Installment One
Why Off-The-Rack Questions Rarely Yield Organically Produced Academic Responses
Match the Question to the Text
What can you tell me about the main character?
What are three differences between the characters in the story?
What did the author want the reader to know about the relationship between the characters?
And how do you know?
What made Clifford a unique pet for Emily to own?
What were some similarities and differences between the feelings of fear that Brian and his pilot must have had before the plane crash?
How did the author’s use of the words “weak” and “evil” impact the reader’s perception of Odysseus and the Cyclops? And what moral was the author attempting to illustrate for the reader?
We know the complexity and sophistication needed to show yearly growth on yearly achievement tests increases dramatically for each year students are in school.
It is easy to “see” the increasing expectations in standards and in the complexity of the text that students are asked to read.
However, it can be harder to “see” the same increasing sophistication when it comes to the questions that teachers ask.
If any question can be used for any text, how can we expect students to know academically appropriate ways to interact with the content?
