Creating Text-Dependent Questions for the Classroom

Activity 2 – Principles in Practice: Passage 1

To put these principles into practice, you are going to dig into a story by Patricia Polacco entitled Thank you, Mr. Falker. In order to fully understand the skill of creating text-dependent questions, you will begin with an examination of the text as a whole. Ultimately, this story is about a thoughtful and caring teacher, and one student in particular, named Trisha, who is struggling in school. Because of Mr. Falker’s observant, nurturing teaching style, he is able to pick up on Trisha’s inability to read, and he gets her the support she needs in order to begin reading. This story also emphasizes the meaningful significance of family relationships, with a particular focus on Trisha’s beautiful emotional connection to her grandparents and the value and importance they place on reading and learning.

Watch a video of a read-aloud by actress Jane Kaczmarek. As you watch the video, think about the meaning of the entire text in order to better understand how to construct the best text-dependent questions that truly measure core understandings.

Thank you, Mr. Falker read by Jane Kaczmarekopens in new window (Source: YouTube)

Now dig into several excerpts in order to develop, apply and practice your understanding of text-dependent questions. Let's start with Passage 1.

In this opening scene from the story, the young reader should be directed to the words and phrases that illustrate the great value that Trisha’s family places on reading. The symbolism of pouring honey on a book is what is most important. As you read Passage 1, notice the following words and phrases that best bring this symbolism to life for the reader.

• book
• Taste
• Sweet
• knowledge is like the bee that made that sweet honey,
• chase it

Now to generate a text-dependent question for the passage.

Think back to the steps for developing good text-dependent questions. Step One requires that students focus on core understandings. Additionally, remember to anchor your questions in the standards. Consider the standards below and the highlighted key words from each standard that must be considered when generating your text-dependent question. Step Two allows students to build confidence with a question that is specific and manageable at the beginning of the text.

• ELA-Literacy RL.3.1 - Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy RL.3.3 - Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

Please note: The particular text chosen for this module is designated for grade 3 based on quantitative (Lexile) and qualitative measures. The text is tied to grade-specific standards from the Common Core State Standards, however, the principles with regard to generating text-dependent questions in this elementary module are NOT grade specific; rather these principles are applicable to ALL elementary grade levels.

Check Your Understanding

Decide what would make a good text-dependent question for this passage.  Select an answer from the options below and click Submit.

When constructing text-dependent questions, you should have a good understanding of the kinds of responses to expect from students and a target response that best demonstrates close reading, use of accurate, relevant text support, and a deep understanding of the core ideas in the text. Select the best answer and click Submit.