QARQARQARQAR

Right There Questions•The answer is in the text.•The words used to answer

the question are ‘right there’ in the same sentence.

A Right There Question must relate to important information in the text.A sample question from Johnny Tremain might be:What city is the setting for this story?It is important to know that the whole story takes place in Boston.

• A weak Right There Question might be

• How much did Mr. Hancock pay for his sugar bowl?

• It is NOT important to know the price of the sugar bowl.

Think and Search•The answer is in the story but

you need to put things together to find it.

• Words for the questions and words for the answer are not found in the same sentence; they come from different parts of the text.

• A sample Think and Search Question might be

• Name the people who lived in the Lapham household.

• This answer is found within several paragraphs and it is important that we know who all the characters are in the story.

• A weak Think and Search question would be

• How many people lived in the Lapham house?

• It’s much more important to know WHO lived in the house than how many people lived there.

Author and Me• The answer is NOT in the story. • You need to think about what

you already know and about what the author tells you in the text, and how it all fits together. MUST generate good discussion!

• Good Author and Me questions make people think before they answer. The questions must relate to both of these criteria:1. Does it directly relate to the story and include a specific mention of something in the story? 2. Does it generate discussion? If the question can be answered with just one or two words, or if there is only ONE right answer, it is not a good Author and Me question.

A sample of a good Author and Me question might beHow are Johnny and Rab alike and how are they different?This question directly relates to the story and there are a number of possible answers so it generates good discussion.

• A weak Author and Me question might be• On a scale of 1 to10, how much do

you like Johnny?• This answer requires a number, but not

much more. Again, questions that can be answered with only one or two words are not good discussion questions.

On My Own• The answer is NOT in the text.• You can even answer the question

without reading the story. • You need to use your own prior

knowledge.• MUST generate good discussion!

On My Own questions must meet three criteria:

• Does it relate to the text without directly referring to the text?

• Can it be answered without reading the text?

• Does it generate good discussion?

• A weak On My Own question would be

• What was Paul Revere’s job?• Although this question meets the

first two criteria, it does NOT generate discussion.

• Questions that can be answered with either Yes or No are also NOT good On My Own questions. For example, “Would you fight in a war?” is NOT a good question. However, “Why would you fight in a war?” is a good question because it generates discussion.

• Another example of a weak On My Own question would be

• How many men do you think participated in the Boston Tea Party?

• This meets the first two criteria, but answers that require just a number do not generate good discussion.

• A good example of a On My Own question might be

• How is being handicapped today different than being handicapped in the colonial times?

• This question directly relates to the text although it does not specifically name the text, a person does not need to read the text to answer it, and it does generate good discussion!

• Another good On My Own question might be

• How do people use propaganda today?

• Again, this relates to the story without mentioning the story, one does not have to read the text to answer it, and it generates good discussion.

• If students have questions about QAR, please come see the teacher for assistance!