Austin ISD



3rd Grade Discussion Questions

to Support Reading Comprehension

1st 9 Weeks 2015-2016

Please note: This is a sampling of questions from which teachers may choose to stimulate students’ thinking during read alouds, shared reading, guided reading groups, or as journal responses to independent reading. Teachers should choose only 2-3 questions per lesson that are relevant to the text and the comprehension skills being studied. Always ask students to explain their thinking using evidence from the text.

Literary / Fiction:

Setting

• Where and when does the story take place?

• Is the place or time period important to the story? How?

• What words did the author use to describe the place or time?

• What can you hear, see, feel, or smell as you read?

Characters

• Who is the most important character? Why?

• Which character taught you the most?

• How did the main character change?

• How do the characters feel about each other? How do they interact with each other? What evidence from the text proves your ideas?

• What choices did the character(s) have?

• How did the character resolve his/her problem?

Plot

• What was the most important part of the story?

• What challenges do the characters encounter and how do they deal with them?

• How did event A influence event B (and event C)?

• How do the character’s actions affect other people in the story?

• How does the author feel about what is happening in the story? How do you know? Use text evidence to support your thinking.

• What are the important events in the story?

• What is the story problem? How do you think it will be solved?

• What previous events in the story directly influenced the resolution?

• What two or three sentences summarize the whole story?

Theme

• What is the author’s message?

• Why did the author write this story?

• What is the story really about?

• What events in the story best demonstrate the author’s message?

• Do you think the title is appropriate for the story?

• What lessons did the character(s) learn?

• What does the story mean to you?

Fables, Myths, Legends, Folktales:

• What are the unique features of this genre? (fable vs. myth vs. legend)

• What are some other stories in this genre that we have read this year?

• How does the setting of this story compare to the setting of another (fable, myth, or legend) we have read?

• Why is the setting important to this story?

• How would the story be different in another time or place?

• How do characters typically act in this genre? Do the characters in the story we read act in a similar way?

Summary

• Who are the main characters?

• What is the story problem?

• What challenges do the characters encounter and how do they

deal with them?

• What choices did the character(s) have?

• How did the character resolve his problem?

• What are the important events in the story?

• What lesson did the character(s) learn in this story?

• What two or three sentences summarize the whole story?

Theme

• What is the writer really trying to tell us?

• What is the author’s message or theme? What evidence in the text makes you think this?

• In this book, what might the author be trying to help us know?

• What is the story really about? What parts of the text lead you to this conclusion?

• The characters reveal the theme or message of the story by _____.

Making Connections Between Texts

• What other stories does this selection remind you of? In what ways are the two stories similar or different?

• Do the characters in this story remind you of other characters you have read about? How do the characters compare?

• What is the theme of this story? Can you think of other stories that have a similar theme?

Historical Fiction:

• This selection tells about what part of history?

• What evidence do you find that shows this historical period?

• Who are the main characters and how do they feel about each other?

• What are the main events of this story?

• What parts of the story are real, from history, and which parts do you think are made up?

• Why is the setting, time and place, important in this story?

• How does the setting affect the characters’ actions?

• How would the story be different in a different time and place?

Context Clues

• What information on this page helps us to understand the meaning of the word ___?

• What does ___ mean? How do you know?

• Are there other words on this page that give us clues to the meaning of the word ___?

• What can we do when we don’t know the meaning of a word?

Inference

• Based on what the author has already said, what can the reader tell about ____________?

• Does the author tell us why ________ happened? What can you infer about the reason or cause of ________?

• Given what the author has already told us, what do you predict will probably happen in the future?

• What might the author be trying to tell us that he/she does not directly say?

• What do you think (a character) means when he/she says …?

• What was the clue in the text that helped you to figure that out?

• What part of the author’s message has been left unsaid?

Drama:

• How does the plot unfold?

• Are certain happenings/events recurrent? Tell me about them. Why do you think author did this?

• What kinds of conflicts are in the play?

