Asking Questions Lesson

Title: Wake Up Your Brain: Asking Questions as You Read Content Area: Reading

Teacher Name: Emily Ray Grade Level: 2nd

OVERARCHING GOALS FOR THE LESSON LESSON OBJECTIVES AND STANDARDS

Students will be able to ask literal questions before, during, and after
reading (who, what, where, when, why).
Objectives:
 Students will be able to ask literal questions before reading a
text.
 SWBAT ask literal questions during reading
 SWBAT ask literal questions after reading

Standard 2-RL 5.1

Ask and answer literal and inferential questions to demonstrate
understanding of a text, use specific details to make inferences and
draw conclusions in texts heard or read.

IMPORTANT CONTENT CONNECTION:

Prior Knowledge
This standard builds upon Standard 1-RL 5.1: 5.1 Ask and answer who, what, when, where, why, and how questions to demonstrate
understanding of a text. In this lesson, students will begin to integrate “why” questions so that they are later able to ask inferential questions
(which according to the LRD5 Reading Framework, will be addressed again in the third nine weeks).
Future Knowledge
In future grades, students will need to be able to ask literal and inferential questions. However, in the future they will provide specific evidence
from the text to support the answers to their questions.

IMPORTANT THEORETICAL CONNECTIONS & FOUNDATIONS:

In Jennifer Serravallo’s The Reading Strategies Book, she includes a strategy on asking questions to engage with text under the Teaching
Reading Engagement goal. With this strategy, students are encouraged to ask questions before, during, and after they read. When students do
so, they are more focused on the text and can comprehend what they are reading at a deeper level. To model this strategy, I am going to be
conducting a Shared Reading. In Regie Routman’s Writing Essentials, she emphasizes not teaching skills in isolation. By embedding the lesson in
a shared reading text, having the class create questions about the text together, and then going and applying that to their independent reading,
it allows for students to be able to easily transfer the skills they learn through demonstration and guided practice to their daily reading lives.

MATERIALS.
Teacher: Emma Kate by Patricia Polacco, Anchor Chart paper, Markers, Conferencing Sheet
Students: Book Bins, Graphic Organizer, Pencil, Clipboard (if on floor)
Components of the lesson. Anticipated Student Responses Teaching notes DIFFERENTIATION: Evidence of learning.
list adaptations for ELL, EC, LD Evaluation points or assessment
questions.
LINK PRIOR KNOWLEDGE.
3 min
“Raise your hand if you have ever Possible Answers: Last week, students became
been in the middle of reading a  “Where is the character?” frustrated when they were not
book and a question popped into  “What are they doing?” called on. Address that I cannot
your head about the book. What  “Why did the character do call on all students, as there are
kinds of questions come up as you that?” 20 of them and 1 of me. I hope
read?”  “Why is the character feeling that by putting this out there in
happy/sad/mad/etc.?” the beginning, it will avoid
 “What is going to happen disruptions to the lesson.
next?”
2 min (Display Today’s Goal) I will watch to make sure certain
“Today we are going to work on students do not sit next to one
waking up our brains and reading another so that they can stay on
in a wide-awake way. Being task:
“wide-awake” when you read “Boys and girls, please pick a spot
means that you come to a text on the carpet where you will do
curious and ready to find out your BEST learning. This means
more. It is almost as if you are you may have to move away from
having a conversation with your friends so you won’t be
yourself as you read, you can ask tempted to talk.”
and answer questions to push
yourself to want to read on.
Today we are really going to work
hard to wake up our brains by
coming up with questions before,
during, and after we read. These
questions may be like the ones
you all told me about a minute
ago. They could be wonderings
about what will happen next, why
a character did what they did, or
why the author made the choices
that she did.”

