Learning Experience

Comprehension Strategy: Asking Questions (1st grade)

Reading Workshop Format
(Haley Williams)

RATIONALE FOR THE LESSON:

The 1st grade curriculum states that children need to be able to answer questions about key details
in a story in order to comprehend it. The students have been working on other comprehension
strategies, like setting a purpose, visualizing, and retelling a story with a beginning, middle, and
end. The students also know how to participate in turn and talks with their partners on the carpet
during an interactive read aloud. This interactive read aloud will focus on working with the
comprehension strategy of questioning. The students should get the understanding that successful
readers ask themselves questions before, during, and after they are read to understand what is
going on in a story. This is going to set a base for the next comprehension strategies we will be
looking at, like monitoring, predicting and inferring. We will also work on discovering where we
can find the answers to our questions (in the text, in a picture, with our own background
knowledge). I will read the story for the students, freeing up their ability to concentrate on this
higher level picture book. I will prompt the students with questions, demonstrate how I work
through answering text questions, and then let them ask a question about the text and see if we
can figure it out. Afterwards, student will get to practice the strategy on their own leveled books
during independent reading time.

OUTCOMES/GOALS:
For the Student:
CCSS.RL.1.1: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE:
The students will:
Answer and ask questions about key details in the text in order to better comprehend what they
are reading.
ACADEMIC LANGUAGE:
Function Word(s): Ask a question, Comprehension
Vocabulary related to function word(s): who, what, where, when, why, how, where will I
find the answer, key details, organize thinking, before, during, after, looking back

ASSESSMENT:
I will use a checklist during independent reading time to assess if students are asking
themselves questions before, during, and after reading about the key details in their text.
Students will have the opportunity if they choose, to write down their questions and then
the answers, verbally explaining how they got that answer. This evidence will also serve
as an assessment tool.
STRATGIES FOR STUDENTS OF VARYING LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT
AND IDENTIFIED LEARNING NEEDS:
This is a varied level learning experience so all children will be able to engage in the learning.
During the mini lesson students will be paired up with the child sitting next to them which allows
for varied reading levels to be mixed (higher level students helping lower level students). The text
is one in which most students will find relatable. We have read other Kevin Henkes books as well,
so the students are familiar with the types of characters and will feel confident in their willingness
to participate. The questions asked by me will require some initial surface thinking about what is

going on in the text or what some key details are and I will also be able to extend students
thinking by asking questions that require a bit more thinking. This lesson will also extend outside
of the mini lesson carpet where students will have their own independent leveled books to
practice the strategy of questioning with. Students will be given the opportunity to write their
questions and answers down on a post-it note if they choose in order to share back with the class
later.

MATERIALS: List all materials you will need to teach this lesson.

Book: Owen by: Kevin Henkes

Assessment checklist
Anchor Chart
GREAT READERS

Ask Questions
to help them comprehend
Who? What? Where? When? Why?
What are you curious about?
Does something need to be
clearer?
Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

TOTAL TIME NEEDED: 15 minutes (read aloud) 30 minutes (independent time) 5 minutes
(closing activity)

PROCEDURES:
Introduction: (1 minute)
Set behavioral expectations for the mini lesson carpet: quiet, listening ears, watching
eyes, being ready to turn and talk
You have been learning about the successful reader strategies in class to understand
what we can do when we are reading to make sure that we comprehend (understand) the
text. Today we are going to be learning about another strategy called questioning or
asking questions. It is important that as successful readers we ask ourselves questions
about the story before, during, and after we read. This is going to help us understand what
the story is about. (Refer to anchor chart) There are a lot of questions we could ask while
we read. They could be our question words, like, Who? What? Where? When? Why? And
How?-If we want to know more about a character, a setting, or a situation in a story.
Maybe there is something we are curious about while we read, so we ask ourselves a
question. Also, there might be something that we need to make clearer so we understand

better, so we ask ourselves a question. We already know that we can use what we know,
the text, and the pictures to help us learn a lot about what a book is about-these are also
the places where we can find answers to our questions.
Demonstration/Participation: (14 minutes)
Today I brought in the book Owen, by Kevin Henkes, an author whose books we have
read before, to think about and ask questions about before, after, and during the time we
are reading. We are going to read through the whole story, all while asking questions to
help us understand what we are reading better.

Before you show the students the book-ask a question about who the characters in the
book might be/look like.
We have read many Kevin Henkes books before. Before I even open up the book I want
to ask a question. What will this book be about? (Write on anchor chart) To answer this
question, I am going to use my background knowledge about Kevin Henkes books. I
know that sometimes his stories are about kids who are having some kind of trouble. So, I
think that this book will be about the character Owen having some kind of trouble. So
readers, before I even started reading I wanted to ask a question. I was curious about what
the book might be about, so I used what I already know about Kevin Henkes books to
take a guess. I will find out my answer later in the book. Sometimes our questions are
answered later.

