Questions Before, During, and After Reading

 

What Is It?

To aid their comprehension, skillful readers ask themselves questions before, during, and after they read. Why Is It Important?

 

Researchers have also found that when adult readers are asked to " think aloud " as they read, they employ a wide variety of comprehension strategies, including asking and answering questions before, during, and after reading (Pressley and Afflerbach 1995). Proficient adult readers:

• Are aware of why they are reading the text

• Preview and make predictions

• Read selectively

• Make connections and associations with the text based on what they already know

• Refine predictions and expectations

• Use context to identify unfamiliar words

• Reread and make notes

• Evaluate the quality of the text

• Review important points in the text

• Consider how the information might be used in the future

Successful reading is not simply the mechanical process of "decoding" text. Rather, it is a process of active inquiry. Good readers approach a text with questions and develop new questions as they read, for example:

"What is this article about?"

"If so, how?"

Even after reading, engaged readers still ask questions:

"What is the meaning of what I have read?"

"Why did the author end the paragraph (or chapter, or book) in this way?"

"What was the author's purpose in writing this?"

Good authors anticipate the reader's questions and plant questions in the reader's mind (. In this way, reading becomes a collaboration between the reader and the author. The author's job is to raise questions and then answer them – or provide several possible answers. Readers cooperate by asking the right questions, paying careful attention to the author's answers, and asking questions of their own.

Ask questions such as:

"What clues does the title give me about the story?"

"Is this a real or imaginary story?"

"What do I already know about___?"

"What predictions can I make?"

Pre-select several stopping points within the text to ask and answer reading questions. Stopping points should not be so frequent that they hinder comprehension or fluid reading of a text. This is also an excellent time to model "repair strategies" to correct miscomprehension. Start reading the text, and ask yourself questions while reading:

"What do I understand from what I just read?"

"What is the main idea?"

"What picture is the author painting in my head?"

"Do I need to reread so that I understand?"

Then reread the text, asking the following questions when you are finished:

"Which of my predictions were right? What information from the text tells me that I am correct?"

"What were the main ideas?"

"What connections can I make to the text? How do I feel about it?"

 

Adapted: https://www.teachervision.com/reading-comprehension/questions-during-after-reading?