Reading Questions: Before, During and After

Read a story or watch a video with a friend and take turns asking each other questions before, during and after reading/watching.

PURPOSE

This activity helps learners make inferences based on prior knowledge, it also allows learners to comprehend a story by making more connections while reading, apply creativity to design their own stories and communicate their thoughts effectively.

• Step 1

  Find a book or story to read. Look at the title and the pictures on the cover or title page. Ask the learner questions about what they think the story will be about.

• Step 2

  Next, begin reading the book together and tell the learner to stop whenever they have a question about what is happening in the story, or stop at different parts of the book to ask each other questions of what will happen next in the story. Use the example questions below to frame different types of questions.

• Step 3

  Finally, ask questions at the end of the book. These could include questions that expect the learner to recall different parts of the story, make connections to themselves, the world or another story or questions that prompt the learner to think about new learning (e.g., vocabulary words or new concepts).

• Additional Exercise

  Create a table with 3 rows. Label each row as follows:

  1. Questions I had before reading…

  2. Questions I had during reading…

  3. Questions I had after reading…

  Fill in row 1 of this table before the learner starts reading - so only with questions they have by looking at the title and pictures on the cover of the book. Fill in row 2 while reading the story. Fill in row 3 when they are done reading the book. If they are reading with a partner, they can both do this and then try to answer each other’s questions at the end.

• Simplified Exercise

  This activity can be orally narrated and discussed instead of written down.