Comprehension question bank to aid discussion about reading
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Where does the story take place?
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When did the story take place?
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What did [insert character’s name] look like?
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Where do the characters live?
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Who is the main character? Who are the main characters?
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What happened in the story?
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What kind of people are in the story?
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What happened after…?
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Can you tell me why…?
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Describe what happened at/when…
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Find the bit where…
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How many…?
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Who was it that…?
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Can you name the…?
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Describe what happened at…?
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Who spoke to…?
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Can you tell me why…?
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Where did it tell us…?
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Which is true or false…?
Deduce, infer and interpret information in the text
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What does the word [insert word] imply/make you think of?
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If you were going to interview/ask a character a question, who
would you ask and what would your question be?
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What do you think will happen because of…?
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What do you think happened before the story began?
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Through whose eyes is the story told?
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Why do you think [insert name of character] feels…?
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If it was you, what would you do next? Why?
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How have the characters changed during the story? What has
brought about these changes?
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Predict what you think is going to happen next. What makes
you think this? How do you know that…?
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What does the main character feel at this point in the story?
How do you know this? Can you pick out a word/phrase/
sentence?
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Can you describe in your own words…?
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What do you think could have happened next…?
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Who do you think…?
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What was the main idea…?
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Who was the main character?
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Can you explain…?
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What differences exist between…?
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Can you provide an example of what you mean?
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Can you provide a definition for…?
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What did [insert name of character] do/say to make you
think…?
Structure and organisation of the text
(what does it look like?)
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How do headings help you when you scan the text?
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How does the layout help the reader?
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How does the title of the story encourage you to read more?
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Some of the text is printed in a different way. Why do you think
the writer has done this?
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Why has the author repeated structures such as specific word s
and/or phrases?
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What is the purpose of the pictures/diagrams/illustrations?
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Why did the author choose to change paragraphs here?
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Why has the author used ‘fact boxes’ for key points?
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Why has the author started each section with a question?
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What is the purpose of the chapter titles?
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Which words tell you what order to follow?
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What is this section about?
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Can you describe the way the author organises this section?
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What do you notice about the beginning/end of each
paragraph?
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What text features are used? (captions, sub-headings, fonts,
illustrations etc.) Why? How successful do you think these are?
The writer’s use of language
(including grammatical features)
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What does [insert word/phrase] mean?
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Which words has the author used to make the writing sound
formal/informal?
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Can you come up with a formal/informal alternative?
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Why has the author used…? (italics, bold font, exclamation
marks, headings, bullet points, captions etc.)
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What has the author used in the text to make this character
[insert characteristic e.g. funny, sad, angry etc.]?
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Think of another word you could use here. What different effect
would your word have?
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As a reader, how do you feel about this character? What makes
you feel that way?
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Can you find any examples of similes/metaphors/
personification in the story? What effect do they have?
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Find some adjectives/nouns/verbs/adverbs that help you
picture the setting/character/action in your mind.
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Find a sentence that encourages you to want to read more of
the story.
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Can you pick out any punctuation/grammatical features that
you think are used effectively?
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Why do you think the author has used [insert particular word,
punctuation mark or grammatical feature] here?
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Why do you think this word is effective here? What do you
notice about the length of the sentences in this section?
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What is the impact of…?
The writer’s purposes and viewpoint
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What is the writer’s view of…?
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What is the purpose of this text?
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Who is the audience for this text?
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Do you think there is another way of looking at this issue?
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Do you share the author’s/character’s view of…?
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Which words are used to persuade us that…?
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What makes you think that [insert name of character] is
thinking / feeling…?
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What does the author want us to feel about…?
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What would you say to [insert name of character] to make him/
her see things differently?
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How has the author made you think differently about…?
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Can you think of another story that has a similar theme?
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Why has the author chosen this setting?
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What makes this a good story/information text?
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What effect do you think the story has on the reader?
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Could the story/information text be better? What would you
suggest?
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What impression does the author want to give of this character?
Why? And how do you know?
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What is the purpose of this paragraph? (E.g. time has passed)
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What question would you like to ask the writer of the story?
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Who is this advert trying to persuade?
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Does the article/story try to get you to care about anything?
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Many stories have messages. What is the message of this
story?
Relate the story to its social, historical or cultural
tradition
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Do you know any other stories like this? (E.g. good over evil,
wise over foolish)
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Where is the story set?
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How is the hero/heroine in the story similar to others you have
read about?
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What does the story remind you of?
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Does the story remind you of anything that has happened to
you?
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How would you have felt in that situation?
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What might you have done instead?
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What other stories have similar openings/endings to this one?
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Have you read any other books by [insert name of author]?
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How do the stories compare?
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What are the clues that tell us that this is [insert historical
setting e.g. Victorian London]?
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Who is this character similar to? Why?
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In what ways is this piece typical of/different from other [insert
text type e.g. newspaper report/Greek myths]?
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Do [insert character type e.g. Greek Gods] usually behave/think
in this way?
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If you were living in [insert period in history e.g. World War II]
how would you interpret this text differently? Why?