Questions to ask your kids about their reading
Summarizing:
- Summarize the important events from the text in the order they happened.
- What was the problem in the story? How did the characters solve the problem?
- How did the story end?
- Describe the characters in the story (e.g. their traits, motivations, and feelings) and explain how their actions contributed to the development of the story.
- What was the theme of the story?
- What new information did you learn about _______ ?
- Look at the photograph/drawing on page _________. What did you learn?
- Look at the glossary or a heading. How doe these features help you understand what you've read?
Predicting:
- Based on what you know about the character, what do you think he or she will do next?
- Based on what you know, what do you think will happen next?
- After you've finished the book, imagine you could write another chapter. What would happen in that chapter? What clues from the book or personal experience helped you with this prediction?
Making Connections:
- Can you think of another book that is similar to this one? How is it similar/different?
- How is the character the same in this book as in other books you've read or heard?
- What connection can you make with this text and yourself? What connection can you make with this text and another text? What connection can you make with this text and the world?
- How did what you know about the topic help you understand the text?
- Based on a personal experience, what connections can you make to the people of other cultures, times, and places?
Synthesizing:
- After reading, has the new information changed your thinking about the topic?
- How has your thinking changed after reading?
- Why are ________ important to us?
- What lesson did the character learn in the story?
- How are ____________ and ___________ alike? How are they different?
Inferring:
- How did the author show how the character was feeling?
- How would you feel if ___________ happened to you? How would you solve the problem?
- What caused the problem in the story?
- What was the big idea/theme of the story? How do they apply to our lives today?
- What caused the character to feel or act in a certain way?
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, fantasy, biography, memoirs, and other nonfiction texts)
- Could this story really happen? Why or why not?
- What descriptive language did the author use? How did this add to your enjoyment or understanding of the text?
- How did the author build interest and suspense throughout the story?
- What was the most important part of this story? Why?
Critiquing:
- What did you like/dislike about this book? (beginning, characters, ending)
- Is the title of this book a good one? Why or why not?
- How does the author help you learn about __________?
- How do graphics or illustrations add to the quality of the text or add valuable information?
- How do you know the author is qualified to write about this topic?