• How does the author develop the characters?

• How do the author’s stage directions add to your understanding and appreciation of the play?

• What are some interesting words, phrases, or sentences in the dialogue?

• What are some of the strongest words in the dialogue?

• What lesson does this play teach us about life?

• What are the most important events in the play or drama?

• Do any of the characters remind you of someone you know? In what way(s)?

Poetry:

• What are the characteristics of this poem? How would you categorize it?

• What is the main message in the poem? What makes you think that?

• Why does the poet include this line ___?

• The author of the poem included __ most likely to__?

• Why were lines __ through __ included in the poem?

• To what is the author referring when he says ____ in line ___?

• What do you visualize when reading this part of the poem? What words create this image in your mind?

• What examples of sensory language do you find in this poem?

• Which word best describes the feeling that the poet creates in this poem?

• What is the speaker doing (thinking) in the poem?

• Why do you think the poet titled the poem __?

3rd Grade Discussion Questions

to Support Reading Comprehension

2nd 9 Weeks 2015-2016

Please note: This is a sampling of questions from which teachers may choose to stimulate students’ thinking during read alouds, shared reading, guided reading groups, or as journal responses to independent reading. Teachers should choose only 2-3 questions per lesson that are relevant to the text and the comprehension skills being studied. Always ask students to explain their thinking using evidence from the text.

Informational / Expository:

• What do you already know about this topic? (before reading)

• What is the main topic of this selection? Why is this topic important (socially, scientifically, and practically)?

• What are some of the most important words related to the topic and what do they mean? (topic, words in context)

• What questions come to mind about ___?

• What are the most important ideas related to this topic?

• What part of the topic has the author chosen to present in the selection?

• Where in the text can you find information or facts about ___?

• What is this paragraph mostly (mainly) about?

• What details support this main idea?

• What events caused other events to happen in the text?

• How is the text organized? (chronologically, compare/contrast, main idea/details, problem/solution, cause/effect)

• What ideas does the author keep returning to or supporting in the text?

• How do these ideas help me summarize the information in the text?

Text Features

• What does the title tell you about this text?

• How do the headings and subheadings help you find

information in the text?

• What information is provided through illustrations

(drawings, diagrams, maps, charts, etc.?)

• How does each text feature help you locate information

in the text?

• Does the text have reference aides such as a table of

contents, index, bibliography, glossary, and appendices?

• Are the illustrations explained by labels, legends, and

captions when needed?

• What information in the text is supported by this particular

text feature?

Procedural Texts (including graphic features of texts):

• What is the topic of this selection?

• What are the ways the author presents and organizes information on this topic?

• What was the author’s purpose in writing this text?

• What graphic features were used to convey the author’s message?

• What was the purpose of the graphic feature used?

• How does this graphic feature help the reader better understand the procedure?

• What do the arrows show in this graphic? (if applicable)

• Where do we commonly find procedural texts?

Meaning of Words using Prefixes and Suffixes

• What does the prefix/suffix _____ mean in the word ______?

• How does the prefix/suffix _____ change the meaning of the word _____?

• How does the prefix/suffix _____ help you better understand what the word _____ means in this selection?

• What other contextual clues around the word _____ help you understand its meaning in this

selection?

Cause and Effect in Procedural Texts:

• Why did the author include this part of the text? (extra information or note of caution)

• What would happen if the reader skipped this step? How would the result change?

• Why is it important to do step 3 before step 4?

• What causes ____ in this procedure?

Literary Nonfiction/Biography:

• Is this a biography or an autobiography? How do you know?

• How is this text organized?

• What do we learn about ____ in this part of the text?

• What do learn about ____ from the photographs in this

selection?

• What kind of person is/was ___?

• How did this person’s early life influence his/her life as

an adult?

• Who was an important person to influence ____’s life?

Why was this person important?

• What are the important events in the subject’s life?

• What were the challenges faced by the person?

• What were the important actions the person took?

Inference

• Why did the author think this person was important?

