Question
/ Answer
There are several strategies relating to questioning. After
all, asking good questions is the foundation of comprehension.
The following sites provide some background on questioning:
Open-Ended
Questions
Questioning
Strategies
QAR
– Question – Answer – Relationship (Raphael,
1984, 1986)
This strategy helps students develop independent questioning
techniques. Students are encouraged to find three types of questions
in their reading material. Two are text explicit: right there
(question and answer can be found in the same sentence) and
think and search (question and answer are in the text but not
in the same sentence). The third type of question is on my own,
which is experience-based. The answer is not in the text, but
in the experience the reader brings to the text. The following
web-site may be helpful with this strategy:
QAR
QAD
– Question - Answer - Detail
To use this strategy, students create a three column sheet.
Teachers can provide the questions for the first column, especially
when first using this strategy. Students find the answers and
write them in the middle column. The third column is for details
supporting the answer. This guides students to read for more
complete information. Other variations of this technique are:
QAE (question - answer - example) and QAP (question - answer
- picture). The main point is that the teacher determine the
purpose of the reading and then direct students’ questioning
to meet those needs.
SQ3R
SQ3R is a strategy that can be used to help students
get involved with text. It stands fro Survey, Question,
Read, Recite and Review.
In general:
Survey = Before reading, look over the material to be
read. Think about what you already know about the subject.
Look for areas of importance.
Question = Either use questions from the text (e.g., at
the end of the chapter) or turn headings into questions.
Questioning will make the reading more interesting and
helps create purpose for the reading.
Three R's:
Read actively = Read to answer the questions
Recite = Put it into your own words, take notes.
Review = Study the notes.
Web site: SQ3R
These handouts will help you share the strategy with your
students:
--
SQ3R: A Reading/Study
Strategy (Word document)
-- Apply SQ3R
(Word document)
-- SQ3R: A
Reading Strategy that Works! (Word document)
-- SQ3R A Reading
Comprehension Strategy
(Word document)
-- SQ3R (PowerPoint
presentation)
Graphic
Organizers
Ask someone what their favorite food is, and then
ask them how they thought of it. Did they see the food or
a word spelling the food? Most people see the food! Our
minds work visually. We take in the shape of a stop sign
and understand it no matter what word is written on the
sign. Graphic organizers take advantage of this tendency
of our minds to take in information visually. In general,
they organize written information in a graphical way. There
are many different types of organizers. They can be used
in a variety of ways. The following web sites offer more
explanations and examples of graphic organizers:
Basic
Graphic Organizers
Guidelines
for Creating Graphic Organizers
Index
of Graphic Organizers
Library
of Organizers
References
for Graphic Organizers
Sample
Graphic Organizers
Sample
Graphic Organizers 2
Charts
RAFT
RAFT stands for :
Role
- of the writer (e.g., eyewitness, victim, reporter)
Audience
- who will be reading this writing?
Format
- will this be a letter? An article? Poem?
Topic
- what is the subject?
Using
this strategy, students
write a response to the text using a different point of view
. This strategy encourages creative thinking and reading on
higher levels of understanding. Students read a selection and
then write a response from a unique role. For example, reading
a Supreme Court decision from several points of view and then
responding through an article or a letter or even a song would
require some creative thinking on the part of your students.
This web site will give more information:
RAFT
Things
We Know
This strategy involves students in groups. They divide
a sheet of paper into three columns: Things we know; things
we THINK we know and things we don't know. The teacher
gives them the topic to be studied. Then the students
go to work filling in the columns. Once they are finished,
the teacher may want to collate their work on the board.
This gives direction and purpose to the assigned reading.
Students may even read beyond the text to find information!
KWL
KWL stands for - "What I KNOW; What I
WANT to learn; What I LEARNED".
Students
create a three column sheet. The first column is "K," What I
Know. Students write, before reading, what they already know
about the topic in this column. In the middle column students
list what they want ot know about the topic. Sometimes teachers
can add to this list by supplying some questions or areas of
importance that students should want to learn about. The final
column is completed while students are reading or after they
have read the topic. It's
important to correct any misconceptions identified in the "Know"
column with their new learning.It
can then become a study guide for students. The following handout
may help you get started:
KWL
(Word document)
