QAR (Question Answer
Relationships)
What it is:
 QAR is a strategy by Taffy Raphael that
teaches students where to find answers to
questions.
 Answers to questions are found in two broad categories: In the Book or In
My Head.
 Answers In the Book can be found “Right There” or “Think and Search:”
o “Right There” is an In the Book question. The answer is simply stated,
and you can point to it in one spot with one finger. These questions
are usually basic who, what, where - type questions.
o “Think and Search” is an In the Book question. The answer is in the
book, but you have to look in multiple locations in the book to
completely answer the question. These questions are usually plural
and ask you to consider multiple parts of a text.
 Answers In My Head can be found through the “Author and Me” or “On My
Own.”
o “Author and Me” is an inferential question where the final answer is
determined In My Head. However, you must use information from
the text (what the author says) plus what you know about the topic,
similar situations, etc. to determine the answer to the question.
o “On My Own” is an In My Head question. The question is related to
the topic of the text, but the text is not used to answer the question.
These questions usually ask the reader to consider their own
personal feelings, experiences, etc. to answer the question.
1
Written by M. Condrad ©Davis School District Farmington, UT 2012-2013
How to teach:
 Begin by teaching students the two resources they can use to answer
questions – book and head. (See sample lesson below by Dr. Ray Reutzel.)
Lesson by Dr. Ray Reutzel
Today we are going to learn about the resources we can use to answer questions. Resources are
places we go or things we can use to find the answers to questions. Where are some of the places you
go or some of the things you would use to answer your questions? Let’s make list of these on the
board or (ELMO).
Now let’s label which of these resources we read.
There are two kinds of resources to answer questions: 1) things you can read, or 2) what people know
or have in their heads.
When we are asked questions, we need to think about which resources we can use to get the answer.
The two resources are 1) things you can read, or 2) what people know or have in their heads. The
resources we can read, we are going to call “In the Book.” The resources we cannot read that come
from people are called “In my Head.”
Direct Instruction (Using the QAR Instructional Chart):
 When I need to answer questions about what I have read, there are two
places I can go to find the answer – I can find the answer IN THE BOOK or IN
MY HEAD.
 Sometimes when I find the answer IN THE BOOK, the answer is RIGHT
THERE and I can go to one place in the book and touch the answer with one
finger.
 Sometimes when I find the answer IN THE BOOK, I have to THINK AND
SEARCH throughout the book and go to many pages to find the answer.
 Sometimes when I find the answer IN MY HEAD I use clues the author puts
in the book + what I know in my head (AUTHOR AND ME) to figure out the
answer.
 Sometimes when I find the answer IN MY HEAD, I am ON MY OWN. There
are no clues from the author, but it is something that only I know.
2
Written by M. Condrad ©Davis School District Farmington, UT 2012-2013
Sequence for Teaching Students to Answer Questions with the QAR Strategy:
 Teach “In the Book – Right There” questions.
 Teach “In My Head – On My Own” questions.
 Contrast “In the Book – Right There” questions with “In My Head – On My
Own” questions.
 Teach “In the Book – Think and Search” questions.
 Contrast “In the Book – Right There” questions with “In the Book – Think
and Search” questions.
 Teach “In My Head – Author and Me” questions.
 Contrast “In My Head – Author and Me” questions with “In My Head – On
My Own” questions.
 Practice identifying and answering all four types of questions with multiple
texts.
Asking Questions:
 Teach students to generate QAR questions, explicitly teaching students to
ask one question-type at a time. Use question stems to help students frame
their questions. (See DESK Resources.)
Modeling Your Thinking:
 When answering and asking questions, model your thinking by conducting a
think aloud so students can see how you know the difference between the
different types of QAR questions. Use the chart on the following page to
help you explicitly verbalize your thinking for your students.
3
Written by M. Condrad ©Davis School District Farmington, UT 2012-2013
Modeling Your Thinking:
When I look at a question, I have to determine:
→ Is the question asking about characters, settings, events, or details
that can be found in the book? If yes, the answer will be found …
IN THE BOOK
If so, is the question about a simple fact or detail about the story (easy answer), and can
the answer most likely be found in one place (basically in one sentence in the story)?
The question is RIGHT THERE.
Or is the question asking me to consider different parts (plural) from the story? Am I being
asked to list, summarize, compare/contrast, describe, or explain different pieces of
information (putting the parts together)?
The question is THINK AND SEARCH.
→ Is the question asking about something that is not explicitly stated in the
book? Do I have to use my own knowledge and experiences to come up
with the answer? If yes, the answer will be found …
IN MY HEAD
If so, is the question asking me to use information from the story plus my own knowledge
and experiences to come up with the answer?
The question is AUTHOR AND ME.
Or is the question asking me to only use my own knowledge and experiences? In other
words, the answer to this question is not found within the story.
The question is ON MY OWN.
4
Written by M. Condrad ©Davis School District Farmington, UT 2012-2013
QAR Gradual Release Model
I DO (teacher alone):
 I answer my own question, “What kind of question is ___?” and
model my thinking for the students.
WE DO (teacher and students):
 The students and I together answer the question, “What kind of
question is ___?”
 I still model my thinking.
 Students then show me with their fingers –thumbs up for “right
there” and thumbs down for “on my own,” …
WE DO (students with partners):
 Working with partners, the students answer the question,
“What kind of question is ___?”
YOU DO (students alone):
 Students individually answer the question, “What kind of
question is ___?”
5
Written by M. Condrad ©Davis School District Farmington, UT 2012-2013