Good Discussion Questions

by Amber Miller

January 17, 2025

To build and support students' comprehension of a specific text, you will want to consider what types of questions to ask before, during, and after they read.

Before Reading

Background knowledge plays an essential role in reading comprehension. Before beginning to read a new text, especially one with potentially unfamiliar or complex content, it is crucial to allow students to activate background knowledge for the text. You can ask a question to activate that knowledge.

Today, we will read a story about a boy named CJ and his grandma. They live in a city. What kinds of transportation might you see in a city? What else might you see in a city?

It's also essential to set a purpose for reading a book by asking a focused question. The question you choose depends on the purpose of your lesson; for example, if you are teaching a specific comprehension strategy, your purpose question should be related to that strategy. A good purpose question is (a) short, (b) doesn't overburden working memory, (c) isn't too detail-oriented, and (d) can be answered using text evidence. After reading the selected text, every child should be able to answer the question by the end of the discussion.

As you read, I want you to consider this question: Where are CJ and Grandma going on the bus?

During Reading

During reading, you will want to intentionally designate stopping points within the text to embed meaning-focused questions. Stopping points are typically after something important happens where literal questions can be answered directly from the text. They can also be inserted where students must utilize background knowledge from prior content or make an inference to ensure comprehension. There are four basic types of question-answer relationships that students encounter:

Right There: literal questions that have an answer easily found directly in the text.

What is the weather like when CJ and his grandma leave the church?

Think and Search: questions with answers that are in the text but require integrating multiple sources of information.

Who else is on the bus with CJ and his grandma?

Author and You: inferential questions requiring the reader to relate what they read in the text to their experiences.

How do you think CJ's feelings about the soup kitchen changed from the beginning to the end of the story?

On My Own: questions that are not text-based but require the reader to use their background knowledge.

How do you think it feels to stand and wait for the bus in the rain?

If you are unfamiliar with question-answer relationships, check out this article from Reading Rockets. To scaffold readers, remember that direct recall questions are more straightforward than open-ended questions or questions about plot or personal experiences. Start with more straightforward questions and build to more abstract and complex questions.

After Reading

After reading, you will want to revisit the purpose question you asked before reading. Encourage your students to support their answers to the question using the text.

You will also want to provide an opportunity to extend your students' thinking through discussion and/or written responses. In a discussion, students should be doing most of the work in terms of contributing ideas, including statements using evidence from the text to support their thinking. Research tells us that students benefit from both whole-class and small-group discussion opportunities. It has also demonstrated text-based discussion is more effective than just text reading alone. This is especially true for students with disabilities and those with below-average achievement. Some students, especially those with disabilities, may find it very difficult to engage in these discussions. Teachers need to explicitly model for students how to engage in discussions, including those in a partner/small-group setting, so that students aren't solely relying on their peers to provide answers to the questions.