Guiding Questions

All comprehension strategies should be taught with guiding questions. Asking guiding questions helps students think about what they’ve read, visualize the story, and predict what might happen next. Eventually, you want students to learn to ask these questions on their own. You should ask your students open questions that elicit a response. Avoid closed-ended questions that can be answered as a “yes” or a “no.” The goal is to have students think about what they have read and elicit a response that helps them comprehend the story.

For example, in reading the “Lost Lion,” ask your students to listen to a specific part of the story and think about what they have heard. Then ask the students two questions. “Where did the lion go after he left the zoo?” and “Why do you think he went there?"

In the above example, there are two types of questions: literal and inferential.

The first question is literal, and asks something that has been directly stated in the text." Where did the lion go after he left the zoo?"

The second question is inferential, “Why do you think the lion went there?" Inferential questions require students to take information from the text, and interpret it with their prior knowledge. Inferential questions teach students how to read between the lines, in order to understand what has not been directly stated.

A third type of guiding question is the critical question. Critical questions require students to make a judgment and support their answer. For example, "Would you have gone through the woods like the lion? Why or why not?"

A fourth type of guiding question is a creative question. These types of questions ask students to go beyond the text: "How else could this story have ended?"

These four types of guiding questions are listed in order of complexity. At first, beginning readers will only be able to answer literal questions. As their comprehension skills improve they will begin to “think like the lion” and will be able to explain why he went where he did. As their critical thinking skills develop, students will be able to judge the actions of the characters and support their feelings. Eventually, students will be able to move beyond the text and think creatively.

Students will learn to ask their own guiding questions from the types of questions that that you pose. Include inferential and critical questions in your lesson plans to help your students develop higher-level thinking skills. These skills will help them to fully comprehend texts, develop fluency and become independent readers.