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One important comprehension strategy we want to teach our kids is asking questions. Questions like, "I wonder why...?" or "What does ___ mean?" keep us wanting to read to find out answers. Our curiosity compels us to find the answers. Today, I'm sharing a book list for asking questions. These texts are written in such a way that it makes kids want to ask questions. You can read more about asking questions over at The Measured Mom.

by Demi is a fantastic little book that teaches the value of honesty, but the author gets kids guessing along the way. Why didn't his seed grow? What will happen when he goes before the Emperor? Why did all the other kids' seeds grow into beautiful flowers? Perhaps my favorite way to use the book is to launch into a little science experiment on growing regular seeds vs. trying to grow cooked seeds. Pretty cool!

More Than Anything Else by Marie Bradby will get kids asking questions simply because it is not written in our time period. It's also great because kids have to infer what exactly he wants to do more than anything as it's not completely revealed until the end of the book.

The Wise Woman and Her Secret by Eve Merriam has been a favorite of mine when teaching kids to ask questions while reading. The woman's secret is a mystery and kids will find themselves asking questions left and right along the way until they discover it at the end.

The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg is indeed a very strange book, but I feel that way about most of Chris Van Allsburg's books. When picking books for asking questions, almost any of his books would be a good fit.

Just like Chris Van Allsburg, almost any of William Steig's books foster the strategy of asking questions. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig is probably my favorite, but I simply love Steig's way with stories and his way with words.

Oh, my! If there was ever a book that compelled kids to ask questions, Grandfather Twilight by Barbara Helen Berger would be it! The front cover alone elicits a multitude of questions. And it's that way all through the book.

You Are Special by Max Lucado is written by a Christian author and the underlying theme is Christian, although subtle. It is a great discussion starter for kids. For example, "Who do you think Eli represents?" or "Why didn't the stickers stick to Lucia?" Max Lucado has an entire series of books like this that get kids really thinking and asking questions.

Mysteries and books that are full of suspense make GREAT books for getting kids to asking questions. You really can't help but ask questions with a mystery book and you really do want to keep reading to find out the answers! Young readers may enjoy Nate the Great, Cam Jansen, Magic Tree House, or A to Z Mysteries. The Hatchet series was a favorite of the older kids that I tutored.

The Who Was? series is a great chapter book series that has titles that are formed as questions to guide kids into asking questions about these people, when they lived, and their role in history. You can find the Who Was? listed in our favorite nonfiction series book list along with some other nonfiction texts that would fit nicely into asking questions.

More Books Lists You May Enjoy:

~Becky

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This post contains affiliate links. One important comprehension strategy we want to teach our kids is asking questions. Questions like, "I wonder why...?" or "What does ___ mean?" keep us wanting to read to find out answers. Our curiosity compels us to find the answers. Today, I'm sharing a book list for asking questions.

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This focus on close reading resource helps you teach students how to differentiate and form thick and thin questions.

As this is an older post, each resource is available as a single download instead of one, larger download.

This is a part of our series on Close Reading. If you are looking for additional free resources, please visit our Complete Close Reading Collection.

This is the first in a series of posts designed to provide resources for Close Reading instruction in the classroom. The goal of these printables is to help children begin to learn how to differentiate between thick and thin questions. Students will then learn how to ask deeper questions.

Thick or Thin Questions Anchor Chart ( in black and white) An important part of self-monitoring is asking questions while reading. Often, it can be difficult for students to determine how to ask meaningful questions. We like to help students understand how questions can differ by referring to them as thick or thin questions. Once students understand the difference, they can be encouraged to form questions that dig deeper into the text.

Mini Thick or Thin Questions Anchor Chart ( in black and white) These will print four on a page - they are just right for student reading notebooks or as bookmarks.

Thick or Thin Card Sort These cards can have a variety of uses in your room. You may choose to begin by using it during a mini-lesson and ask the class to work together to sort each question into the correct category. The cards could also be used as prompts for students developing their own questions. Or, the cards could be used during a literacy club as a way to guide questioning.

Thick or Thin Questions Practice Page Before students can be expected to ask questions in their head to self-monitor while reading, they must be given many opportunities to practice this skill. We have created this graphic organizer as an exit slip to be used in your classroom. We suggest first modeling during a mini-lesson. The next day we would repeat the activity while asking students to have more input in the formation of questions. When students are ready, assign this page as a task during independent reading, reviewing answers during group share time at the end of class. For readers who are still struggling with this task, you might use this to guide your small group reading instruction. Laura over at ReadLearnTeachLife suggests using the book Weslandia for practicing the skill of developing thick and thin questions. We checked it out and think it is a great fit for the lesson. If you have another favorite, please share below.

Thick or Thin Questions Bookmark Exit Tickets Use these when you want to do a quick check. Students are asked to record one thick and one thin question.

There are so many ideas out there for teaching this concept. What about using the game Hedbanz (contains affiliate link from Amazon) to give students practice? We also found a picture of a class activity where a teacher had students record thick questions on regular size post-it notes and thin questions on the mini post-it tabs. What a great visual! Do you have other ideas? We would love to hear them!

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Close Reading: Asking Thick & Thin Questions - The Curriculum Corner 4-5-6

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This focus on close reading resource helps you teach students how to differentiate and form thick and thin questions. As this is an older post, each resource is available as a single download instead of one, larger download. This is a part of our series on Close Reading.