How To Help Your Child Become a Better Reader
Parents:
If you are looking for suggestions on how to make your child a better reader,
ask them some of these questions about their current reading book!
Author's Purpose
What is the main purpose of this selection?
- To explain why...
- To provide information about...
- To inform the reader about...
- To tell how to do something
- To describe...
What is the purpose of the pictures/illustrations?
What is the purpose of the second stanza in this poem?
What is the purpose of the words in italics?
What is the purpose of the graph?
What is the purpose of paragraphs 1-4?
What is the purpose of the information in parentheses?
What is the main purpose in repeating the last two lines in the poem?
Cause and Effect
What was the importance of the boy's decision to walk home?
How did Carl's accident play a role in his future career?
What most likely caused Tammy to put a lock on her bicycle?
What caused the cafeteria to lower their prices on drinks?
What is the significance of Lance's decision to buy a scooter?
What caused Jason to be late for the game?
Why did Erica tell the teacher about her dream?
Characterization
Which word best describes Julie?
Which word best describes that Joe is like?
How would the reader describe Emily's mother to a friend?
Which quotation from the selection tells the most about Johnetta?
Which characteristics are given to Zeke?
What does this selection tell the reader about Tammy?
Which word best describes Roberta throughout most of the selection?
Compare/Contrast
How is the mother different from the father?
What did the two animals have in common?
How does Joe change from the beginning of the selection to the end?
According to the selection, what is the main difference between a grapefruit and a lemon?
How isNorth Carolinadifferent today from what it was in the late 1800s?
What is compared in stanzas 5 and 6?
What is similar about each stanza in the poem?
How was Mr. Jasper’s new job different from his other job?
How is Morganton different today than it was yesterday?
How are these characters alike?
What do these poems have in common?
Details
Based on the selection, why is it important to remain quiet during a fire drill?
According to the poem, where does the rose grow?
At the beginning of the selection, why is Jeremy surprised?
Which of the following statements aboutHatteras,North Carolinaare true?
Why did Maria choose to bring her lunch to school?
Why did the ships return to the harbor?
According to the selection, what was the problem with the airplane?
Which answer best completes the graphic organizer?
Why did Jose want to go to camp?
According to the schedule, what time are the animals fed?
Figurative Language
In the first stanza, what is meant by the author saying, “The trees are like fingers stretching to the sky”?
The author of the poem helps the reader understand what a tornado sounds like. Which is an example of how he does this?
What might the author mean when she says that the train moves like a snake?
The author makes the house seem human. Which line is an example of a way the author does this?
When the teacher said, “Keep your eyes on the paper” what is she telling her students to do?
In the poem, “Desert Nights”, to which sense do lines 2 through 4 appeal?
Inference/Drawing Conclusions
Based on the selection, how did (character) most likely feel about (another character)?
Which statement about … is supported by the selection?
How did Molly most likely feel when Jennifer forgot her birthday?
Which quotation from the selection tells most about…?
How would this experience most likely help Michael the next time he …?
What does the final paragraph suggest about …?
Which of the following statements is true?
What does the author most likely mean when he says…?
What is the most likely reason…?
Lesson/Message
What is the lesson of this story?
What lesson did Scotty learn when he returned home?
What is the message of this fable?
What lesson did the author want his readers to learn?
What is the main message of this selection?
Making Connections
Which experience is most similar to Lila’s experience when she visited the farm?
How would this experience helpSidneythe next time he visits his grandmother?
People who enjoy Bingo might also enjoy which of the following?
What other type of instrument is most similar to the one created in this selection?
How might this information be helpful to children coming to camp for the first time?
Which sentence tells the reader that this selection most likely took place in the future?
Which part of this selection could not be true in real life?
Main Idea
What is the main idea of the selection?
Which statement best expresses the main idea of the poem?
What is the main idea of the third stanza?
What is the main idea in paragraph 2?
Which sentence best explains the main idea of paragraph 5?
What is the main idea of the selection, " __ "?
Point of View
What does the author most likely think about the class trip?
With which statement would the author most likely agree?
Which best describes how the speaker feels about cats?
Which word best describes Jerry’s attitude toward the family’s plan to move?
What does the author of the poem most likely think about homework?
Predicting
What will Juan most likely do the next time he sees a snake?
What will probably happen the next day?
What would most likely happen if the story continued?
Based on the selection, what will most likely happen next?
What will most likely happen later in the story?
What will Tai most likely do the next time she chooses a friend?
What would most likely have happened to David if he had not had a flashlight?
Sequence
(answer can include the words after, before, following, preceding…)
Which best fits the flow chart?
According to the story, when did the boy complete the race?
When did Liz find out about the missing dog?
What happened just before recess?
Which event belongs in the blank box?
Which sequence best completes the graphic organizer?
After Alex completed his project, what did he do next?
Which of the following happened first in the selection?
Summarizing
Which statement best summarizes the selection?
If the author had included headings, which would be the best choice for paragraph 3?
Which best summarizes the moral of the story?
What is this selection mostly about?
What is this article about?
What would be the most important information to tell someone about this selection?
Vocabulary
Based on the context of paragraph 3, what does trudge mean?
What does the author mean when she describes the beaver as “cautious”?
Which line helps the reader understand what “exhausted” means?
Paragraph 4 states, “Susan was neglectful in turning in her homework.” What does neglectful mean?
What word from the selection best describes the chart below?
In paragraph 3, Pat says, “Give him the bill when he leaves.” Which of the following definitions of bill applies to this sentence?
In this selection, which word means the same as “pledge”?
Based on the selection, what does aviation mean?
What does the author mean when he describes the athlete as “coordinated”?
Terrie is aggravating Kim. What does aggravating mean?
