Critical Questions to Ask Each and Every Day (Margaret Mooney)
PREPARING FOR THE BENCHMARKSCritical Questions to Ask Each and Every Day
This list was presented by Margaret Mooney in a workshop to the Auburn School District in September, 1998 for teachers to use in their everyday instruction.
Hypothesizing Justifying Organizing Prioritizing Analyzing Synthesizing Contrasting Internalizing Summarizing
What kind of text do you expect this to be?
How will that affect the way you read?
What text features or print conventions might be included?
What are some of the details of the text or illustrations you may need to attend to as you read?
How do you anticipate the author will proceed with the story?
Can you identify the pattern of this piece/ the shape of the plot so far? What do you anticipate as the next incident?
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How did you check/ confirm/ prove you were right?
How else did you check your predictions?
Tell how you came to that conclusion.
How did you know that you made a good choice?
Give three reasons why you chose/decided ...
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How did you discover how the text was organized?
What will you need to consider as you plan your response
Do you see any groups or patterns to help you?
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What was the most important information/idea presented?
Which incidents were essential to the plot/purpose?
Which information did you find most helpful in answering the question?
Which information do you anticipate using in your own work? How might you use it?
Which part of the answer do you need to complete first?
Think about what you are being asked to do. Plan the steps you will follow.
How did you find out who the main character was?
Which parts of the text provided the most useful information?
How did you decide which parts of the text were true and which ones you need to check in more detail?
Think how you completed the task/read the text. Are there any things you might do differently next time?
Which parts did you find most difficult? Can you think why that was so?
How did you sustain interest and effort through the reading task?
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Consider the information from ... and ... Which parts match?
Use the information from ... and from ... to answer the following questions.
Recall another character you have met in a similar situation. In what ways were the characters alike?
How did the information from ... help you as you read ...?
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Compare the main character at the beginning of the text with his/her actions and traits at the end? How had they changed?
Identify the differences in the information you gained from the text and from the illustrations?
Which information is factual and which is persuasive?
Which parts brought a smile to your face and which parts a frown?
Which information was useful in answering the questions and which parts did you not need?
Compare the setting of this narrative with the setting of the poem? Identify the similarities and differences.
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How might you act in a similar situation?
What will you consider next time you read a book about... / need to solve a similar problem?
What have you learned as a reader/writer/mathematician from this task problem?
Which character could you identify with? Why?
Which parts of the text/task came to you most easily?
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What conclusions did you come to?
Retell the main ideas in three sentences.
How would you recommend this to a friend
Retell the key pointsWhat happened at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the piece? How did those fit together?
What information would you include in a blurb for this piece?
©Margaret Mooney
