Asking Questions: The Secret to Deep Reading and Stronger Writing

 If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years teaching reading, it’s this: students who ask questions are the students who think deeply, write thoughtfully, and engage fully with texts.

But it’s not just about asking any question — it’s about asking the right kinds of questions at the right time.

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Before Reading: Setting the Stage

Before students dive into a text, I encourage them to ask questions like:

• “What do I already know about this topic?”

• “What do I want to learn?”

This primes their thinking, helps them make connections, and gives them a purpose for reading. For students who struggle with comprehension, I differentiate these questions — some might need sentence starters like, “I think this might be about…” while others can create open-ended predictions.

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During Reading: Staying Engaged

While reading, the magic happens when students pause and ask:

• “What is happening here?”

• “Why did this character do that?”

• “What does this part make me wonder?”

Differentiation is key here. Some students need guided prompts or small group support, while others can handle abstract questions that challenge them to infer or analyze. Teaching students to pause, reflect, and jot down their questions not only keeps them focused but also naturally builds higher-level thinking skills.

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After Reading: Reflection and Growth

After reading, questions shift toward reflection and synthesis:

• “What was the main idea?”

• “How does this connect to my life or another book I’ve read?”

• “What would I ask the author if I could?”

This is where differentiation really shines. Students can respond in written form, discuss in book clubs, or even create their own follow-up questions. The result? They start noticing patterns, analyzing text structures, and forming evidence-based opinions — skills that translate directly to stronger writing and confident discussions.

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The Benefits of Teaching Students to Ask Questions

When students learn to ask questions before, during, and after reading, you’ll start to see amazing transformations:

• Deeper comprehension: They understand texts on a meaningful level, not just surface details.

• Improved writing: Their reflections and responses become more detailed, structured, and evidence-based.

• Independent thinking: They can engage with texts on their own and sustain discussions in book clubs.

• Engagement across genres: Questioning helps them interact with narrative, informational, and even challenging texts.

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Two Resources I Use All the Time

To support this practice, I rely on two go-to resources:

1. A Differentiated Questioning Guide: Tailored prompts that meet students where they are, from beginner readers to advanced thinkers.

2. A Variety Question Bank: A collection of question types (inference, prediction, analysis, reflection) that support differentiation and can be used across independent reading, small groups, and book clubs.

Teaching students to ask questions isn’t just a strategy — it’s a pathway to confident readers, critical thinkers, and strong writers.

How I Make Nonfiction Come Alive in My Classroom

I’ll be honest—teaching nonfiction can sometimes feel like a chore. Dense passages, complicated diagrams, and dry facts can leave students disengaged. But over the years, I’ve learned that when nonfiction is taught strategically, it transforms students into confident, analytical readers.

Here’s a little peek into how I bring nonfiction to life in my classroom:

Starting with Structure:

Whenever I introduce a new nonfiction topic, I start small. I pull out a short passage and ask students to identify the structure—Is it cause and effect? Compare and contrast? Sequence? Problem and solution?

We use graphic organizers to map our thinking.

Suddenly, a confusing paragraph isn’t so intimidating—it’s a puzzle we can solve together.

Students love seeing how the information connects, and it gives them tools they can carry to every nonfiction text they read.

Text Features as Treasure Maps:

Headings, captions, diagrams, and bolded words aren’t just extra—they’re our treasure maps for finding the important stuff.

I make it a game: students hunt for key information using text features, discuss their findings, and explain how these features helped them understand the passage better.

By the end of the week, they aren’t just reading—they’re analyzing, thinking critically, and even anticipating questions before we discuss them.

Practice that Sticks

After introducing structure and features, we practice using mini passages and task cards.

I set up small stations where students can rotate, sort text types, answer questions, and discuss their thinking.

It’s amazing how much engagement increases when students can actively interact with the text instead of passively reading it.

We also do short written responses, where students cite evidence from the text.

These exercises help them practice skills that show up on tests and assignments—without it feeling like “test prep.”

Check out some of the things I use: click here