makes sense. I don’t tell them if they are right or wrong, they need to decide if their answer actually answers the question and makes sense.

Asking Questions While Reading

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question man

In this post I have outlined 4 steps to teaching students how to ask questions during reading. This would be geared toward an elementary level student. I have included the common core standards that are covered as well.

ELACC2RL1: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

ELACC2RF4: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

ELACC2RL10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, in the grades 2-3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

1. Questions Poster:

The first thing I always do when I teach questioning in reading is make a poster explaining what each question means. Many of my students get confused as to what the question is actually asking for. I draw a big question mark on chart paper and put Who, What, When, Where, Why, How around the question mark. Then we discuss what each question word means and the type of answer we need to give. Who: name a person (character), What: explain what happened, When: time, date, year, day, Where: name a place, Why: explain why (reason) something happened, How: explain how something was done. Give examples of each, especially question words that need to be explained like what, why, and how. You can read a book and have students practice answering each question for that book. Students can also read with a buddy: one practices asking questions about the text, and the other can answer the questions.

question words

2. Asking Questions Before, During, and After Reading:

Create a chart with 3 columns: Before, During, and After. Choose a short story to share with students. Look at the title and pictures and allow students to start forming some “before” reading questions. Jot them down in the chart. Start reading the text and stop throughout to record some questions students have “during” reading. When the book is finished have students jot some questions they have “after” reading. Review the chart together focusing on the types of questions they asked referring to the Questions Chart above.

3. Use What You Know and Create a Picture:

Explain that your prior knowledge of something can help you ask questions. Choose a short book to share with students with a setting or place that students may have prior knowledge about. Example: If you choose a book about the ocean, students may be able to ask questions such as, “Will there be dolphins in this book? Will we be exploring the Atlantic Ocean?” Thinking about what you already know about a topic can help you create mental pictures, which may lead to some questions about the text. You can model asking questions based on what you already know about the subject you are reading about and share how your mental images helped you create some questions. Then have students practice with a buddy and independently.

4. Thoughtful Questions:

Choose a book you have previously read and have the chart of before, during, and after questions. Discuss the difference between a thoughtful question and a question that doesn’t help you better understand the story. Example: A thoughtful question will help you understand what is happening in the story: Why are the cows writing a letter to the farmer? Not thoughtful: What is the farmer’s name? The farmer’s name is not important, because it will not help you understand what is happening and why. Go through the chart of questions the students previously created and pick out the thoughtful and purposeful questions to focus on. Have students continue practicing writing thoughtful questions with a partner.