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES.
Shared Reading 20 min
We will read Emma Kate by
Patricia Polacco. I will begin by
demonstrating asking questions at
the beginning of a book.
“I notice that the girl’s dress and
the title have the same pattern. I
wonder why?”
I will then ask the class if they
have any wonderings to share
before we begin the book.
I will pause every few pages to ask Possible questions:
the class to share their questions
or wonderings. I will also continue
to interject my own questions as a
form of demonstration. I will
write down the questions we
come up with on the board. Once
we complete the book, I will ask if
we have any final wonderings.
After writing all of our questions
on the board, I will come back to
the group and ask them if we
were able to answer any of our
questions as we read. This will
start a conversation about how
reading to the end of the text can author leaves some things up to
answer some of our questions.
Possible questions:
 “Why is she hugging an
elephant?”
 “Who is Emma Kate?”
 “Why does she spend so I will try to call on a variety of Writing down their answers on
much time with an students. To do this, I will the board will serve as an
elephant?” alternate between calling on informal assessment for me to
 “Is the elephant real?” someone on the left side of the see who is grasping the concept
 “Why are the pictures mostly group and right side of the group. and who is still working towards
black and white besides the By doing this, hopefully it will help understanding. It will also be an
girl’s dress?” me to keep track of students I example for students to refer
If students become stumped and have already called on. back to as they use this strategy in
struggle to come up with their own reading. From this data,
questions, I can prompt them I will be able to gauge who I need
with probing questions such as: to spend some extra time with
 What are you curious about? during my informal conferencing.
What are you wondering?
 Try starting with who, what,
when, where, or why.
 Tell me about the
conversation you’re having in
your mind.
If students cannot refer back to
the text to answer the questions,
it is important that I point out to
them that not all of our questions
will always be answered. The
the reader’s mind. It also may
require for us to read another
book on the same topic to find
Independent Reading 20 min more answers.
Before independent reading, I
want to have a conversation with If the group as a whole becomes
the class about what this time off task, I will regroup with the
should look like. Since last week entire class. I will also be giving
we had a difficult time staying on out barrel bucks to tables that are
task, I think it would be beneficial doing an exceptional job during
to have a meaningful this time.
conversation where the students
themselves present the
expectations for independent
work. This should take no more
than 3-5 min.

During independent reading time, If I notice that a student has not

students will be given a “question written down anything, I will
template” to use as they read. It kneel down beside them to see if I
will have a box for questions they can get at their thinking orally.
have at the beginning of the book,
questions they have as they read,
and questions they have when
they complete the book. The
purpose of this sheet is to
encourage students to use the
engagement strategy in their own
reading and for me to see how
well they understand the strategy.

I will pass out the sheets and Emphasize to students who As students read and jot down
invite for students to grab their struggle with writing (such as their questions, I will be doing
book boxes and dive in. I will xxxxxxxx & xxxxxxxxx) that I am informal conferences around the
make sure that students not worried about how much they room. I have particular students
understand that it is alright if they get written down. Instead, the that I want to conference with
do not fill out every single box, as goal is for them to be curious and that I think will need additional
they don’t always finish a book in really getting into their books. instruction. I will include students
one sitting. I will remind them They are on my list of students to that I did not hear from during
that it isn’t all about the writing, confer with. I can even have them our shared reading in this group.
but about asking questions so verbalize a few questions and I However, I am going to try to do a
that they can have a deep will write them down for them. “clipboard cruise” of the entire
understanding of their books. The goal of this lesson is not class. I will create a sheet with a

REFLECT and SUMMARIZE.
Share Time 10 min
Students will come to the floor
with their question sheets for
share time. “Now that you all had
a chance to try this reading
strategy on your own, what did
you think? Did it help you? What
kinds of questions did you come
up with? Did your books answer
them?”
I will collect their question sheets
to add comments to and will pass
them back out for them to
reference during future
independent reading time.
EXTENSIONS/CONNECTIONS.
I will be sure to remind students
to use this strategy during their
own reading, especially when
I hope that the students found
this strategy helpful. If a student
responds that they did not find it
helpful, I will ask them why they
think this. Hopefully by opening
this conversation, I can
demonstrate for the student how
they can make this strategy more
useful for their own reading.
Students may need to be
reminded during future
independent reading times to
about perfect writing, but about
asking questions to increase
engagement.
For my speedy readers, if
students complete their book &
their sheet, I will encourage for
them to try this same technique
with another book. But instead of
filling out a second sheet, I want
for them to try having the
conversation in their head. I want
for them to become so good at
asking questions as they read that
it becomes habit.
I will try to call on students that I
saw had questions that lend
themselves to be teaching points
for the entire class.
box for each student listed. As I
walk around the room, I will make
quick notes of the types of
questions students are asking
(who, what, when, where, why).
This will be an informal
assessment so that I can gather
data on the level of thinking each
student is at. I will wait to start
this until I begin to see students
diving into their books (about 5
minutes).
Collecting their questioning
sheets will allow for me to
provide them with written
feedback and to assess their level
of understanding.
they begin to move into longer think back on this strategy.
books. They also have the anchor
chart to refer back to.

In future grades, students will

need to be able to ask literal and
inferential questions. However, in
the future they will provide
specific evidence from the text to
support the answers to their
questions.
 Name: __________________

Readers Ask Questions

Book: _________________________________________

A question I had BEFORE I read the text…

A question I had WHILE I read the text…

A question I had AFTER I read the text…