Questioning – 3 Books and Lessons for Teaching Questioning

Here is a chart with three mini-lesson statements and examples of how to frame your whole class discussion.  Fill out your charts with these organizers as you discuss each book with the class!

The Invisible Boy is such a relatable story with lots of great points to stop and ask questions.  The main character feels invisible because he never quite fits in with all the other kids in his class.  He struggles to be social and feel a sense of belonging.  But, a new kid comes to school and helps him feel not so alone.  It's a great story!

Based on the time of segregation of blacks and whites, White Socks Only is a story of a little girl going about her day.  When she realizes how thirsty she is from the heat she stops to grab a drink at a water fountain.  The sign said, “whites only” so, innocently, the sweet little black girl takes off her shoes so her white socks are all she has on her feet to take a drink.  The little girl has no idea what her actions are about to cause.  It's a great book to talk about the reality of segregation and how unjust it really was.

The Three Questions is an obvious book to teach asking and answering questions.  The boy goes through experiences that lead him to finally answer the three big questions he has about life.

For a variety of graphic organizers to help reinforce teaching students to ask and answer questions and that can be used with any mentor text or independent text, check out this resource!