Dear Parent/Guardian,

Your child is currently working on the literacy strategy, Ask questions throughout the reading process, which helps with the overall goal, Comprehension.

Readers who are actively involved in reading ask themselves questions before, during, and after reading a selection. This not only increases their comprehension of what is being read, but it fully engages them in the reading process. As readers, when we are fully engaged in the reading process, we are more likely to remember important details and information. Asking questions is a great way for readers to monitor their comprehension of a text. In class, your child has learned that successful readers generate their own questions and that not all questions generated will be answered.

Learning to Ask questions throughout the reading process is an important reading strategy because it teaches a reader to think aloud. It helps readers review important points in the text, evaluate the quality of the text, make connections, and refine predictions.

How can you help your child with this strategy at home?
  1. Model this questioning process by reading to your child and stopping during the reading to question what is going on in the text. Use questions such as:
    • “What does this mean?”
    • “Is this important?”
    • “How do I think this story will end?”
    • “What does the word mean?”
    • Why is this character acting this way?
    • “Do I need to read this again?”
    Then, have your child practice asking questions independently.
  2. Pre-select several stopping points in a text to stop and ask questions. Have your child verbalize questions they has at each stopping point.
  3. Encourage your child to write down their questions as they read. Be sure the focus is not about finding correct answers but that it is on curiosity, wonder, and asking thought provoking questions.
Thank you for your continued support at home!

—Mrs. Boushey

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