Creating Great Text-Dependent Questions
MCLP Technical Assistance
Purpose of this Session
• Participants will be able to
• Explain and avoid common mistakes in the
development of close reading sequences or lessons.
• Write and revise text dependent questions.
• Ask questions about issues you are facing and get
support
What is a Text Dependent Question?
“As the name suggests, a text dependent question
specifically asks a question that can only be
answered by referring explicitly back to the text
being read. It does not rely on any particular
background information extraneous to the text nor
depend on students having other experiences or
knowledge; instead it privileges the text itself and
what students can extract from what is before
them.” (Student Achievement Partners)
CCSS Areas of Focus for TDQs
• Analyze paragraphs on a sentence by sentence
basis and sentences on a word by word basis to
determine the role played by individual
paragraphs, sentences, phrases, or words.
• Investigate how meaning can be altered by
changing key words and why an author may
have chosen one word over another.
• Probe each argument in persuasive text, each
idea in informational text, each key detail in
literary text, and observe how these build to a
whole
CCSS Areas of Focus for TDQs
• Examine how shifts in the direction of an
argument or explanation are achieved and the
impact of those shifts.
• Question why authors choose to begin and end
when they do.
• Note and assess patterns of writing and what
they achieve.
• Consider what the text leaves uncertain or
unstated.
Common Mistakes in Developing TDQs
• Background knowledge questions
• What are the “death watches in the wall?”
• Hunt and peck
• Find two examples of how the narrator is acting anxious.
• Scavenger hunt
• What examples of personification can you find in this story?
• Universal truth
• Fear and obsession drive the narrator’s actions in the story. Describe
how fear and obsession affect the narrator’s decision to admit his crime.
• “According to the text”
• According to the text, is the narrator insane?
• Too many “one-offs”
• How does Poe describe death?
Developing TDQs:
Do Less/Do More
Do Less
Do More
Is the narrator insane? Support
your claim with evidence from the
text.
Why does the narrator choose the
words calmly and healthily when
describing how he is going to tell the
story?
Find two examples of how the
narrator is acting anxious and
frantic in paragraphs 17 and 18.
What is the effect of Poe’s use of
punctuation in paragraphs 17 and 18?
Developing TDQs:
Do Less/Do More
Do Less
Do More
Fear and obsession drive the
narrator’s actions in the story.
Describe how fear and obsession
affect the narrator’s decision to
admit his crime.
What drives the narrator to “admit
the deed”?
What types of adjectives describe
the narrator in this section?
In paragraphs 14 and 15, what is
the effect of the narrator’s
question, “What had I to fear?”
Tips
•
•
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Don’t try to teach the whole text.
Don't worry about writing perfect questions first.
“Head ’em off at the pass” questions are okay.
Focus on small sections, go deep.
Sample Questions for Paragraph 1 & 2
• During what part of the action does Poe
begin his story?
• What is the narrator's purpose in asking the
two questions in paragraph 1?
• What is the effect of Poe’s choice to begin
the story after the action has taken place?
• What distinction is the narrator making
between nervous and mad?
Try This: Develop a TDQ
• Examine how shifts in the direction of an
argument or explanation are achieved and the
impact of those shifts.
• Question why authors choose to begin and end
when they do.
• Note and assess patterns of writing and what
they achieve.
• Consider what the text leaves uncertain or
unstated.
Thanks for Participating!
• What resonated with you today?
• Are there learning takeaways for you that you
could share?
• Is there something you wanted to know more
about?