Originally published by Scholastic Parents on October 6, 2022<\/em> Let\u2019s face it: In everyone\u2019s super busy schedules, settling in with your kids to read a story is such precious time. But you can make it even more <\/em>valuable and boost the skills your child gets out of reading by asking a few strategic questions. As a bonus, it\u2019ll make the reading experience more interesting and engaging for both of you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen you ask questions during story time, it really helps children learn to be active readers and to think critically,\u201d says Tammy Milby, Ph.D., director of reading in the Department of Education at the University of Richmond. \u201cWhen parents can get kids thinking and discussing a text, it makes story time a richer experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask these questions before, during, and after a story to encourage your young learner to think about the text in a more in-depth way (it\u2019s OK if your child can\u2019t read independently yet!). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jumpstart your child\u2019s creativity and attention to detail! \u201cThis question helps children notice and think about clues from the title and illustrations,\u201d says Milby. What\u2019s more, it piques their interest in the book, while encouraging them to think about any background knowledge they have on the story\u2019s topic to make predictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In general, try to keep your questions open-ended (Ask, “What do you think this story is about?” rather than, \u201cDo you think this story is about a superhero?\u201d). \u201cOpen-ended questions facilitate conversation and vocabulary building by giving the child the chance to formulate a full response,\u201d adds Milby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every so often, cover a word in a sentence and ask this question. \u201cIt helps with children\u2019s syntax, because they\u2019re indirectly noticing that they need to choose either a noun, adjective, verb, or so forth based on what helps the sentence make sense,\u201d says Andrew DiNapoli, director of curriculum at the Baldwin School District in New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also encourages observational skills, since your child will choose a word based on what they’ve learned about the story so far (perhaps every sentence ends with a word that rhymes with \u201ccat\u201d) or what they decipher from the illustrations (perhaps there\u2019s a rat in the picture).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simple recall questions help you gauge your child\u2019s reading comprehension. It\u2019s common for a child to skim past words or names they\u2019re not familiar with, but remembering these basic facts helps them to better answer more complex comprehension questions later on, and boosts attention and memory skills. What\u2019s more, knowing all of the important details will help make the rest of the book far more engaging and enjoyable. If necessary, flip back through the pages to find the answer together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When your child thinks about a character\u2019s traits, they may begin to decide if they would make the same decisions as that character. It also encourages your child to consider the relationships between characters. \u201cUnderstanding those relationships leads to a better comprehension of the overall story,\u201d says DiNapoli. \u201cSeeing certain relationships \u2014 say, that between a mother and a child \u2014 helps the reader better understand the character\u2019s ability to move through specific challenges and conflicts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n You could also phrase this question as: \u201cCan you make a connection between what\u2019s happening in this book and something in your own life?\u201d. \u201cWe want kids to make these powerful connections to their world because it helps them to better understand what\u2019s happening around them,\u201d says Milby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This question encourages your child\u2019s reasoning skills. \u201cAt this point, they\u2019re thinking about the big ideas within the story, but also the authorial moves that were made,\u201d says DiNapoli. \u201cThe author made a decision by telling the story from a certain point of view, but if you tell it from another character\u2019s point of view, the plot might change.\u201d Consequentially, to answer, your child will need to consider how the characters, setting, and structure are connected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your child will need to reflect on the story to answer this question, and will also need to think comprehensively about the various routes the plot could have taken. \u201cIf the theme of the story is honesty, then they might brainstorm other solutions to the plot\u2019s conflict that reflect that theme,\u201d says DiNapoli. For the more advanced reader, you may even ask, \u201cCan you create an ending to the story that shows how the characters solved the problem in a different way?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Amplify the benefits of story time by asking your young reader these questions before, during, and after you read together. Originally published by Scholastic Parents on October 6, 2022Versioned for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[5,6,7,10,11],"class_list":["post-1357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reading-tips","tag-book-clubs","tag-book-fairs","tag-parents","tag-reading-aloud","tag-reading-fluency"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
<\/em>Versioned for Scholastic Canada<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nBefore You Read<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
1. What do you think might happen in this story?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
While You Read<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. What word do you think should come next?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. What was that character\u2019s name again?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Which words do you think best describe this character?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Does anything in this book seem familiar to you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
After You Read<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
6. How might this story be different if it was told from another character\u2019s point of view?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
7. Can you make up a different ending to this story?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n