• What is important to remember about this person?

• What lessons can we learn from this person’s life?

• How did this person make a difference in the world?

Word Meaning

• What does the word ___ mean in paragraph __? What clues are presented in the text to help you understand the meaning of the word?

• Look at the dictionary entries for the word ___. Which of the definitions matches the meaning of how the word is used in paragraph ___?

Summary

• Who are the main characters in this biography?

• What challenges did the main character encounter and how did he/she deal with them?

• What choices did the character have?

• How did the character resolve his/her problem?

• What was the most important part of the story?

• What are the important events in the biography?

• What two or three sentences summarize the whole biography?

Persuasive Texts:

• How is the text organized?

• What was the author’s purpose in writing this text?

• What text features are highlighted in the persuasive text?

• How are persuasive texts different from informational texts?

• What stance is the author taking about the topic?

• What language does the author use to convince or persuade us about his/her idea?

• What examples from the text show the author’s stance or viewpoint on the topic of the text?

• How does the author support his facts and opinions?

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3rd Grade Discussion Questions

to Support Reading Comprehension

3rd 9 Weeks 2015-2016

Please note: This is a sampling of questions from which teachers may choose to stimulate students’ thinking during read alouds, shared reading, guided reading groups, or as journal responses to independent reading. Teachers should choose only 2-3 questions per lesson that are relevant to the text and the comprehension skills being studied. Always ask students to explain their thinking using evidence from the text.

Drama:

• What are the main events in this play?

• How can the reader tell in what sequence or order these events are happening?

• What problem and solution do you hear in this play?

• Which characters have the most important relationship in this play?

• Describe that relationship. Why is it important?

• Does the relationship between characters change during this play?

In what ways does it change?

• What cause and effect relationships do you notice in this play?

• What is the main theme or message in this play?

• How do stage directions help the reader to understand this play?

• What is the narrator’s role in this play?

• How do we know what the characters are feeling in this play?

Prefixes and Suffixes

• What does the prefix/suffix _____ mean in the word ______?

• How does the prefix/suffix _____ change the meaning of the word _____?

• How does the prefix/suffix _____ help you better understand what the word _____ means in this selection?

• What other contextual clues around the word _____ help you understand its meaning in this

selection?

Fables, Myths, Legends, Folktales:

• What are the unique features of this genre? (fable vs. myth vs. legend)

• What are some other stories in this genre that we have read this year?

• How does the setting of this story compare to the setting of another (fable, myth, or legend) we have read?

• Why is the setting important to this story?

• How would the story be different in another time or place?

• How do characters typically act in this genre? Do the characters in the story we read act in a similar way?

Summary

• Who are the main characters?

• What is the story problem?

• What challenges do the characters encounter and how do they deal with them?

• What choices did the character(s) have?

• How did the character resolve his problem?

• What are the important events in the story?

• What lesson did the character(s) learn in this story?

• What two or three sentences summarize the whole story?

Theme

• What is the writer really trying to tell us?

• What is the author’s message or theme? What evidence in the text makes you think this?

• In this book, what might the author be trying to help us know?

• What is the story really about? What parts of the text lead you to this conclusion?

• The characters reveal the theme or message of the story by _____.

Historical Fiction:

• This selection tells about what part of history?

• What evidence do you find that shows this historical period?

• Who are the main characters and how do they feel about each other?

• What are the main events of this story?

• What parts of the story are real, from history, and which parts do

you think are made up?

• Why is the setting, time and place, important in this story?

• How does the setting affect the characters’ actions?

• How would the story be different in a different time and place?

Context Clues

• What information on this page helps us to understand the meaning of the word ___?

• What does ___ mean? How do you know?

• Are there other words on this page that give us clues to the meaning of the word ___?

• What can we do when we don’t know the meaning of a word?

Inference

• Based on what the author has already said, what can the reader tell about ____________?

• Does the author tell us why ________ happened? What can you infer about the reason or cause of ________?