Parents:
If you are looking for suggestions on how to make your child a better reader,
ask them some of these questions about their current reading book!
Author's Purpose
What is the main purpose of this selection?
- To explain why...
- To provide information about...
- To inform the reader about...
- To tell how to do something
- To describe...
What is the purpose of the pictures/illustrations?
What is the purpose of the second stanza in this poem?
What is the purpose of the words in italics?
What is the purpose of the graph?
What is the purpose of paragraphs 1-4?
What is the purpose of the information in parentheses?
What is the main purpose in repeating the last two lines in the poem?
Cause and Effect
What was the importance of the boy's decision to walk home?
How did Carl's accident play a role in his future career?
What most likely caused Tammy to put a lock on her bicycle?
What caused the cafeteria to lower their prices on drinks?
What is the significance of Lance's decision to buy a scooter?
What caused Jason to be late for the game?
Why did Erica tell the teacher about her dream?
Characterization
Which word best describes Julie?
Which word best describes that Joe is like?
How would the reader describe Emily's mother to a friend?
Which quotation from the selection tells the most about Johnetta?
Which characteristics are given to Zeke?
What does this selection tell the reader about Tammy?
Which word best describes Roberta throughout most of the selection?
Compare/Contrast
How is the mother different from the father?
What did the two animals have in common?
How does Joe change from the beginning of the selection to the end?
According to the selection, what is the main difference between a grapefruit and a lemon?
How isNorth Carolinadifferent today from what it was in the late 1800s?
What is compared in stanzas 5 and 6?
What is similar about each stanza in the poem?
How was Mr. Jasper’s new job different from his other job?
How is Morganton different today than it was yesterday?
How are these characters alike?
What do these poems have in common?
Details
Based on the selection, why is it important to remain quiet during a fire drill?
According to the poem, where does the rose grow?
At the beginning of the selection, why is Jeremy surprised?
Which of the following statements aboutHatteras,North Carolinaare true?
Why did Maria choose to bring her lunch to school?
Why did the ships return to the harbor?
According to the selection, what was the problem with the airplane?
Which answer best completes the graphic organizer?
Why did Jose want to go to camp?
According to the schedule, what time are the animals fed?
Figurative Language
In the first stanza, what is meant by the author saying, “The trees are like fingers stretching to the sky”?
The author of the poem helps the reader understand what a tornado sounds like. Which is an example of how he does this?
What might the author mean when she says that the train moves like a snake?
The author makes the house seem human. Which line is an example of a way the author does this?
When the teacher said, “Keep your eyes on the paper” what is she telling her students to do?
In the poem, “Desert Nights”, to which sense do lines 2 through 4 appeal?
Inference/Drawing Conclusions
Based on the selection, how did (character) most likely feel about (another character)?
Which statement about … is supported by the selection?
How did Molly most likely feel when Jennifer forgot her birthday?
Which quotation from the selection tells most about…?
How would this experience most likely help Michael the next time he …?
What does the final paragraph suggest about …?
Which of the following statements is true?
What does the author most likely mean when he says…?
What is the most likely reason…?
Lesson/Message
What is the lesson of this story?
What lesson did Scotty learn when he returned home?
What is the message of this fable?
What lesson did the author want his readers to learn?
What is the main message of this selection?
Making Connections
Which experience is most similar to Lila’s experience when she visited the farm?
How would this experience helpSidneythe next time he visits his grandmother?
People who enjoy Bingo might also enjoy which of the following?
What other type of instrument is most similar to the one created in this selection?
How might this information be helpful to children coming to camp for the first time?
Which sentence tells the reader that this selection most likely took place in the future?
Which part of this selection could not be true in real life?
Main Idea
What is the main idea of the selection?
Which statement best expresses the main idea of the poem?
What is the main idea of the third stanza?
What is the main idea in paragraph 2?
Which sentence best explains the main idea of paragraph 5?
What is the main idea of the selection, " __ "?
Point of View
What does the author most likely think about the class trip?
With which statement would the author most likely agree?
Which best describes how the speaker feels about cats?
Which word best describes Jerry’s attitude toward the family’s plan to move?
What does the author of the poem most likely think about homework?
Predicting
What will Juan most likely do the next time he sees a snake?
What will probably happen the next day?
What would most likely happen if the story continued?
Based on the selection, what will most likely happen next?
What will most likely happen later in the story?
What will Tai most likely do the next time she chooses a friend?
What would most likely have happened to David if he had not had a flashlight?
Sequence
(answer can include the words after, before, following, preceding…)
Which best fits the flow chart?
According to the story, when did the boy complete the race?
When did Liz find out about the missing dog?
What happened just before recess?
Which event belongs in the blank box?
Which sequence best completes the graphic organizer?
After Alex completed his project, what did he do next?
Which of the following happened first in the selection?
Summarizing
Which statement best summarizes the selection?
If the author had included headings, which would be the best choice for paragraph 3?
Which best summarizes the moral of the story?
What is this selection mostly about?
What is this article about?
What would be the most important information to tell someone about this selection?
Vocabulary
Based on the context of paragraph 3, what does trudge mean?
What does the author mean when she describes the beaver as “cautious”?
Which line helps the reader understand what “exhausted” means?
Paragraph 4 states, “Susan was neglectful in turning in her homework.” What does neglectful mean?
What word from the selection best describes the chart below?
In paragraph 3, Pat says, “Give him the bill when he leaves.” Which of the following definitions of bill applies to this sentence?
In this selection, which word means the same as “pledge”?
Based on the selection, what does aviation mean?
What does the author mean when he describes the athlete as “coordinated”?
Terrie is aggravating Kim. What does aggravating mean?
