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?