• Given what the author has already told us, what do you predict will probably happen in the future?

• What might the author be trying to tell us that he/she does not directly say?

• What do you think (a character) means when he/she says …?

• What was the clue in the text that helped you to figure that out?

• What part of the author’s message has been left unsaid?

Historical Informational:

• What do you already know about this topic? (before reading)

• What is the main topic of this selection? Why is this topic important (socially, scientifically, and practically)?

• What are some of the most important words related to the topic and what do they mean?

• What part of the topic has the author chosen to present in the selection?

• Where in the text can you find information or facts about ___?

Summary

• What is this selection mostly (mainly) about?

• What details support this main idea?

• What events caused other events to happen in the text?

• How is the text organized? (chronologically, compare/contrast, main idea/details, problem/solution, cause/effect)

• What ideas does the author keep returning to or supporting in the text?

• How can you summarize this text using the most important information?

Author’s Purpose

• Why do you think the author wrote this article?

• What was the author’s purpose in writing this text?

• What message does the author want us to know?

• What does the author want us to think about in this article? What in the article makes you think that?

Media Literacy

• What images or graphics does the author use to communicate his/her message?

• Through what other types of media (e-mail, website, video game, video ad, billboard) could the author communicate his/her message? Would these types of media be more or less effective in communicating the message?

Making Connections Between Texts

• What do you already know about this topic?

• What connections do you have to this topic? What does this

article remind you of that has happened in your life or to

someone you know?

• Does this article remind you of any other stories or articles

you have read? How is this article the same or different from

the other story or article?

• What is a major idea found in both selections?

• The story and the article both present ideas about _____

• What is a common theme in both selections?

Poetry:

• What are the characteristics of this poem? How would you categorize it?

• Which word best describes the feeling that the poet creates in this poem?

• What is the speaker doing (thinking) in the poem?

• Why do you think the poet titled the poem __?

• What does the poet want us to think about when we read this poem?

Theme

• What is the main message in the poem? What makes you think that?

• What lines in the poem best demonstrate the author’s message or theme?

• What does the poem mean to you?

Inference

• What might the poet be trying to tell us that he/she does not directly say?

• What does the poet mean when he/she says …?

• Why were lines __ through __ included in the poem?

• How does the author let us know…(something that is not specifically stated)?

• What do you know from your experiences about this topic? What inferences can we make about it?

Sensory Language

• What do you visualize when reading this part of the poem?

What words create this image in your mind?

• What words in the poem describe what you might see, hear,

smell, taste, or feel?

• What words describe the way something looks or sounds?

• What examples of sensory language do you find in this poem?

Informational:

Main Idea and Details

• What is the main topic of the book or article?

• What are the most important ideas related to the topic?

• How is the text organized? (chronologically, compare/contrast, main idea/details, problem/solution,cause/effect)

• What are the big ideas the author wants us to know about this topic?

• What details does the author provide to support this main idea?

Draw Conclusions

• Why do you think… (a person) did… (something specific in the selection)? What clues in the selection lead you to think this?

• Why do you think the author says… (something specific in the article)? What does this tell you about this person?

• What clues in the selection help us draw conclusions, or make judgments, about… (a person or event)?

• How do you think the author feels about…(something specific in the story)? What clues lead you to think this?

Cause and Effect

• What caused… (something specific that occurred in the text)?

• What happened as a result of… (something specific that occurred in the text)?

• What reasons does the author give to explain why… (something happened)?

• What effect did … have on …?

Author’s Purpose

• What was the author’s purpose in writing this text?

• What message does the author want us to know?

• What does the author want us to think about in this article? What in the article makes you think that?

Fiction:

Prefixes and Suffixes

• What does the prefix/suffix _____ mean in the word ______?

• How does the prefix/suffix _____ change the meaning of the word _____?

• How does the prefix/suffix _____ help you better understand what the word _____ means in this selection?

• What other contextual clues around the word _____ help you understand its meaning in this

selection?

