Comprehension Questions for Fiction Text
Beginning of the Novel or Text
Identify the setting of the story (where and when). Analyze the setting and how it changes over
time. Evaluate if the setting affects the characters. Draw on specific details in the text as
evidence to support your response.
Identify the conflict or problem that the main character(s) encounter as the plot
unfolds. Analyze how the author presents the conflict to the reader by what the character(s)
think, say and do. Draw on specific details in the text as evidence to support your response.
Identify two major events that happen in the story. Provide text evidence to support why it is a
major event.
Choose a character and discuss a trait the character shows in the text. Provide text evidence to
support your thinking.
Middle of the Novel or Text
Describe two important actions the main character takes to try to resolve the conflict. Explain
how these actions are important.
Identify the narrator’s or speaker’s point of view and describe how it influences the way events
are described. What information does the reader get from this point of view?
Determine a theme of the text using details the author gives, including how a character in the
story responds to challenges or conflict. Use ONE detail in the text to support your thinking
about the theme.
Choose two characters and discuss how they compare (same) or how they contrast
(different) from each other. Provide text evidence of what the characters say or do to
support your thinking.
Character #1 _________________ Character #2 ______________________
End of the Novel or Text
Explain how one character has changed through the story. Show evidence from the text to
support your response.
Determine the climax of the story based on the conflict. Show evidence from the text to support
your response.
Describe the resolution of the text based on the conflict. Show evidence from the text to
support your response.
State the theme that is prevalent throughout the story (the author’s central idea or message).
Show evidence from the text to support your response.
Additional Questions to use
1. What is the setting of the story (where and when it takes place)?
2. What is the main character’s problem or conflict in the story?
3. How is the problem or conflict solved in the story?
4. How would you describe the main character? What are some of his/her
characteristics or character traits?
5. What is the main idea or theme of the story? (Or, what BEST tells what the
story is about?)
6. Retell the story in your own words.
7. Summarize the story in 3-5 sentences (beginning, middle, and end).
8. Is this a fiction book? How can you tell?
9. What do you think the main character would MOST LIKELY do if …? (inferring)
10. Why does the main character MOST LIKELY do _______?
11. What lesson does the main character learn by the end of the story?
12. What is the MOST LIKELY reason that ________ happened?
13. What did the main character do FIRST?
14. What is the BIGGEST difference between the characters?
15. What would be another good title for this story?
16. Can a connection be made from an event or a character in the the book to
yourself? Explain your connection.
17. What do you think would happen to the characters if ____ were different
(name a specific event in the story)?
18. Why do you think _____ (name event) occurred in the story? Look back in the
story and support your thinking with specifics from the text. Cause and Effect
19. What literary devices did the author use to enhance the story?
(Personification, simile, metaphor, alliteration, hyperbole, idiom, onomatopoeia)
20. What was your favorite character or part in this story? Explain your answer