Asking questions while students read a text is an effective way to assess their reading comprehension and clarify misunderstanding or confusions students may have about the text. However, asking too many questions or having students complete a study guide can distract them from the reading or getting into the flow of reading the text.
When using oral comprehension questions with a text, decide on the following:
1. How often should questions be asked?
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- While there is no specific rule about intervals between questions, the more important factor to consider is allowing time for students to become immersed in the flow of the text. Do not ask students questions at the end of each paragraph or page, as they may begin focusing on answering the questions more than comprehending the text. Instead, be strategic about when to ask questions, with opportunities including after the text shares important information and natural breaks in the text (e.g., end of chapter or section)
2. Should students be called randomly on or an ordered rotation be used?
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- When picking students to answer questions, do consider what students will do after they answer the question. For example, if students’ names are being drawn to our a jar to answer questions, students who answered a question during the round will not be eligible to answer another question that round. The result might be that the students become disengaged. Instead, consider asking students to volunteer or use a system where students pick a classmate to answer the next question. However, be sure to monitor students, so the frequency of which students are answering the questions are shared amongst the class.
3. What happens if students incorrectly answer the question?
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- If students do not answer the question correctly, consider prompting the student to where the information in the text is located or asking students to provide additional information about an aspect of their response. For example, “I like what you said about ABC, can you please explain more?”