Questioning Strategies to Deepen

Comprehension

Presented By Angela Maiers, 2008

Agenda

I. Curiosity IS the Teaching Point

II. Anchor Lesson Review

III. Carrying on the Conversation

What is the best way to TEACH reading?

What kind of readers do we want our TEACHING to

develop?

oPassionate

oCurious

oInquisitive

oStrategic

oConfident

oFlexible

oEfficient

oEnduring

oOpen Minded

oThoughtful

•Teach

•Text

•Tasks

•Talk

•Time

• Mini Lesson( 10-15 min)

• Reading Application

• Sharing

“Private Practice” Conferencing

“Small Group” Guidance

Curious Minds=Successful Minds

An answer is an initiation to stop thinking about something to stop

wondering. Life has no such stopping places. Life is a process whose every event is connected to the moment that just went by.

An unanswered question is a fine traveling companion. It

sharpens your eye for the road.Riemann, 2003

STEP ONE: VALUE CURIOSITY

What Do Students Think?!?

Misconceptions TruthsQuestions are done TO

readers

Questions are asked by

someone else (teacher)

Occur at the END of

reading

Used for assessment

purposes

Have a “right’ answer

Good readers spontaneously,

purposefully ask questions before,

during and after text

Good readers know asking questions

will deepen their understanding

Good readers have the knowledge

and ability to ask many different kinds

of questions to open meaning

Good readers use questions for many

different purposes.

Good readers understand some

answers are found in the text and

others they will need to infer

Language of Questioning

• I wonder?

• Why?

• What does this mean?

• Your question made me think of..?

• How come…?

• Why is it that…?

• How is ______ like_________?

• What would happen if?

Proficient readers question to…

Questioning…

Actively asking yourself questions, searching

for answers before, during, and after reading.

I’m wondering…

I’m asking myself…

I am thinking and I wonder if…

©Maiers2007

Question

Vs.

Statement

What makes a good question a “GOOD”

question?

A “GOOD” Question…

• Makes you think

• Can have more than one answer

• Makes you reread to make sure

• Can be asked in different ways

• Can’t be answered just in the book

• Makes you think about your life

• Makes you want to read and know more

• Makes you smarter!!!!

A “GOOD” question…• Makes you think hard • Can have more than one answer• Makes you reread the book• Can be asked in many different ways• Can not be answered just by using the book• Will need you to use your experiences and life• Makes you think about other books you’ve read before• Is not simple or quick; it is not just a one word answer• Makes you want to talk about it to see what they think

“Good” Questions…• Make you explain with more than one word• Help you think deeper about the text • Promote discussion and sharing of others opinions• Are not answered quick• Can be asked in different ways• Are like a good workout-they are hard, but make you feel

great after you answer them• Make you go “Hmmmmmm…”• Make you want to talk to someone• Go way beyond the book• Require you to think about the world and your life• Are very personal• The answer is flexible and can change when you discuss it• Make you think about other books you have read-help you to

compare what you learned from other places• FEEL GOOD!!!!

Before and After Q?

Before I Read During My Reading After Reading

REFLECTIONS:

Much of what we know about intelligence and achievement show that the power of what individuals know depends in very large part not on the information they

control but on the SCOPE and ORIGINALITY of the questions they ask.

-Pat Wolfe, 2002-

DEVELOPING QUESTIONING POWER

Question Typology

• Essential Questions • Elaborating Questions• Clarification Questions• Hypothetical Questions• Strategic Questions• Probing Questions• Planning Questions • Unanswerable Questions • Provocative Questions

Genius QuestionsWhat if…? Is ______ the reason for…?I wonder why…? Can…?If…? Would you rather…?What is it that…? What would it take to…?When is it…? Why is it that…?Who could…? Would ______ be possible if…?How is ____ like _____? Is it possible to…?When is…? Could…?What could happen if…? How can…?If it were possible…? What is your opinion about…?Are there…? Is it right to…?Why is…? I wonder when…?How…? I’m wondering if…?Where did…? How could it…?Do you…? Why are…?Does it matter if…? If I ______, could_____?When is it …? What can…?

Expect Expert Questions

Before I Read During My Reading After Reading

REFLECTIONS:

• Mini Lesson( 10-15 min)

• Reading Application

• Sharing

“Private Practice” Conferencing

“Small Group” Guidance

Proficient Readers ask questions to…

• Clarify meaning

• Speculate about text not read

• Determine an authors style, intent, purpose

• Locate specific information

• Focus attention

• Stay engaged in text

• Deepen their understanding to content

• Make meaningful connections

Question Homework☼ Find the most interesting question left unanswered by the reading.

☼ Identify the question the author was trying to answer.

☼ Write a question that will demand at least 10 minutes of thought to answer.

☼ Ask a question that is the “child” of a bigger question that can be identified.

☼ Identify the most/least important question and why.

☼ Write down three questions that bothered or stimulated you during the assignment?

☼ Write three hypothetical (compare, inferential,…) questions.

Question Books What If?- Mind-Boggling Science Questions for Kids by R. Ehrlich

Asking and Answering Questions by William Cashin

Life-Changing Questions by Oprah

The Flying Circus of Physics by Jean Walker

Jr. Skeptic #5: Urban Legends

Ripley’s Believe It or Not?

Histories Mysteries

Secrets that Grown-Ups Tell

Assess and Conference

• Did you have a question before you started to read this text?• How is asking questions working for you ?• How do you plan to keep track of your questions?• How does that question affect you understanding of the text?• When you read____. What question came to mind?• What questions do you now have after rereading the text?• Do you notice yourself asking questions when your reading

does not make sense?• How did questions help you to figure out meaning?• Do you have questions that you expect the author to answer?• If the author were here, what would you ask him/her?• What will you do with the questions you still have left after

reading? • As I listen to your questions, I notice…

Research Based Instructional Strategies

QUESIONING THE AUTHOR (Isabel Beck)

Q/A RELATIONSHIP (Taffy Raphael)

SOCRATIC QUESTIONING

REQUEST (Manslow)

OTHERS?

Questioning the AuthorWhy do people always expect authors to answer questions. I am an author

because I want to ask questions. If I had answers, I’d be a politician! -Eugene Ionic-

• What do you think the author is trying to accomplish here?• Why did the author write_________?• If you could ask the author on question, what would it be?• Do you agree with the author’s main point?• How does the author feel about…?• What do you think is the question the text is trying to

answer?• How does this information relate to what you know?• Do you detect bias in any part of the text?• What was intended by…?• Is the author credible?• How do you know?• What experiences do you think the author had in order to be

qualified to write this piece?

Questioning the Author

• What is the author trying to tell you?

• Why is the author telling you that?

• Is it said clearly?

• How might the author have written it more clearly?

• What would you have wanted to say instead?

QAR

IN THE BOOK

IN MY

HEAD

RIGHTTHERE

THINKand

SEARCH

AUTHORAndME

ONMYOWN

Strategies: Question-Answer Relationships

Question Code Answer

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

•I ask questions before, during and after I read.

•I question the text while I read.

•I question the writer of the text while I read.

•I ask questions about myself while I read.

•I ask questions that make me think deeper about the story or topic I am reading.

•I recognize that the questions I asked may be answered in a variety of ways.

Final Thought:

Once you have learned how to ask relevant and appropriate

questions, you have learned how to learn and no one can keep you from learning whatever you want

or need to know.Neil Postman

Teaching as a Subversive Activity

Wonder Boxes To awaken, applaud, and operationalize the curiosity and

inquiry skills of children from the earliest grades and onward.

Debbie Miller

Reading for Meaning