Reading at Home

Reading at home is so important!

Here are some great questions to ask your child when you are reading with them.

Dev and Ilham know the importance of understanding what they read.

Room 4 students love to read and become brainer than before.

Take a book home from your browsing box and read it every night. 
Ask your child about using our CAFE reading strategies.

COMPREHENSION: I understand what I read.
ACCURACY: I read all of the words correctly
FLUENCY: I read accurately with expression and I understand what I read.
EXPANDED VOCAB: I find know and use interesting words.

Questions to ask your child when reading.

-       Why did the main character laugh/ cry/ sing/ dance ?

-       Point to the nouns on this page. Point to the verbs on this page. Point to the adjectives on this page.

-       What do you think will happen next? Or why do you know this?  

-       How are you similar to the main character?

-       Why did the author write this book?  

-       What type of job does the character have? Why do you know this? 

-       Describe your character? What in the text supports this description? 

-       What relationship do the two characters have in the text? Why do you feel this way? 

-       What do you predict may happen next in the book?

Before reading:

• Looking at the title, cover and illustrations/pictures, what do you think will happen in this book?

• What makes you think that?

• What characters do you think might be in the book?

• Do you think there will be problem in the story? Why?

• What do you already know about the topic of this book?

• Does the topic or story relate to you or your family? How?

• Do you think it will be like any other book you’ve read? If so, which one, and how do you think it will be similar?

During reading:

• What has happened so far in the story? Can you tell me using sequence words? (First, then, next, after, finally, etc.)

• What do you predict will happen next?

• How do you think the story will end?

• Why do you think the character did ____________?

• What would you have done if you were the character?

• How would you have felt if you were the character?

• When you read, what pictures did you see in your head?

How did you imagine it looked like?

• What are you wondering about as you read? What questions do you have?

• Think about the predictions you made before reading; do you still think the story will go that way? Why or why not? How do you think it will go now?

After reading:

• Why is the title a good title for the book/story? If you had to give it a different title, what would be another good title for it?

• Were your predictions correct? Where did you have to fix your prediction as you read?

• If there was a problem, did it get solved? How did the character try to solve the problem?

• What happened because of the problem?

• Did any of the characters change through the story? Who changed, and how did they change?

• Why do you think the author wrote this?

• What is the most important point that the author is trying to make in his/her writing?

• What was your favourite part? Why?

• If you could change one part, what would you change?

• If you could ask the author a question, what would you ask?

• Can you retell the story in sequence order (use your fingers and sequence words: first, second, then, next, etc.)

• Is there a character in the story that reminds you of someone you know? If so, who are they like, and why do you think that?

• Does this book remind you of another book you know?

Does it remind you of something you’ve experienced in real life?

For fun: Have them act out a scene from the book, draw you a picture of their favourite part to decorate the refrigerator, or write a follow-up story. They can pretend they are a book reviewer reviewing  the book on TV, or they can write a letter or postcard to the author. 

MORE QUESTIONS: Adapt the questions to be specific to the book.

1. Why did the character do this?
2. What is the main purpose of a contents page? Where is the contents page found? What page is chapter 3 on?
3. ___(Statement from the book or not from the book)___. Is this true of false?
4. This page/text provides information about what?
5. What does it mean "sticky situations"?  ( This is an example. Use terms from the story)
6. What does the title suggest this story is about?
7. According to the text... What does this mean _________?
(explore vocabulary with children)
8. Matching activity. Match words from the story to the definitions
9. Sequencing activity. Put these events in order from the beginning to the end of the story.
10. Which word on this page tells what someone did? (Children find verbs)
11. What word from the story describes how someone is feeling or what something looks like? (Children find adjectives)
12. How was the problem solved?
13. What is the theme of this story?
14. How does the character feel? How do you know?

Every story is different so some questions may not fit. This is a good starting point towards encouraging our students to think about what they are reading.