The following should help you develop ideas for questions to ask during or after reading. The questions are based on Bloom’s Taxonomy which moves from simple to more complex kinds of thinking.
Knowledge (easiest)
Who? What? When? Where? How? List the facts in order.
Comprehension (a little harder)
What is meant by…? Can you describe….? What is the difference….? What is the main idea…? Why did……? Explain why…..?
Application (Harder yet! )
Who would you choose…..? What would happen if…..? How would you…? Do you know someone like….? Would you do the same thing in the same situation–why or why not? If you had to ….. what would you do?
Analysis (Challenging)
What part of reading was funniest? What part was the most exciting? What part was the saddest? Tell some things that could not have happened in real life. Which things were fact, and which were opinions? What could you do that was just like what the person in the story did? Find five words in the story which begin with the same sound. Find five compound words from the story. What was the purpose of….
Synthesis (Even more challenging!)
Retell one event from an animal’s point of view. How could we/you….? Make up another ending to the story that still fits the details. Rewrite a sentence from the book, but change one thing in it. Write a new title for this story. Write a two line poem about the book.
Evaluation: (Put on your thinking cap! You’re going to need it!)
Was the main character in this reading good or bad? Why? Which is better….? Would you agree that…..? What is your opinion of….? Were they right to do….? Why or why not? Compare two characters from the book. Tell which one you think is better and why.
