Questions to ask when reading with your child A guide for parents
Introduction Reading with your child is not only about listening to them read. Reading should be a pleasure. Enjoy making the time to share a book together. As you listen, give them lots of praise. Sometimes, you might read sections for them. Try to model good reading: using lots of expression. Discuss the text with them. Have they understood the story? If not, re-read important sections and explain it to them in your own words. It can be hard to know what else to ask your child. This booklet contains examples of questions similar to those that they are asked in guided reading sessions. Hopefully, they will help you to talk about your child s reading with them. The questions are arranged by colour book band to help you to find ideas appropriate your child s reading level. It is important to continue to discuss your child s reading as they develop into free-readers. Please ask their teacher if you have any questions about your child s reading.
Questions to ask children reading Pink, Red, Yellow or Blue texts Fiction Is this story like any other books that you have read? What happened in the story? Why has the author included a picture? What does it tell you? (when reading a book with repeated phrases) What comes next? Can you join in? Have you ever been in a similar situation? What happened? What happened first/next/at the end? What usually happens to baddies in fairy-tale stories? What usually happens to the good characters? What do you think might happen next? If (a character) does..., what do you think will happen?
Non-fiction Did you learn anything from this book? Can you tell me a fact that you discovered? What is this book about? How do you know? What do you already know about this topic? Why did the author choose this title? Does the title help us know what the book will be about? All texts Did you enjoy this book? What was your favourite part? What does the author mean by...? Is this like any other word you know? Does it sound the same? Did what you read make sense? Which word(s) might you need to correct?
Questions to ask children reading Green, Orange or Turquoise texts Fiction Can you choose a character from the story that interests you, and say why? What was happening at the beginning of the story? Can you think of another way to begin this story? Were you surprised by the ending? Is it what you expected? What happened in the story? Who is telling this story? Can you find a description of (a character/setting) that you particularly like? Why do you like it? Have you ever been in a similar situation? What happened? How did you feel/behave?
Non-fiction How is this book organised? Can you find the contents/index/glossary? Why does the author include these? What do you already know about this topic? All texts What was your favourite part of this book? What sort of book is this, and how can you tell? Has the author put certain words in bold or in italics? Why do you think they have done this? Is this like any other word you know? Does it sound the same? Does it mean the same? Can you find any adjectives? Can you find a powerful verb? Why has the author chosen this verb? Did that make sense? Can you work out what this (unfamiliar) word means by reading the words around it?
Questions to ask children reading Purple, Gold, White, Lime or Brown texts Fiction What do you think (a character) will do next? Can you find evidence in the text to explain why you think this is? How does the author show that (a character) feels excited/worried/scared etc? Does the author give us any clues to show that (a character) is feeling sad/angry etc? Using your understanding of what happened, can you create a timeline of events? What were the main events in this chapter? Why do you think that the author used short sentences here? Non-fiction How do the illustrations/choice of font/bold type/italics contribute to the meaning? What is the text about? Which subheading could you use instead of this one?
All texts Have you read any other books in this series/by the same author/about this topic? Did these texts share any common features e.g. language or theme? What type of text is this? How do you know? Who would you recommend this book to? Why?
Questions to ask children reading Grey, Black or Free-reader texts Fiction Based on what you know about (a character/event), how do you think the author will develop the story? Can you find words and phrases which show you how the character is feeling? What does... mean? Could you use a more emotive word? What about a less emotive word? What effect would this have on the story? Do the events happen in time order? If not, why not? Give examples of words chosen by the author to describe (a character)? Are they effective? Why? What impression does the author want the reader to have of (a character)? How do you know? What fiction genre is this book? What features of the text tell you that?
Non-fiction How is the information organised and presented? Why do you think this order/these headings were chosen? Does the author have a viewpoint on...? How does s/he show this? How does the author feel about this subject? How do you know? Is the aim of the text to persuade or to inform? How do you know? Which word(s) does the author use to signal that this is opinion, rather than fact? Where would you look for information on...? How could you use the contents/index/glossary to help? All texts Can you explain what effect the phrase has on the reader? Which words create this effect? Can you choose a section of the text that you particularly liked? Why did you like it? Is there a message in this book? What is it? What do you like about this genre/author?