Theme

• What is the writer really trying to tell us?

• What is the author’s message or theme? What evidence in the text makes you think this?

• In this book, what might the author be trying to help us know?

• What is the story really about? What parts of the text lead you to this conclusion?

• The characters reveal the theme or message of the story by _____.

Making Connections Between Texts

• What other stories does this selection remind you of? In what ways are the two stories similar or different?

• Do the characters in this story remind you of other characters you have read about? How do the characters compare?

• What is the theme of this story? Can you think of other stories that have a similar theme?

Sensory Language

• What do you visualize when reading this part of the story? What words create this image in your mind?

• What words in the story describe what you might see, hear, smell, taste, or feel?

• What words describe the way something looks or sounds?

• What examples of sensory language do you find in this story?

Literary Nonfiction / Biography:

• Is this a biography or an autobiography? How do you know?

• How is this text organized?

• What do learn about ____ from the photographs in this selection?

• How did this person’s early life influence his/her life as an adult?

• Who was an important person to influence ____’s life? Why was this person important?

• What were the challenges faced by the person?

• What were the important actions the person took?

Summary

• Who are the main people in this biography?

• What challenges did ___ encounter and how

did he/she deal with them?

• What choices did the person have?

• How did ___ resolve his/her problem?

• What was the most important part of the story?

• What are the important events in the biography?

• What are the important events in the subject’s life?

• What two or three sentences summarize the

whole biography?

Inference

• Why did the author think this person was

important?

• What is important to remember about this person?

• What lessons can we learn from this person’s life?

• How did this person make a difference in the world?

• What kind of person is/was ___?

Media Literacy

• What images or graphics does the author use to communicate his/her message?

• What do we learn from these images or graphics that is not explained in the text?

• Through what other types of media (e-mail, website, video game, video ad, billboard) could the author communicate his/her message? Would these types of media be more or less effective in communicating the message?

Main Idea and Details

• What is the main topic of the book or article?

• What are the most important ideas related to the topic?

• How is the text organized? (chronologically,

compare/contrast, main idea/details, problem/solution,

cause/effect)

• What are the big ideas the author wants us to know

about this topic?

• What details does the author provide to support this

main idea?

• What do we learn about ____ in this part of the text?

Draw Conclusions

• Why do you think… (a person) did… (something specific in the selection)? What clues in the selection lead you to think this?

• Why do you think the author says… (something specific in the article)? What does this tell you about this person?

• What clues in the selection help us draw conclusions, or make judgments, about… (a person or event)?

• How do you think the author feels about…(something specific in the story)? What clues lead you to think this?

Making Connections

• What other stories does this selection remind you of? In what ways are the two stories similar or different?

• Do the characters in this story remind you of other characters you have read about? How do the characters compare?

• What is the theme of this story? Can you think of other stories that have a similar theme?

3rd Grade Discussion Questions

to Support Reading Comprehension

4th 9 Weeks 2015-2016

Please note: This is a sampling of questions from which teachers may choose to stimulate students’ thinking during read alouds, shared reading, guided reading groups, or as journal responses to independent reading. Teachers should choose only 2-3 questions per lesson that are relevant to the text and the comprehension skills being studied. Always ask students to explain their thinking using evidence from the text.

Informational Texts:

• In what ways is informational text different from literary text?

• What are the most important ideas related to this topic?

• What part of the topic has the author chosen to present in the selection?

• Where in the text can you find information or facts about ___?

• How is the text organized? (chronologically, compare/contrast, main idea/details, problem/solution, cause/effect)

Author’s Purpose

• What was the author’s purpose in writing this text?

• What message does the author want us to know?

• What does the author want us to think about in this article? What in the article makes you think that?

Informational Summary

• What is this selection mostly (mainly) about?

• What important details support this main idea?

• What events caused other events to happen in the text?

• How is the text organized? (chronologically, compare/contrast, main idea/details, problem/solution, cause/effect)

• What ideas does the author keep returning to or supporting in the text?

