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Reading Lesson Idea: QAR - A Reading Comprehension Strategy

Description

QAR stands for "Question-Answer Relationships", and is a strategy that helps students learn to answer reading comprehension questions.

Adapted from Content Area Reading by Richard T. Vacca and Jo Anne L. Vacca and from Readers and Writers with a Difference by Lynn K. Rhodes & Curt Dudley-Marling.

Materials
  • Handout QAR Categories & Examples that describes the three question-answer relationship categories, and includes texts and questions for strategy practice.
  • Your choice: further example texts chosen from a variety of topics, short passages from a nonfiction text, no more than two to five sentences in length.
Suggestions
  • Discuss the three QAR categories shown on the handout:
    • “Right There” questions are textually explicit; the answer is found directly in the material.
    • “Think and Search” questions are textually implicit; the reader must interpret the material to find the answer.
    • “On My Own” questions are also textually implicit, but the reader must interact with the text by combining prior knowledge with what is in the text.
  • Read one or more of the example texts on the handout and read and discuss each of the three questions, one from each category. Discuss the differences between the different categories of question.
  • When your student understands the concept, give some more readings with questions of unidentified category and ask your student to identify the category before answering the question.
  • You may want to spread this process over two or more sessions, giving relevant homework assignments.
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