Click each step to learn more about the process for creating text-dependent questions:

Step One: Begin With the End in Mind

Identify the Core Understandings of the Text - As in any good backwards-design process, you should start by reading and annotating the entire text while always keeping in mind the question, "What is the most important concept that I want my students to gain from this text?" All questions must lead to a bigger understanding. Therefore, be mindful that with well-conceived scaffolding, high school students are able to understand the deepest levels in the text.

Create the Culminating Assessment - Develop a culminating activity around the key ideas or understandings that

(a) reflects mastery of one or more of the standards,
(b) involves writing, and
(c) is structured to be completed by students independently or with minimal support.

Identify the Standards That Are Being Addressed - Take stock of what standards are being addressed and decide if any other standards are suited to being a focus for this text (forming additional questions that exercise those standards).

Step Two: Start Small to Build Confidence

The first text-dependent question should guide the students toward the bigger understanding. This first question should be manageable for young readers so that they are able to gain confidence to tackle more difficult questions later on.

Step Three: Target Vocabulary and Text Structure

Locate key text structures and the most powerful words in the text that are connected to the key ideas and understandings, and craft questions that draw students' attention to the author's choices with regard to words and phrases. When crafting text-dependent questions for even the youngest children, consider the most abstract words in the text to allow students to develop their understandings of figurative and connotative meanings.

Step Four: Tackle Tough Sections Head On

Find the sections of the text that will present the greatest difficulty and craft questions that support students in mastering these sections (these could be sections with difficult syntax, particularly dense information, and tricky transitions or places that offer a variety of possible inferences).

Step Five: Create Coherent Sequences of Text-Dependent Questions

Text-dependent questions should follow a coherent sequence to ensure that students stay focused on the text. This helps students come to a gradual understanding of a text's meaning.