• How can you summarize this text using the most important information?

Poetry:

• What are the characteristics of this poem? How would you categorize it?

• What is the main message in the poem? What makes you think that?

• Why does the poet include this line ___?

• The author of the poem included __ most likely to__?

• Why were lines __ through __ included in the poem?

• To what is the author referring when he says ____ in line ___?

• Which word best describes the feeling that the poet creates in this poem?

• What is the speaker doing (thinking) in the poem?

• Why do you think the poet titled the poem __?

• What does the poet want us to think about when we read this poem?

Sensory Language

• What do you visualize when reading this part of the poem? What words create this image in your mind?

• What words in the poem describe what you might see, hear, smell, taste, or feel?

• What words describe the way something looks or sounds?

• What examples of sensory language do you find in this poem?

Theme

• What is the main message in the poem? What makes you think that?

• What lines in the poem best demonstrate the author’s message or theme?

• What does the poem mean to you?

Folktales:

• What are the unique features of this genre? (fable vs. myth vs. legend)

• What are some other stories in this genre that we have read this year?

• How does the setting of this story compare to the setting of another (fable, myth, or legend) we have read?

• Why is the setting important to this story?

• How would the story be different in another time or place?

• How do characters typically act in this genre? Do the characters in the story we read act in a similar way?

Context Clues

• What information on this page helps us to understand the meaning of the word ___?

• What does ___ mean? How do you know?

• Are there other words on this page that give us clues to the meaning of the word ___?

• What can we do when we don’t know the meaning of a word?

Theme

• What is the writer really trying to tell us?

• What is the author’s message or theme? What evidence in the text makes you think this?

• In this book, what might the author be trying to help us know?

• What is the story really about? What parts of the text lead you to this conclusion?

• The characters reveal the theme or message of the story by _____.

Procedural:

• What was the author’s purpose in writing this text?

• What graphic features were used to convey the author’s message?

• What was the purpose of the graphic feature used?

• Where do we commonly find procedural texts?

Cause and Effect in Procedural Texts

• Why did the author include this part of the text? (extra information or note of caution)

• What would happen if the reader skipped this step? How would the result change?

• Why is it important to do step 3 before step 4?

• What causes ____ in this procedure?

Graphic Features

• What does the image (in a procedural text) show?

• Why did the author include this image?

• How does this graphic feature help the reader better understand the procedure?

• What do the arrows show in this graphic? (if applicable)

Drama:

• What are the main events in this play?

• How can the reader tell in what sequence or order these events are happening?

• What problem and solution do you hear in this play?

• Which characters have the most important relationship in this play? Describe that relationship.

• Why is it important?

• Does the relationship between characters change during this play? In what ways does it change?

• What cause and effect relationships do you notice in this play?

• What is the main theme or message in this play?

• How do stage directions help the reader to understand this play?

• What is the narrator’s role in this play?

• How do we know what the characters are feeling in this play?

Context Clues

• What information on this page helps us to understand the meaning of the word ___?

• What does ___ mean? How do you know?

• Are there other words on this page that give us clues to the meaning of the word ___?

• What can we do when we don’t know the meaning of a word?

Theme

• What is the writer really trying to tell us?

• What is the author’s message or theme? What evidence in the text makes you think this?

• In this play, what might the author be trying to help us know?

• What is the story really about? What parts of the text lead you to this conclusion?

• The characters reveal the theme or message of the story by _____.

Making Connections (Literary):

• Where and when does the story take place?

• Is the place or time period important to the story? How?

• Who is the most important character? Why?

• How did the main character change?

• How do the characters feel about each other? How do they interact with each other? What evidence from the text proves your ideas?

• What challenges do the characters encounter and how do they deal with them?

• How do the character’s actions affect other people in the story?

• What are the important events in the story?

• What is the story problem? How do think it will be solved?

• What previous events in the story directly influenced the resolution?

Interactions of Characters

• Who is the most important character? Why?

• Which character taught you the most?

