Question-Answer Relationships

By Janet Stos

Purpose

• The purpose of teaching the QAR strategy is to show students that questions and answers have a variety of sources, and that learning about questions and their answers will help them, as readers become better at understanding and answering questions.

2004 Iowa Department of Education

Rationale

• Teaching students about QAR gives them the language for talking about the strategies they use to answer questions. It also helps students to develop an awareness of their own cognitive processes when answering questions.

2004 Iowa Department of Education

Question-Answer Relationships

What is it?What is it?By Janet Stos

QAR (Raphael, 1982,1986) is a strategy that is “designed to demystify the questioning process, providing the teachers and students with a common

vocabulary to discuss different types of questions and sources of information for answering these questions…”

---McREL

• Reference: Teaching Reading in the Content Areas: If not me then who?

• By Rachel Billmeyer, Ph.D

• Mary Lee Barton, M.Ed.

• 2nd Edition, publisher, McREL

Question-Answer-Relationship

Four categoriesFour categories of questions

are studied during strategy

use and practice.

TWOTWO are text-based QARsQARs

““RIGHT THERE”RIGHT THERE” questions ask

students to respond at the literal level;

the words used to answer the questions

can be found “right there” in the

same sentence of the text.

• Right There questions may begin with words such as:

• Who is…

• Where is…

• List…

• How many…

• What is…

• When is…

THINK AND SEARCHTHINK AND SEARCH

These questions require students to

“think” about how the information or ideas in the text relate to one another,

and to “search” through the entire

passage to find the

information that applies.

Think and Search questions may begin with words like:

Summarize…

What caused…

Compare…

Explain…

Retell…

Contrast…

Find two examples…

TWOTWO are knowledge-based QARsQARs

• Students must use their prior knowledge to answer “Author and You/Me” questions.

• Their answer will include information

that is beyond what is

found in the text. They must

read the text to

understand what the

question is asking.

Author and You/Me questions may begin with statements like:

What motive is there…

Is it valid that…

What beliefs justify…

In your opinion what inconsistencies…

Judge the effects of….

• Example: Author and You/Me

• The topic of the reading was cloning.

In what instances, if ever, do

you think cloning should

be used?

ON MY OWN (2nd knowledge based question)

• These questions can be answered with information from the students’

background knowledge and

DO NOT require reading

from the text.

ON MY OWN

Create a children’s story where

the discovery of a strange new

creature leads the characters on an

amazing adventure.

Let’s Compare:

Bloom’s Taxonomy QAR

Knowledge Right There questions

Comprehension Think and Search

Application Think and Search

Analysis Author and You/Me

Synthesis On My Own

Evaluation On My Own

Once upon a time there was a woggily thonk. The woggily thonk loved to squonk. One day the squonk decided to squonk murrily over the herp.

1. What squonked?

2. How would you describe the thonk?

3. Where did it squonk?

4. How did it squonk?

The Woggily Thonk(A Cautionary Tale)

Question-Answer Relationships

Why use it?Why use it?

• QAR explicitly shows the relationship between questions and answers.

• QAR categorizes different types and levels of questions which helps students analyze, comprehend and respond to text concepts

• QAR helps refute the common misconception that the text

has all the answers.

Question-Answer Relationships

How to use How to use it?it?

Show themShow them (model)

Help themHelp them (guide)

Let Let themthem (provide

practice)

• How do I increase the likelihood that my students will independently use the strategies that I teach?

• Answer: Students need to be explicitly taught the answers to these 4 questions…..

1. What is the strategy called?

2. How do I perform the strategy?

3. When do I use this strategy?

4. Why would I use this strategy?

How do I get students to determine the question-answer relationships?

Answer: Help them create a clear picture of the difference between IN IN THE BOOKTHE BOOK and IN MY IN MY HEADHEAD QARs then……

Help them create a clear picture of the 4 levels of question answer relationships found within in each source: IN THE IN THE BOOKBOOK: Right There, Think & Search and IN IN MY HEADMY HEAD: Author & Me, and On My Own.

*QAR Poster

*Click on BACK button after viewing QAR poster to continue with the PowerPoint presentation

Let’s Practice QAR

QAR PRACTICE

Understanding and Applying QAR

Directions: Answer each question as thoroughly as you can.

1.What is QAR?

2. How do you use QAR?

3.When do you use QAR?

4. Why do you use QAR?

1.What is QAR?

What is QAR?• A reading strategy that gives teachers and

students a common vocabulary for discussing text.

• A reading strategy that includes IN THE BOOK and IN MY HEAD levels of questions.

• A reading strategy that teaches four types of questions and their relationships to the answers.

• Right There, Think and Search, Author and You, On My Own.

• A reading strategy that can be easily implemented across the curriculum!

2. How do you use QAR?

How Do you Use QAR?

• Begin by teaching the students the • necessary vocabulary: Right There, etc.• Model the 4 types of Questions (show them)• Guide students (help them) by having them

identify different types of questions and then answer them correctly.

• Have students (let them) write and label the different types of questions followed by the correct answers.

3. When do youuse QAR?

When Do you Use QAR?• In any situation where students interact with

non-fiction as well as fiction text and….• To help students understand that information

from both text and knowledge based experiences is important to consider

4. Why use QAR?

Why Use QAR?

• QAR is a research based reading strategy that benefits every type, every level of learner!

• QAR helps students comprehend more of what they have read and learn that all the answers MAY NOT come from the text!

• QAR easily and authentically embeds itself into every content area!

Questions?

Comments?