QAR: A Teaching Framework

1. QAR: A Teaching Framework RDNG 7554-Summer 061

2. Types of Questions:Literal In the Book • Right There-answers usually found in one sentence; words parallel those in the question • Think and Search-answers found in different parts of the text; words in question do not match those in the text.

3. Types of Questions: Inferential In the Head • Author and Me • Answers not in the text, but text contains clues; readers must match what the author said to what they know • Own My Own • Readers use their own knowledge and experience to find the answer.

4. Suggestions for Teaching QAR • Use visual aids to represent the four question types. • Place visuals in prominent place so that learners can refer to them easily. • Move from easy to difficult—Right There to Think and Search to Author and Me to On my Own. 4

5. Teaching: Step 1 • Right There, Think and Search, Author and Me Q’s: Teacher models by asking the question, giving the answer, providing the QAR label, explaining the rationale for the label; • On My Own Q’s: Teacher models how to construct the answer5.

6. Teaching: Step 2 • Teacher asks the students the question and provide both the answer and the label. • Students provide the rationale for the label by finding the answer or clue in the text or by explaining how the teacher may have arrived at an On My Own Answer.

7. Teaching Step 3 • Teacher asks the question and supplies the label. • Students provide the anaser and the rationale for the label by locating the answer or clue in the text. • On My Own Q’s, students explain how they crafted the answer.

8. Teaching: Step 4 • Teacher gives the students the question. • Students provide the answer, label, and rationale.

9. Teaching: Step 5 • Teacher assigns a passage. • Students construct questions using QAR guidelines. • Students pose questions to peers and ask for the type of questions, an answer to the question, and cues in text that provide proof of answer if Right There or Think and Search questions, or justification of answer if Author and Me and On My Own questions.

10. Selecting Materials: Improving Reading Comprehension • The RIC has graded passages and questions, allowing you to select passages according to your instructional goals. For example, you may have found that a fifth grader scored low on the inference questions across several grade levels. One of your goals might be to help the fifth grader answer all inference questions correctly in graded passages up to fifth grade. • You could follow the five QAR steps for inferential Qs, beginning with the passage at the student’s independent level and working up to grade 5 passages. • In your post-assessment, you would pay close attention to changes in the student’s comprehension of inferential questions from the pre- to the post-assessment.

11. Selecting Materials: Test Prep • The Reading Center has sample tests organized by grade levels. • A goal of your test-prep sessions might be to help the student answer 90% of the questions on the test sheets at his/her grade level. • You might select test sheets on the student’s independent level and work up to test sheets on the student’s grade placement level. Continue working until the student can answer 90% of questions correctly on the test sheet that represents his/her grade placement.

12. Questions and Comments