• How did the main character change?

• How do the characters feel about each other? How do they interact with each other? What evidence from the text proves your ideas?

• What challenges do the characters encounter and how do they deal with them?

• How do the character’s actions affect other people in the story?

• How did the character resolve his/her problem?

Prefixes and Suffixes

• What does the prefix/suffix _____ mean in the word ______?

• How does the prefix/suffix _____ change the meaning of the word _____?

• How does the prefix/suffix _____ help you better understand what the word _____ means in this selection?

• What other contextual clues around the word _____ help you understand its meaning in this selection?

Antonyms, Synonyms, Homographs, Homophones

• What word(s) in the text has a similar meaning?

• What word(s) in the text has the opposite meaning?

• Can you think of a word that could be used in the place of this word (because it has a similar

• meaning)?

• Does this word have a different meaning when it is used in a different context? (homograph)

• How do you know the correct meaning?

• Can this word be spelled in a different way and have another meaning? (homophone) How do you know the correct meaning?

Point of View

• Who is telling this story? From what point of view is this story being told?

• What kind of information is the reader learning because the story is told from this point of view?

• How would the story be different if it was told by a narrator? Or by one of the characters? By a different (minor) character?

Cause and Effect

• What caused… (something specific that occurred in the text)?

• What happened as a result of… (something specific that occurred in the text)?

• What reasons does the author give to explain why… (something happened)?

• What effect did ___ have on ___?

Author’s Purpose

• What was the author’s purpose in writing this text?

• What message does the author want us to know?

• What does the author want us to think about in this story? What in the story makes you think that?

Making Connections (Informational):

• In what ways is informational text different from literary text?

• What is the purpose of the text?

• What message is the author trying to get across by presenting this information to the reader?

• What are the most important ideas related to this topic?

• What part of the topic has the author chosen to present in the selection?

• Where in the text can you find information or facts about ___?

• How is the text organized? (chronologically, compare/contrast, main idea/details, problem/solution, cause/effect)

Informational Summary

• What is this selection mostly (mainly) about?

• What important details support this main idea?

• What events caused other events to happen in the text?

• How is the text organized? (chronologically, compare/contrast, main idea/details, problem/solution, cause/effect)

• What ideas does the author keep returning to or supporting in the text?

• How can you summarize this text using the most important information?

Main Idea and Details

• What is the main topic of the book or article?

• What are the most important ideas related to the topic?

• How is the text organized? (chronologically, compare/contrast, main idea/details, problem/solution, cause/effect)

• What are the big ideas the author wants us to know about this topic?

• What details does the author provide to support this main idea?

• What do we learn about ____ in this part of the text?

Text Features

• What does the title tell you about this text?

• How do the headings and subheadings help you find information in the text?

• What information is provided through illustrations (drawings, diagrams, maps, charts, etc.?)

• How does each text feature help you locate information in the text?

• Does the text have reference aides such as a table of contents, index, bibliography, glossary, and appendices?

• Are the illustrations explained by labels, legends, and captions when needed?

• What information in the text is supported by this particular text feature?

• How do the text features help you understand the author’s message? Which features help the most?

Inference

• Based on what the author has already said, what can the reader tell about ____________?

• Does the author tell us why ________ happened? What can you infer about the reason or cause of ________?

• Given what the author has already told us, what do you predict will probably happen in the future?

• What might the author be trying to tell us that he/she does not directly say?

• What do you think the author means when he/she says …?

• What was the clue in the text that helped you to figure that out?

• How does the author let us know ___ (something that is not specifically stated)?

• What do you know from your experiences about this topic? What inferences can we make about it?

Making Connections Between Texts

• What do you already know about this topic?

• What connections do you have to this topic? What does this article remind you of that has happened in your life or to someone you know?

• Does this article remind you of any other stories or articles you have read? How is this article the same or different from the other story or article?

• What is a major idea found in both selections?

• The story and the article both present ideas about _____

• What is a common theme in both selections?

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