Asking and Answering Questions While Reading

Building academic language

Word

• Tell students that there are some key words they will come across in today’s text, so it's important to have an understanding of these important terms before starting the activity.
• Introduce vocabulary words by reading them aloud and having students repeat them. Go over the definitions and provide visuals when possible. Give examples for each of the words to provide context.
• Give each student a copy of the Glossary worksheet, and have them review the information and look at the images for each word. Have them label the final column Examples and add an example for each of the words that will help them remember the definition.
• Put learners into partnerships and instruct them to orally define one of the vocabulary words in their own words. Allow them to use home language (L1) if there is the opportunity to partner students with the same L1. Provide them with the following sentence frame: “The word ____means ____.”
• Call on students to share their original definitions of the vocabulary words.

Sentence

• Display and distribute the Common Question Words worksheet. Go over the teaching box by having a learner read the information for each type of question word. Pair students with their shoulder partners and have them share one additional question for each of the six question words. Facilitate a quick share-out with the class.
• Model reading aloud the first example in Part 1, and point out that the word find is probably referring to a place or location. Show learners how to refer to the teaching chart at the top of the worksheet to figure out the best question word.
• Put students into A-B partnerships. Instruct Partner A to lead the discussion for #2, while Partner B agrees or disagrees. Have them switch roles for #3. Go over the answers as a class.
• Have individuals complete #4-6 of Part 1 individually. Call on nonvolunteers to hear answers and reasoning for choosing the question word for each of the sentences.
• Display six pieces of chart paper, each with a different question word as the label. Explain that this will be a place to record good examples of questions using each question word.
• Model completing #1 in Part 2 by creating a question that starts with the word who. Show students how to refer to the chart at the top of the worksheet to review the information that a who question seeks. Create the question, and then show how you could orally answer the question. Point out that the answer to a who question will not start with who.
• Have students work together again in their A-B partnerships to complete #2 and #3 in the same way they did in Part 1. Have partnerships share out example questions, and record them on the board or chart paper for the rest of the learners to see.
• Instruct individuals to create questions for the remainder of the worksheet. Gather learners’ attention and share out examples, recording them on the appropriate chart paper to serve as reference.

Discourse

• Explain that with the next worksheet, students will be asking and answering questions based on a short passage. Distribute the Asking Questions: 5Ws + H Question Words worksheet and read aloud the text. Have students circle any of the vocabulary words they learned earlier in the lesson, and put a star next to any new words they want to go over. Define and provide visuals for new words, as needed.
• Model creating a question about the text using one of the question words. For example, "Why does Naya give a quick smile to Leroy?"
• Pair students up, and have them create a question together using a different question word. Then, combine two partnerships to make a group of 4. Have the learners share their questions with each other using the following sentence stems: "Our question word is ____. The question is ____. "
• Instruct students to complete the worksheet independently. Put students back into groups of four and have them use the following sentence stems to share their sentences: "My question word is ____. The question is ____."