1. W1- Recognition of Central Idea or
Theme
• Central idea (informational and persuasive) is what the passage is
about
• Theme (narrative) is the “big idea,” message or lesson the author
wants the reader to learn

2. Notes:
A central idea or theme is a statement that is broad
enough to cover the entire scope of the reading
passage. The central idea or theme may be stated
directly or implied, but clues to it are found in the
ideas that tend to recur in the text. Example of a
central idea or theme statement include:
Imagination helps us to solve problems.
The destruction of the environment today will
hurt our world tomorrow.

3. W2- Recognition of Supporting Ideas
• Supporting ideas are used to develop the central idea of the
passage.
• Supporting ideas are used to develop that main idea of a
paragraph or subheading
• In a narrative, details are pieces or information that add interest
or a deeper meaning to a story
• Supporting details tell who, why, what, when, where, and how
something happens

4. Notes:
 These questions focus on meaningful details
that contribute to the development of a character
or the plot, or that develop ideas and information
that are essential to the central idea of theme of
a text.

5. W3- Extrapolating Information
• When a reader is extrapolating information, he/she is using literal
information from the text and extending it to reach a conclusion.
• These questions ask the student to do any of the following:
Demonstrate comprehension through retelling or summarizing ideas;
Extend information form the text based on literal information given;
Use literal details from the text to draw a conclusion.

6. Notes:
 These questions focus on ideas and information
that are implied by, but not explicit in, the text.
For example, students may be asked to draw
from cues provided by the text in order to identify
how a character feels.

7. W4- Paraphrase, retell, or interpret meaning of
words, phrases, or sentences from the text.
• Context means the words that come before or after a
particular word or phrase.
• Context may be a phrase, a sentence, or a paragraph.
• The reader is inferring a word’s meaning by combining
the text’s information with personal knowledge.

8. Notes:
 These questions focus on the meaning of words
used in the text and elicit students’ use of
effective reading strategies to determine the
meaning. Targeted vocabulary will always occur
within a semantic and syntactic context that
students should draw on to respond to the
question. These questions provide page
numbers to encourage students to turn back to
the text to examine the context.

9. W5 – Recognition of organizational
structure of text
• Organizational patterns used in non-fiction include time
order, cause/effect, sequential, comparison/contrast,
problem/solution, decreasing or increasing importance
• Organizational elements in fiction include plot structure,
character development, chronological order, effect of
setting and mood.

10. Notes:
 Text organization encompasses the patterns of
organization that characterize the respective
genres. For narrative, questions focus on
setting, character, and plot as well as on any
distinctive pattern within the story such as
repetition. For everyday text, questions address
structural features such as section topics, charts,
and illustrations in addition to patterns of
organization within the text (such as sequence,
comparison and contrast, or cause and effect).

11. W6- Recognition of a purpose for reading
• Knowing the author’s purpose helps the reader
understand and focus on the main points / ideas of the
article.
• When a reader recognizes the author’s purpose for
writing, he/she understands what the author is trying to
make the reader think, learn, or feel.

12. Notes:
 These questions, which focus on the
reader’s purpose, address reasons for
reading a particular text. A story read for
enjoy may, for example, convey specific
information about a species of animal or a
culture although that was not be the primary
purpose of the text.

13. A1 - Questioning
• Students should be able to extend reading
comprehension by actively interacting with the text.
• Students should be able to link aspects of the text with
other experiences and people.

14. Notes:
 These questions draw on students’ use of
reading strategies to construct meaning. The
questions introduce a focus and a context for
responding (e.g. asking a question of the author
or a character), and ask students to analyze
ideas and information from the text to develop a
response. Given the nature of this task, these
questions are almost always open-ended.

15. A2- Prediction of tentative meaning
• Sometimes a writer uses a phrase or sentence whose meaning is
inferred by the events or situations that surround it.
• The meaning of this phrase or sentence is not a literal interpretation
and understanding what is meant is important to understanding the
passage.
• A reader must examine other facts as he/she reads to get the
correct meaning.

16. Notes:
 These questions focus of statements within the
text that introduce some ambiguity: either the
ideas are not fully explained or the statement
uses language that can be read two or more
ways. For these questions, students use their
knowledge of language and of the context within
the reading passage to analyze the meaning of
a particular statement.

17. A3- Forming of opinions
• A reader should be able to form an opinion based upon
prior events as well as examining the writer’s technique
(point of view).
• Like drawing conclusions, forming an opinion is a
judgment that is made after having read the passage
and knowing the events and characters in the story.

18. Notes:
• These questions elicit students’ response to
aspects of the text. The question introduces a
focus (e.g. whether the main character would
make a good friend) and asks students to select
and analyze ideas and information from the text
to develop a response. Due to the nature of the
task, these questions are often open-ended.

19. A4- Make judgments and draw conclusions from
the text
• Draw conclusions and inferences from the text.
• Cite evidence from text to support conclusions.
• Respond critically to text ideas and the author’s craft by
using textual evidence to support interpretations.
• Whenever a reader makes a judgment or draws a
conclusion, he/she needs to combine the facts and
details of what is inferred by the text with personal
knowledge, experience and judgments.
• Combining this information, the reader is making an
educated guess.
• This type of inference takes the reader beyond what the
author states directly.

20. Notes:
• These questions ask the students to draw
conclusions based on knowledge they have
garnered from the ideas and information with
the text. For example, students might be
asked to analyze how the setting (e.g.
season of the year) affects the sequence of
events within a story, or to analyze the effect
of skipping a step in a certain procedure.

21. A5- Interpretation of conventions of print
and literary forms
• A reader should know why words, phrases, or
sentences are italicized, quoted or printed in
boldface.
• Reader needs to examine and understand the
meaning for the different reasons print will change
within a passage.

22. Notes:
• These questions focus on devices used by
the author. Students might be asked to
analyze what a specific metaphor conveys
about a character in the story, or why an
author uses italics for certain words.

23. A5- (continued) Interpret figurative
Language and literary devices
• Figurative language is the use of words in an
imaginative, non-literal sense so that words do not have
their usual meaning.
• Literary devices are the tools a writer uses to tell a story.

24. Notes:
In answering these questions, the
students need to know and/or recognize
metaphors, similes, personification and
imagery.
Literary devices a student needs to know
is irony, flashback, foreshadowing, and
symbolism. Also included is sarcasm

25. Open ended questions
 Write responses to literature and
develop insights into interpretations by
connecting to personal experiences and
referring to textual information.
 Demonstrate higher order thinking skills
and writing clarity when answering open
ended questions in content areas or as a
response to literature.