When reading with your child it is important to ask them questions to check their understanding. Your child should be able to retell the story using words like “first”, “next”, “last” and then answer questions about what happened. Here are some questions for you to ask your child while they are reading and after they are finished.

Before Reading

What do you think this book will be about?
What do you know about the topic of this book? (Have you ever been camping/ seen a ghost/been to a farm, etc)
Does the topic of this book remind you of anything you know or have done?

During Reading

What do you think will happen next? What make you think this?
Why do you think the character did __________________? How do you know?
What must have happened here that the author didn’t tell us?
What emotions is the character feeling? How do you know?
Has anything like this ever happened to you? Does it remind you of something?
Is there anything you’re wondering about right now?

After Reading

Why do you think…?
Why did the character…?
What lesson do you learn from thus book? What clues told you this?
How does the character’s feelings change from the beginning to the end of the book?
What is the problem of this story? How does the character fix the problem?
Describe the setting of the book. Where does the story take place?
How do you know this is the setting?
What are the main events that occur in the beginning, middle, and end of the story?