Reading Question Choices
(credit goes to Ms. Kramer for this thorough list of question options)
Questions about the author(Use with any genre and style of writing.)
1) What did the author do to “hook” you as a reader? Be specific. (What made you interested in the story?) (This
question focuses on the beginning of the book.)
2) How does the author keep you interested in the section you read? Give at least one example.
3) What pictures does the author leave in your mind in this section? Describe them.
4) Was there a sentence or paragraph that you really liked, because it made you feel something deeply, or made you laugh? Copy it down and describe why you like the passage.
5) What would you ask the author if you could? Why? Include details!
6) Is there a technique, or a way of writing things, that you can use in your own writing? Explain.
7) Choose one part of the story you read today: How does the author create the atmosphere, or mood, for that part? (How did you feel when you were reading it: happy? scared? sad? How did the author make you feel that way?)
8 ) TBD
9) TBD
Questions about the characters (Use with narratives, whether they’re nonfiction like a biography, or fiction.)
10) Who are the main characters? Choose at least two, and describe what they’re like as people (instead of what they look like, etc.)
11) Do you like any of the characters? Choose one and explain why you like the character.
12) Do you dislike any of the characters? Choose one and explain why you dislike the character.
13) How do the characters change in the story? Choose one, and explain how they change and what makes or helps them change.
14) Do any of the characters remind you of characters from other books? Which ones? In what way(s)?
15) Was there a situation or choice that you would have handled differently, if you were in the position of one of the characters? Explain.
16) Is there an opinion that one of the characters has that you agree with strongly or disagree with strongly? Explain.
17) TBD
18 ) TBD
Questions about plot (what happens in a story) (Use with narratives, whether they’re nonfiction like a biography, or fiction.)
19) What happened in this chapter? Summarize: Start with one sentence that gives the “big idea” of the chapter, and then retell the chapter’s most important events and a few details.
20) Were you able to make any predictions? If so, write about one prediction and what led you to make it. Do you know yet whether the prediction actually happens in the book?
21) Did anything happen that surprised you? Explain why it surprised you.
22) Is there an example of cause and effect? Explain.
23) Was something in this part of the book confusing to you? Describe. Did you figure it out? If so, how?
24) Did the mood of the story change? What happened to make it change?
25) Is there anything you would add to the section or chapter you just read? If so, what would it be? (Thanks to Lishai for this question!)
26) TBD
Questions about information (Use with expository text, like books about science.)
27) What did you learn from the part of the book that you read today? (Summarize: Start with one sentence that gives the “big idea,” then add a few important details and examples.)
28 )Is there an example of cause and effect? Explain.
29) Did you connect any information from the section you read with something you know from another source?Explain.
30) Did the author do a good job of explaining things? Give an example of a complicated idea that was explained in a way that made it clear.
31) Is there something in the section you read that you didn’t completely understand? Describe. Did you figure it out? If so, how?
32) What wonderings do you have after reading this section?
33) What was the most interesting thing in this section? Include details!
34) TBD
35) TBD
Questions about setting (Use with narratives – fiction or nonfiction.)
36) Choose one setting from the section you read today and describe it: Where and when is it? (If you’re just starting the book, “when” can mean whether it’s contemporary [now or in the recent past], or a time from history, or a time in the future. You also can say whether the setting in the section you read is nighttime, daytime, if that’s important to the story; or the season, if that’s important.) What does it look like? Sound like? Feel like?
37) Is there a good description of one of the settings? Copy the description, then explain what makes it good.
38 )TBD
39) TBD
Questions to choose from at the end of the book (Use with any genre and style, unless the question says otherwise.)
40) Why do you think the author wrote this book? Explain.
41) Which was the most important part of the story? Why? (Use only with narratives.)
42) What was your favorite part of the book? Why?
43) What was the theme, or author’s message? (Use only with narratives.)
44) How could the story have ended differently? (Use only with narratives.)
45) TBD
46) TBD
EDMUSINGS & BEYOND 