Questions for Fiction
BEFORE. . . Read the title, book jacket, and flip through the text, then:
- Write what you know about this topic ~ the setting, the situations in pictures. . . .
- Make a prediction. What clues helped you? Read the first page. Do you need to revise your prediction?
- Write questions you have about this text.
- Do you think this story will be funny, sad, scary or something else? Why?
- Read the first page. Does the author make you want to keep reading? Do you think you will like this story? Why or why not?
- Do you think this story COULD happen in real life? Why or why not?
- Where does the story take place? What makes you think so?
- Who is the main character? What clues did you use?
- Do you have any connections ~ is the author, illustrator, or subject matter familiar to you?
DURING
- What questions do you have so far? Were previous questions answered?
- Describe in detail what you think the main character or setting looks like. (Visualizing) What adjectives and adverbs in the story helped you visualize?
- What connections are you making?
- Which words are you stuck on? Did you figure out their meanings? What are the meanings?
- What do you think will happen next? How do you think the story will end?
- Who is your favorite character so far and why?
- If a character is telling the story, who is it? Describe this character.
- Does the main character remind you of yourself? Compare and/or contrast.
- What are some clues of how the main character is feeling?
- What are some reasons that the main character does what he/she is doing?
- How does the story make you feel and why?
- What problem does the main character have? How do you predict he/she will solve it?
- Is the story what you thought it would be about? If not, what surprised you?
- Summarize what has happened so far.
- If you could talk to the main character, what would you say?
- Would you like to live in this place or time? Tell why or why not.
- What obstacles does the setting provide that the main character must overcome? Would this story work in another setting?
- Is there an antagonist (someone who provides an obstacle) to the main character? What details lead you to say this?
AFTER
- CHARACTER TRAITS: In a word, describe the main character. Support this one word using specific actions of the character from the story.
- Was the author trying to teach a lesson? If so, what was the lesson?
- Would you recommend this book to others and if so to who?
- What unanswered questions do you have?
- Tell what the problem was, and how the character solved his problem.
- If the story happened to you, how would you feel?
- Were you surprised at any parts? Which parts?
- What advice would you have given the main character?
- Which character did you like most and why?
- Which character was most like you? How?
- Describe how the character changed from beginning to end of the story.
- What was the climax of the story?
- Was this fiction or realistic fiction? How do you know?
- What connections did you make?
- Summarize the ending.
- What 5 questions would you ask the author? Pick one, and write how you think the author might answer it.
- What was the author’s message?
- How would the characters’ actions change if there was a different setting or time period?
- How would the solution change if it happened in a different setting or time period?
- Did the characters change during the story or stay the same?
- Describe 2 events that portray the character’s personality.
- What scene would make a good trailer for a movie? Would this book work well as a movie?
- If you eliminated one of the characters, how would the story change?
- If you were the main character, would you have done things differently? What? How? Why?
Questions for Nonfiction
BEFORE. . .
- How will the pictures and other visuals help you understand the text?
- What do you think you will learn about? (Look at cover, title, pictures and table of contents.)
- Do you now anything about this topic already? Write down what you know.
- Look for subtitles, bold words, pictures or graphics. What do these tell you?
- Write down questions you have about this topic that you hope to learn.
- Why would the author write this?
- Why did you choose this book to read?
- What do you visualize when you think about this topic?
- Do you think you will enjoy reading this? Why or why not?
- If you already know about this topic, where did you learn it?
- Do you have any connections with the topic?
DURING
- What words are you stuck on? How can you find out what they mean?
- How does the information relate to what you already know?
- Are you confused? How can you fix that?
- Have any of your questions been answered? What questions do you still have?
- Find two words that are key to the section you are reading now. Why are these words important?
- Write 3 important facts that you have learned so far.
- Explain what happened in the last paragraph you read.
- Describe what you visualized as you read.
- What has surprised you about this topic?
AFTER
- Was the author trying to persuade you or change your mind in this text? If so, how?
- Write what you have learned about this topic.
- What was the most important thing you learned and why? What was the most interesting thing you learned and why?
- Did you change your mind about anything after reading this text?
- Did what you read make you think of something else you already know about?
- How do you know this is nonfiction? What words let you know?
- Why did the author write this?
- Do you think other people should read this? Why or why not?
- What questions do you still have?
- How can you use the information that you have learned?
- Does this book make you want to learn more about this topic? Why or why not?
- How did you read this book differently than a fiction book?
- Describe some professions related to this topic. What kinds of work do these people do?
- What cause/effect relationships did you learn about?
- Do you think bias exists in this book/article?
Discussion Questions for Fiction
What was unique about the setting of the book and how did it make the story better?
Would you like living in this time period? Why or why not?
What do you think happened the next day?
What specific themes did the author emphasize throughout the novel?
What do you think the author wants you to know?
What are the major conflicts in the story?
Who are the important characters in the book?
Do the characters seem real and believable? Can you relate to them?
How do characters change throughout the story?
What made the characters change?
How would you react if you were in the same situation?
Have any of the events in this book ever happened to you? How did you
resolve the situations?
What would happen if the character came to your house? How would you spend the day?
If the author were to write a sequel to this book, what do you think would
happen to the characters?
Discussion Questions for Nonfiction
What did you find surprising about the facts introduced in this book?
How has reading this book changed your opinion of a certain person or topic?
Does the author present information in a way that is interesting?
If the author is writing on a debatable issue, do you agree with him? Did your opinion change because of the book?
How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter?