Before progressing to the question sequence on the next page, please
consider the following recommendations when using the TDQ routine:
 Explain to your students what it means to be dependent on the text to answer
questions. Our goal is not for students to answer questions based on what they
remember or based on other experiences they have had with the topic outside the
text. Our goal is for students to learn that good readers go back into the text
repeatedly to reread and gain a deeper understanding of what the author is
teaching in this particular text. As students learn to answer questions by looking
more closely at the text, their ability to comprehend texts at deeper levels
improves.
 The teacher begins by modeling, or thinking aloud, how he/she would think about
a question and go back into the text to answer that question.
 Students should refer specifically to the text to justify answers to questions
(including inferential and opinion questions).
 If students struggle with a particular question, the teacher steps back and does a
think-aloud, modeling for the students how to think about the question and go
back into the text to answer that question.
 As students progress throughout the text, the levels of questioning progress from
general understandings to deeper levels of understanding.
 Understanding is built as students engage with the class and with partners in
thinking, writing, and talking about their answers to the questions. Students do not
need to write answers to all the questions. Keep students’ engagement high by
sometimes asking students to talk with peers (such as think, pair, share),
sometimes asking students to underline answers, and sometimes asking students
to write quick responses (such as writing in a thinking box). All questions end with a
quick partner or whole group discussion where a couple students share how they
answered the question and how they supported the question with evidence or
information from the text.
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Written by M. Conrad, ©Davis School District Farmington, UT 2012-2013
Microorganisms USOE Booklet TDQ Questions
TDQ Question Sequence
General Understandings
Key Details
Vocabulary and Text Structure
Author’s Purpose
Inference
Opinions, Arguments, Intertextual Connections
Choral Read the Introductory Paragraph

General Understandings:
o What topic is the author introducing in this paragraph? What in the text makes you
think so? (TEACHER MODEL – “I look at the heading and at the topic sentence. Then I
check if the details and examples all relate to that topic.”)

Details:
o What does this paragraph teach about microorganisms? Give examples from the text.
(Thinking Box)
Choral Read “Characteristics of Microorganisms”

General Understandings:
o What is this section about? What in the text makes you think so? (TEACHER MODEL – “I
look at the heading and at the topic sentence. Then I check if the details and examples
all relate to that topic.”)

Details:
o What details does the text give about the characteristics of microorganisms? Give
examples from the text. (Think – take time to search and underline, Pair, Share)
o Which characteristics are the same for all microorganisms? Which characteristics are
different, depending on the microorganism? (Thinking Box)

Vocabulary/Text Structure:
o What clues does the author give to help you understand the bold word, single-celled?
Give examples from the text. (Thinking Box)
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Written by M. Conrad, ©Davis School District Farmington, UT 2012-2013
Choral Read “Kinds of Microorganisms”

General Understandings:
o What is this paragraph about? What in the text makes you think so? (Guided practice
looking at heading, topic sentence, and supporting details)

Details:
o According to the text, how are microorganisms classified? (Thinking Box)
Choral Read “Bacteria, Paragraph 1”

General Understandings:
o What is this paragraph about? What in the text makes you think so? (TEACHER MODEL: I
know this whole section is about bacteria, but I can also determine what this particular
paragraph is about. I know that good writers often put a topic sentence near the
beginning of their paragraphs. When I read, “Although they can cause sickness and
disease, they are very important to life on Earth,” I think that the author wants to tell me
ways bacteria are important to life on Earth. When I keep reading, I see this is true
because the author starts listing different ways bacteria are helpful.”)

Details:
o What examples does the author give to show that bacteria are important to life on
earth? (Thinking Box)
Choral Read “Bacteria, Paragraph 2”

General Understandings:
o What is this paragraph about? What in the text makes you think so? (Group Discussion)

Details:
o How can bacteria be harmful to the body? Give one example from the text. (Underline in
text – label with the word “harmful” – share with a partner)
o How can bacteria be helpful to the body? Give one example from the text. (Underline in
text – label with the word “helpful” – share with a partner)
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Written by M. Conrad, ©Davis School District Farmington, UT 2012-2013
Choral Read “Bacteria, Paragraph 3”

General Understandings:
o What is this paragraph about? What in the text makes you think so? (Group Discussion)

Details:
o What does the author teach us about how to see bacteria? (Thinking Box)
Overview of Bacteria Section:

Inference/Opinion
o Do you think the author believes bacteria are important? What from the text makes you
think so? (Think – Pair – Share) Students respond with the following sentence frames:
o I think the author believes _______________________________________.
o For instance, the author said _____________________________________.
Choral Read “Fungi”

General Understandings:
o What is this section about? What in the text makes you think so? (Group Discussion)

Details:
o What are some common fungi? List examples from the text. (Thinking Box)

Inference:
o How does the author let us know that fungi are decomposers? (Thinking Box)
o Where might you expect fungi to grow? What from the text makes you think so? (Think, Pair,
Share)
Choral Read “Protozoans”

General Understandings:
o What is this paragraph about? What in the text makes you think so? (Group Discussion)
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Written by M. Conrad, ©Davis School District Farmington, UT 2012-2013

Details:
o Using details from the text, describe and draw a picture of a protozoa and its environment.
(Thinking Box)
o Are protozoans consumers or producers (or both)? Explain your answer with examples from
the text. (Think, Pair, Share)
o How can protozoans be harmful? Give one example from the text. (Think, Pair, Share)
o How can protozoans be helpful? Give one example from the text. (Think, Pair, Share)

Vocabulary:
o What does the text teach us about cilia? (Thinking Box)
Choral Read “Algae”

General Understandings:
o What is this paragraph about? What in the text makes you think so? (Think, Pair, Share)

Details:
o Are algae consumers or producers? Use examples from the text. (Think, Pair, Share)
o How are algae helpful? Use examples from the text. (Think, Pair, Share)

Inferences:
o How is this section related to the section on Protozoans? Use examples from the text.
(Thinking Box)
Choral Read “Important Discoveries” and “Louis Pasteur”

General Understandings:
o What is the Louis Pasteur section about? What in the text makes you think so? (Thinking Box)
o What are the steps of his experiment as described in the text? (Think, Pair, Share)

Details:
o According to the text, what was different in how the two jars were treated? (Think, Pair,
Share)
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Written by M. Conrad, ©Davis School District Farmington, UT 2012-2013

Inferences:
o Louis Pasteur’s experiment led to the creation of a process called pasteurization, which is a
procedure for killing harmful bacteria in milks, juices, and similar foods. Given what the text
tells about Pasteur’s conclusion from his experiment, how would you infer that the harmful
bacteria are killed in milks, juices, and similar foods? (Thinking Box)
Choral Read “Alexander Fleming”

General Understandings:
o What is the Alexander Fleming section about? What in the text makes you think so? (Think,
Pair, Share)
o What are the steps that led to his discovery as described in the text? (Thinking Box)

Details:
o What did Fleming find when he examined the bacterial culture under a microscope? Give
details from the text. (Thinking Box)

Inferences:
o Why could Alexander Fleming’s discovery be considered a mistake? Support your answer
with examples from the text. (Think, Pair, Share)

Opinion/Argument:
o The author states that Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin was one of the greatest
discoveries of the 20th century. What evidence does he give to support that claim? (Think,
Pair, Share)
o Do you believe that the study of microorganisms is important? Give examples from the text
to support your claim. (Thinking Box – Could turn into an Opinion Writing product using the
District Writing Structure)
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Written by M. Conrad, ©Davis School District Farmington, UT 2012-2013