QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD ABOUT THEIR READING

Good to know: Many of us were taught to read in a way that was only comprehension based. Teaching today has evolved and teachers at all grade levels work to get students to talk and write more deeply about texts. There is a push to teach students to practice things that are transferable and don’t just apply to one book. Think about asking your child questions about their books that would apply to multiple books, not just the one book in front of them. 

• Fiction                                                 
  

• What seems most important from what you read? Why?
• What do you learn about the characters from this part?
• What kind of person is the character?
• What do you notice about the characters' relationships?

• Where does the story take place? What kind of place is it?
• Where are you at in the story and what do you predict will come next? Why?
• What themes or issues are you noticing?                                        
• How would you describe this genre? What do you know about it? 
• What is the story really about?
• Why did the author include this part?

• Nonfiction 
  

• What seems most important from what you read? Why?
• Teach what you just learned (without reading right from the page!) …
• What does the author want you to learn? How do you know?
• What is this part mostly about? How do you know? 
• What is the Main Idea of the text?
• What details support the MI?
• What does the word _____mean? How do you know? 
• How do the text features help you understand the information? 
• How is this text structured? How do you know?

• Prompts to Keep the Talk Going 
  

• Say more .. 
• What else … 
• To add on … 
• Keep going …
• Another thing is … 
• Could it be ..
• On the other hand … 
• Yes, and … 
• Maybe …