1. Informational Text SPI 0701.6.1 Formulate clarifying questions before, during, or after reading Based on Tennessee State Curriculum Standards from the 2009-2010 school year. Prepared by Andy Lombardo, Sevierville Middle SchoolAndy Lombardo

2. Clarifying Questions These are the most common questions students ask when I say we’re going to read a story on page blah blah blah… Why do we have to read this? What’s the point? What page is it on?

3. Clarifying Questions While we’re reading and after we finish, the most common statement I hear is I don’t get it!

4. The point of this lesson and the ones that follow is to help deal with all of those issues.

5. Clarifying Question Activity Play “I Am Thinking of An Animal” How did you figure out what animal I picked? You asked clarifying questions! You use clarifying questions to find out something you don’t know but want to find out.

6. Questions to Ask and Answer Before Reading -Does the title give you any clues about the text? -What genre of writing is this?genre Poetry, prose, drama? Fiction? Nonfiction? Why does the genre matter? -Why are you reading this text? To perform a task? To gain information? To be entertained? -What do you already know about the topic? -What predictions can you make?

7. Questions to Ask and Answer During Reading -What did you learn from what you just read? -Do you need to reread? Do you need to slow down? Do you need to use a different strategy? -What is the main idea? What does the author want you to know about the story? Can you summarize it? -What picture is the author “painting” in your head? What details from the text help to paint this picture? -What’s the mood? Upbeat, suspenseful, spooky, serious, funny? -Are there words you do not know? Does not knowing these words affect your understanding of the text? Do you need to look them up in the dictionary?

8. Questions to Ask and Answer After Reading -What predictions were confirmed? What details in the text confirmed them? -What were the main ideas and themes presented in the text? -How did the author present information? -What connections did you make to the text?

9. Resources Jim Burke’s Before/During/After activities website (ummm, AWESOME!)Jim Burke’s Before/During/After activities website (ummm, AWESOME!) Questions Handout