Good readers do more than say the words on a page. They stop and wonder about who is in the story, what is happening, where it takes place, when events happen, and why characters make choices. Asking questions helps young readers pay attention and feel curious.
It also helps parents and teachers see what a child understands.
Key Facts
- Ask questions before reading to make predictions about the story.
- Ask questions during reading to check if the story still makes sense.
- Ask questions after reading to remember key events and ideas.
- Who, what, where, when, and why questions help readers find important details.
- Question + Evidence = Better Understanding.
- Good readers look back in the book to find answers.
Vocabulary
- Question
- A question is something you ask when you want to learn, check, or understand an idea.
- Prediction
- A prediction is a smart guess about what might happen next in a story.
- Evidence
- Evidence is a word, picture, or detail in the book that helps prove an answer.
- Character
- A character is a person, animal, or creature in a story.
- Setting
- The setting is where and when a story happens.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Only asking questions after the story is over is a mistake because questions before and during reading help you understand the story as it happens.
- Guessing without looking back in the book is a mistake because strong answers should use clues from the words or pictures.
- Asking only easy yes or no questions is a mistake because who, what, where, when, and why questions help you think more deeply.
- Ignoring confusing parts is a mistake because stopping to ask a question can help you fix your understanding.
Practice Questions
- 1 Before reading a new story, write 3 questions you have by using who, what, or where.
- 2 While reading 4 pages of a story, write 2 questions and then write the page number where you find each answer.
- 3 After reading a story, choose one character choice and explain one why question you could ask about it, then describe what clue in the book might help answer it.