Questioning
Handout
The Four Types of Questions
Excerpted from Reading for Understanding
Here is a simple piece of text to read:
David woke up fifteen minutes late. As soon as he saw the clock, he
jumped out of bed and headed for the shower, afraid he’d miss the bus
again. He looked in the dryer for his favorite jeans, but they were
actually still in the washing machine. “Dang! I told my sister to put my
stuff in the dryer! Now what am I gonna wear today?” After settling
for a pair of baggy shorts and a Hilfiger rugby shirt, he grabbed a bag of
chips and a soda from the kitchen, and searched frantically for his
history book. When he found it, he put it in his backpack, along with his
breakfast, his hat, and his lucky deck of cards. As he ran to the bus
stop, he told himself, “I will not stay up late watching wrestling anymore!”
Right There question: A question whose answer is right in the text—all you have to do
is locate it and copy it down.
 What did David do as soon as he saw the clock?
 What did he tell himself as he ran to the bus stop?
Pulling It Together question: A question whose answer is in the text, but you have to
pull it together from different parts of the text—you can’t simply copy it down from
one place.
 How did David get ready to leave the house?
 What did David look for before he left the house?
Author and Me question: A question whose answer is not in the text itself. The
reader has to use the information provided in the text and his/her own schema to
figure out the answer. In other words, the author provides information that can help
answer the question, but does not provide the answer itself.
 Where was David going that morning?
 What time of day was David getting ready to go?
On My Own question: A question whose answer is not in the text itself. The reader
does not have to read the text to answer the question, but reading the text will likely
inform his/her answer to the question.
 Should teenagers be able to watch television on school nights?
 Should parents always wake their kids up in the morning?
Levels of Questions
Level 1A: Right There
You can find the answer to the question “right there” in the text. This
is a factual question that can be answered by copying information out of the text.
Level 1B: Pulling It Together
The answer is still “right there” in the text, but you need to
put some facts together to find the answer. You will have to look in several places.
Level 2: Text and Me
You have to read the text and interpret it. You have to infer your
answer from the text, as well as using your own thoughts and outside information. You cannot just copy
the answer from the text.
Level 3: On My Own/ “Just Me”
You do not necessarily have to read the text in order to
answer this question. It’s what you might be thinking about outside of the text that is sparked by some
idea in the text. Usually there is a thematic connection to the text, but that’s all.