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QAR
is a reading strategy in which students categorize comprehension questions
according to where they got the information they needed to answer each question.
Students are asked to indicate whether the information they used to answer
questions about the text was textually explicit information (information that
was directly stated in the text), textually implicit information (information
that was implied in the text), or information entirely from the student’s own
background knowledge.
QAR
serves five primary purposes:
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Helps students monitor their comprehension of the text. |
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Provides a purpose for reading the text. |
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Allows students to assess their comprehension of the text. |
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Encourages elaborative and critical thinking. |
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Helps refute the common
misconception held by students that the text tells all.
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1. |
Choose
a text.
This strategy works well with both fiction and non-fiction. |
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2. |
Write
questions based on the text. Your questions should fall into one of the following
three categories: |
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CATEGORY
1:
“RIGHT
THERE” — The information that students will need to answer the
question is right there in the text.
CATEGORY
2:
“THINK
AND SEARCH” — The information that students will need to answer the
question is implied in the text, but students will have to
combine ideas in the text with prior knowledge to form inferences.
CATEGORY
3:
“IN
MY HEAD” — The information that students will need to answer the
question is entirely in the reader’s mind. |
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3. |
Go
over the questions with student before they begin reading the text. Thinking about the questions while they are
reading will provide students with a concrete purpose for reading. |
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4. |
After
students have read the text, provide explicit instruction about each of
the three categories above.
You might put the following information on an
overhead or make a handout for students. |
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5. |
Have students answer the questions
and indicate which category of information they needed to answer each. Students
can use the following codes for each category instead of writing out the
category name: |
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RT
(Right
There)
TS
(Think
and Search)
IH (In
my Head) |
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6. |
After
students have answered all questions and indicated category codes for
each, discuss responses and categories as a group. Keep in mind that sometimes the category for a
response is not clear-cut. Some students may argue that the information
they needed to answer a question fell in the “Think and Search”
category. Other students may argue for the “In my Head” category for
the same question. It is not important that there be a single correct
category for every question. What is most important is that students can
support their choice of category. More is learned from the discussion than
from which category is ultimately decided upon. |
Following the text below are some
questions that students might answer after reading the text. In parentheses
after each question is the name of the category into which each question falls.
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Jeff
has lived in Martinsville his entire life. But tomorrow, Jeff and his family
would be moving 200 miles away to Petersburg. Jeff hated the idea of having to
move. He would be leaving behind his best friend, Rick, the baseball team he had
played on for the last two years, and the big oak tree in his backyard, where he
liked to sit and think. And to make matters worse, he was moving on his
birthday! Jeff would be thirteen tomorrow.
He was going to be a teenager! He wanted to spend the day with his
friends, not watching his house being packed up and put on a truck. Jeff thought
that moving was a horrible way to spend his birthday. What about a party? What
about spending the day with his friends? What about what he wanted? But
that was just the problem. No one ever asked Jeff what he wanted.
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How
long has Jeff lived in Martinsville? (Think and Search)
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What
is the name of the town where Jeff and his family are moving? (Right
There)
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What might Jeff do to make
moving to a new town easier for him? (In my Head)
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Does
Jeff like playing on the baseball team he has played on for the last two
years? (Think and Search)
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In what ways can moving to a new
house and to a new city be exciting? (In my Head)
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What
is Jeff’s best friend’s name? (Right There)
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