Saucon Valley High SchoolTori Heffelfinger

Karen Krupa

“Successful people ask better questions, and as a

result, they get better answers.”

--Tony Robbins

Just because a student may struggle to read the text does not mean he/she can’t think.

Many students try to answer questions using ONLY information from the text.

Other students try to answer questions using ONLY their background knowledge.

Three Levels of Text Processing

• Literal – getting the facts as stated in a text.

• Inferential – requires readers to determine an appropriate answer drawn from the text and their prior knowledge.

• Critical – requires readers to think beyond what is stated in the text. Readers draw information from their prior knowledge to derive plausible answers.

Q.Question

R.Answer

R. Relationships

“ The value of QAR lies in the way it clarifies how students can approach the task of reading texts and answering questions.”

Raphael, 1986

QAR is effective in helping to delineate the differences among the three major types of comprehension – literal, inferential, and critical. Raphael, 1986

Question-Answer Relationships

Right There – Text explicit

Think & Search – Text explicit

Author & Me – Text explicit/experienced based

On My Own – Experienced based

Question-Answer Relationships

Right There – The answer is directly stated in the text. In fact, the words from the question and the answer are included in the same sentence.

David’s Story

David woke up fifteen minutes late. As soon as he saw the clock, he jumped out of bed and headed for the shower, afraid he would miss the bus again. He looked in the dryer for his favorite jeans, but they were actually still in the washing machine. “Dang! I told my sister to put my stuff in the dryer! Now what am I gonna wear today?” After settling for a pair of baggy shorts and a Hilfiger rugby shirt, he grabbed a bag of chips and a soda from the kitchen, and searched frantically for his history book. When he found it, he put it in his backpack, along with his breakfast, his hat, and his lucky deck of cards. As he ran to the bus stop, he told himself, “I will not stay up late watching wrestling anymore!”

What did David do as soon as he saw the clock?What did he tell himself as he ran to the bus stop?

David woke up fifteen minutes late. As soon as he saw the clock, he jumped out of bed and headed for the shower, afraid he would miss the bus again. He looked in the dryer for his favorite jeans, but they were actually still in the washing machine. “Dang! I told my sister to put my stuff in the dryer! Now what am I gonna wear today?” After settling for a pair of baggy shorts and a Hilfiger rugby shirt, he grabbed a bag of chips and a soda from the kitchen, and searched frantically for his history book. When he found it, he put it in his backpack, along with his breakfast, his hat, and his lucky deck of cards. As he ran to the bus stop, he told himself, “I will not stay up late watching wrestling anymore!”

What did David do as soon as he saw the clock?What did he tell himself as he ran to the bus stop?

Question-Answer Relationships

Think & Search- The answer is in the text, but the words from the question and the answer are not in the same sentence.

David’s Story

David woke up fifteen minutes late. As soon as he saw the clock, he jumped out of bed and headed for the shower, afraid he would miss the bus again. He looked in the dryer for his favorite jeans, but they were actually still in the washing machine. “Dang! I told my sister to put my stuff in the dryer! Now what am I gonna wear today?” After settling for a pair of baggy shorts and a Hilfiger rugby shirt, he grabbed a bag of chips and a soda from the kitchen, and searched frantically for his history book. When he found it, he put it in his backpack, along with his breakfast, his hat, and his lucky deck of cards. As he ran to the bus stop, he told himself, “I will not stay up late watching wrestling anymore!”

How did David get ready to leave the house?What did David look for before he left the house?

David’s Story

David woke up fifteen minutes late. As soon as he saw the clock, he jumped out of bed and headed for the shower, afraid he would miss the bus again. He looked in the dryer for his favorite jeans, but they were actually still in the washing machine. “Dang! I told my sister to put my stuff in the dryer! Now what am I gonna wear today?” After settling for a pair of baggy shorts and a Hilfiger rugby shirt, he grabbed a bag of chips and a soda from the kitchen, and searched frantically for his history book. When he found it, he put it in his backpack, along with his breakfast, his hat, and his lucky deck of cards. As he ran to the bus stop, he told himself, “I will not stay up late watching wrestling anymore!”

How did David get ready to leave the house?