Read to page 5. Ask the students another question.

Well I want to know why Owens parents think that Owen needs his blanket taken away.
They know how much he loves his blanket. Why would they want it to be taken by the
blanket fairy? (write question on chart-during column) WellI think that this is one of
those times when I am asking a question because I need something to be clearer.
Sometimes we need to look back in our book to find answers to our questions. So, I am
going to look at the page right before this one. I know that Owens parents were talking to
the neighbor Mrs. Tweezers. If I read this page again (read again) I can see that Mrs.
Tweezers was the one who told them about the Blanket Fairy and tried to convince them
that Owen is too old for his blanket. Now I know why Owens parents want his blanket
taken away. See readers, sometimes when we want to make something clearer we have to
look back at what we already read.

Read to page 10. Ask the students a question and let them answer it.
Well we know that Owen really loves his blanket. I am curious about why Owen loves
his blanket so much. What does this blanket help him with that makes it so special? I
want you to turn and talk to your partner. Think about why Owen loves his blanket so
much and why he will not let it go. Think about key details in the story that we learned
about Owen and his blanket to help you answer this question. (write question on chartduring column)
*Listen in on students. Answers should sound like: Owen loves his blanket because he
has had it since he was a baby, he takes it everywhere, and specifically it helps him at the
dentist, haircut, makes him invisible, etc. Look for those key details.*
Bring group back together-discuss what you heard-review again how it is important that
sometimes we look back in our story to remember the key details because that it what
helps us understand it better.

Read through end of story. Talk about asking questions after we read.
Asking questions about what we read even after the story is all over is a good thing. It
keeps us thinking. So lets think about a question that we might be curious about now that
our story is over. What questions might you have about Owen, Mrs. Tweezers, or

anything else about the story now that we have read it? Turn and talk to your partner and
think of a question that you might ask.
*Ex: How long will Owen have the handkerchief for? Do we think Owen likes Mrs.
Tweezers? Etc.*
Bring group back together (share one question you heard-write it on chart-after column)

Closing: (1 minute)
Wow, we did a great job today being successful readers because we were asking
questions before, during, and after we read. We asked questions to spark our thinking,
because we were curious, and because we needed some things to be clearer. Remember
that asking questions is a strategy that great readers use during, before, and after they
read to help them understand that story better. We were able to use our background
knowledge, what the text said, and some help from the pictures to answer our questions,
and we learned some key details about the text that we might have missed if we werent
asking questions. So, because we all want to be great readers, we need to remember to
ask ourselves questions before, during, and after we read. Today during independent time
you will be asking yourselves questions about the books you are reading. Try asking
yourselves questions about the book you want to read before you read it, while you read
it, and after you read it. If you want you can write down your question on a post-it and
how you got the answer. We will be able to share some of those when we close up after
independent time. I will be around to confer with you and hear all of your questions!
Transitions students to tables.
Practice/Independent time: (30 minutes)
Children practice asking questions about their books before, during, and after they read.
They can write these questions/answers on a post-it if they want.
Teacher conferences with them to assess their use of the questioning strategy.
Do a mid-teaching point to review the goal of independent time.
Final Closure/Recap: (5 minutes)
Transition students back to carpet. Have them bring a post-it if they have it. Ask for
students to stick post-it on the anchor chart based on where they asked the question while
they were reading.
Share a couple of post-its
Comment on importance of sharing learning
Restate objective: You all did a great job today asking questions while you were reading.
Successful readers always ask question before, during, and after they read in order to
comprehend the story. Sometimes we ask questions because we want to know more about
a character, a setting, or a situation in the story. Sometimes it is because we are curious.
And sometimes it is because we need key details in the story to become clearer. We can
find these answers if we use our own knowledge, look back in the text, or even look at
pictures. Reading is all about being able to understand what the book is about. Lets
remember to use the questioning strategy when we read so we always understand what
our stories are about.

Student Checklist
Asking Questions: Independent Reading
CCSS.RL.1.1

Key: 3 = Independent; 2 = Prompted; 1 = More modeling needed

Behaviors
Asks a question
before they
begin reading
Asks a question
while they read
Asks a question
when they are
done reading
Uses
questioning for
a reason:
curious,
something
needs to be
made clearer,
wanted to
know more
about
something
specific
Uses strategies
to find answer
like-looking
back at text,
using
background
knowledge,
looking at the
pictures

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