3H – Here, Hidden, Head Boost reading comprehension – students generate questions for buddies to answer

Teacher explanation version

Level 1 - Literal HereStudents make up questions which require their buddy to scan the text for a key word.

These facts often state Who, What, Where, When.

Who discovered penicillin?What is the formula for water?Where is the adventure taking place?When was the Battle of Hastings?

Level 2 – Inferential comprehension HiddenTeach this in detail. Always start by giving a film or TV example, so students understand what inferring is. E.g. A movie which starts with a car break down, a derelict mansion, a storm/lightning and eerie music will be a horror film. We have inferred this, using visuals, music and genre CODES. Reading also has its own CODES which allow us to infer. Inferring is also called READING BETWEEN THE LINES.

Inferring is built on making connections and seeing patterns.

Students make up questions which draw on an understanding of character stereotypes [in fiction] or layout and purpose [in factual texts].

Students always justify their answers by giving words from the text. They say which clue word or word trail gave them their answer.

What is the purpose of this text?Who is the audience for this?What is the context of this text?What is the genre of this text?What is the tone of this text?What is the bias of this text?What is the implied belief system this is built upon?

Why is this diagram included? What idea does it show? How does that link to the rest of the text?

What is the main idea here?What does ___ mean?Why is this happening?What are X’s motives?

How does the character feel?What is the impact of that event/issue/process? What power relationship/reaction/characteristic does the dialogue show?

Level 3 – Applied level comprehension HeadStudents make up questions asking for their buddy’s personal opinion OR asking for REAL LIFE applications of the text.

What do you think about this?Why do you think the topic matters? How do you think ideas in this text can be used in a practical way? What do you think will happen if these trends continue?

Lizzie Chase - PSP Consultant – Equity Team - Western Sydney Region

3H – Here, Hidden, Head Bank of sample questions

Here – Find facts

What…? Who…? Where…? When…?

Hidden – Make connections

What is the purpose of this text? Who is the audience for this? What is the context of this text? What is the genre of this text? What is the tone of this text? What is the bias of this text? What is the implied belief/economic/political system this is built upon?

Why is this diagram included? What idea does it show? How does that link to the rest of the text?

What is the main idea here? What does ___ mean? Find a word in the text that means X, is a synonym for X [X is in the question, not in text

– so students need to learn how to find similar ideas/words in the text] Why is this happening? What are X’s motives?

How does the character feel? What is the impact of that event/issue/process? What power relationship/reaction/characteristic does the dialogue show?

Head – Find opinions and applications

What do you think about this? Why do you think this topic is important? How do you think ideas in this text can be used in a practical way? What do you think will happen if these trends continue?

3H – Here, Hidden, Head Sample HIDDEN questions: Non-fiction

Lizzie Chase - PSP Consultant – Equity Team - Western Sydney Region

Infer by looking at Questions

Title, subheadings, topic sentences

What are the main ideas in this text?

Physical layout

What is this text? [An experiment, newspaper report, discussion etc]What is its purpose?Who is it written for? [Age group, level of difficulty]

Trends in diagrams and graphs

What trend does this graph show?If this keeps happening, what will be the result?

Distribution, climate, topography and resources maps

Where are most pine trees found?Where do most Australians live?Why don’t many Australians live in the centre of Australia?

Tables

Do vegetables contain more water than animals?What substances are the greatest pollutants in Australia?

Pictures plus written text near it

What is human destruction of its habitat doing to the tiger?

How does this picture express a main idea? Is it an example?

Logical structure: Arguments/evidence;

Cause/effects; Advantages/disadvantages; Compare/contrast etc

What is the logical structure of this text? What is the argument that this author is building? What are the effects?What are the similarities?

Persuasive language + images

What suffering do seals feel when they are caught up in plastic?

What opinion is the author persuading us to take about floating plastic in the sea?

3H – Here, Hidden, Head Sample HIDDEN questions: Fiction

Expressive verbs Infer by looking at Questions

Lizzie Chase - PSP Consultant – Equity Team - Western Sydney Region

IDEA

Evidence Evidence

Verbs showing FEELINGS and REACTIONS

He shuddered and shook.How is he feeling?

Verbs showing a character’s VALUES

He persevered and struggled, then he won through. What kind of man was he? Sylvia designed an invention to prevent suffering. What did Sylvia care about?

Verbs showing a character’s PERSONALITY

Jenny roared through the halls, causing havoc in her path.

What kind of personality does Jenny have?

Verbs building ATMOSPHERE

The house moaned, its timbers creaking, as the ghost went gliding through its rooms.

What atmosphere is created here?

Verbs showing EFFECTS After the lamenting of the women, the household fell silent. What may have caused this crying?

The police cars patrolled the streets repeatedly. The citizens skulked inside in their houses. Why might the citizens be staying in their houses?

Verbs showing RELATIONSHIPS

Sandra hugged her friend Cathy. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you are okay.” What sort of friend is Sandra?

John hurled Sam’s letter into the bin, dismissing his news. How does John feel about Sam?

3H – Here, Hidden, Head Make up questions at each level

Here - Facts

Lizzie Chase - PSP Consultant – Equity Team - Western Sydney Region

Effect 1

Effect 2

Cause

Hidden - Connections

Head - Applications

Lizzie Chase - PSP Consultant – Equity Team - Western Sydney Region