David’s Story

David woke up fifteen minutes late. As soon as he saw the clock, he jumped out of bed and headed for the shower, afraid he would miss the bus again. He looked in the dryer for his favorite jeans, but they were actually still in the washing machine. “Dang! I told my sister to put my stuff in the dryer! Now what am I gonna wear today?” After settling for a pair of baggy shorts and a Hilfiger rugby shirt, he grabbed a bag of chips and a soda from the kitchen, and searched frantically for his history book. When he found it, he put it in his backpack, along with his breakfast, his hat, and his lucky deck of cards. As he ran to the bus stop, he told himself, “I will not stay up late watching wrestling anymore!”

What did David look for before he left the house?

Question-Answer Relationships

Author & Me- The answer is not in the text, but the text provides information to use in the answer.

David’s Story

David woke up fifteen minutes late. As soon as he saw the clock, he jumped out of bed and headed for the shower, afraid he would miss the bus again. He looked in the dryer for his favorite jeans, but they were actually still in the washing machine. “Dang! I told my sister to put my stuff in the dryer! Now what am I gonna wear today?” After settling for a pair of baggy shorts and a Hilfiger rugby shirt, he grabbed a bag of chips and a soda from the kitchen, and searched frantically for his history book. When he found it, he put it in his backpack, along with his breakfast, his hat, and his lucky deck of cards. As he ran to the bus stop, he told himself, “I will not stay up late watching wrestling anymore!”

Where was David headed that morning?What time of day was David getting ready?

David’s Story

David woke up fifteen minutes late. As soon as he saw the clock, he jumped out of bed and headed for the shower, afraid he would miss the bus again. He looked in the dryer for his favorite jeans, but they were actually still in the washing machine. “Dang! I told my sister to put my stuff in the dryer! Now what am I gonna wear today?” After settling for a pair of baggy shorts and a Hilfiger rugby shirt, he grabbed a bag of chips and a soda from the kitchen, and searched frantically for his history book. When he found it, he put it in his backpack, along with his breakfast, his hat, and his lucky deck of cards. As he ran to the bus stop, he told himself, “I will not stay up late watching wrestling anymore!”

Where was David headed that morning? He was on his way to school.

David’s Story

David woke up fifteen minutes late. As soon as he saw the clock, he jumped out of bed and headed for the shower, afraid he would miss the bus again. He looked in the dryer for his favorite jeans, but they were actually still in the washing machine. “Dang! I told my sister to put my stuff in the dryer! Now what am I gonna wear today?” After settling for a pair of baggy shorts and a Hilfiger rugby shirt, he grabbed a bag of chips and a soda from the kitchen, and searched frantically for his history book. When he found it, he put it in his backpack, along with his breakfast, his hat, and his lucky deck of cards. As he ran to the bus stop, he told himself, “I will not stay up late watching wrestling anymore!”

What time of day was David getting ready? In the morning

Question-Answer Relationships

On My Own- The answer is not in the text; it must come from the reader’s own experiences.

David’s Story

David woke up fifteen minutes late. As soon as he saw the clock, he jumped out of bed and headed for the shower, afraid he would miss the bus again. He looked in the dryer for his favorite jeans, but they were actually still in the washing machine. “Dang! I told my sister to put my stuff in the dryer! Now what am I gonna wear today?” After settling for a pair of baggy shorts and a Hilfiger rugby shirt, he grabbed a bag of chips and a soda from the kitchen, and searched frantically for his history book. When he found it, he put it in his backpack, along with his breakfast, his hat, and his lucky deck of cards. As he ran to the bus stop, he told himself, “I will not stay up late watching wrestling anymore!”

Should teenagers be able to watch TV on school nights?Should parents wake their kids up in the morning?

How can this strategy be used to develop a study guide?

• Read the material thoroughly.

•Determine the main idea(s) you want students to know.

• Develop questions from all four levels.

• Reread the material and complete the study guide in order to ensure correct question levels.

Why QAR?

Teaches students:• How and where to look for answers• How to gain information• How to determine which questions

require answers that are found “in the text”, found “in my head” or a combination of the two

How Do QARs Help?

• QARs are designed to help students develop thinking skills while they read the text.

• QARs help students become active readers who use questions to engage with the text and thus better comprehend it.

Most Standardized Tests:

• 45% Think & Search Questions• 45% Author & Me Questions• 10% Right There Questions

Teaching QARs will improve the quality of student answers.

QARs is one of the most effective ways to raise test scores.