QAR How to do better in school without really trying! Question Answer Relationships

What is QAR?  QAR stands for Question-Answer- Relationships  Basically, it is a way of dividing questions into different types to help students figure out the answer to a question.

Answers

 Literal questions  These words in questions indicate the answer is “right there” in the passage (text).  Look for words such as:  Who is…  Where is…  List…  How many…  What is …  When is… RT

 These types of questions require the student to “THINK” about how the information or idea in the text is related to one another, and to “SEARCH” through the entire passage to find the information.  “Think and Search” questions have words such as  Summarize…  What caused…  Compare…  Explain…  Retell…  Contrast…  Find two examples… TS

 Questions require that students use prior knowledge to answer them.  The answer will include information that goes beyond what is found in the text.  Students must read the entire text to understand what the questions is asking.  Look for words in the question such as:  What motive is there…  In your opinion…  Judge the effects of… AM

 Questions can be answered with information from the students’ background knowledge and DO NOT require reading from the text. MO

Common Sense: An Anansi Tale Anansi the spider is a West African folk hero known for his cleverness. Anansi loves to plan and scheme, trying to outsmart everyone. Sometimes, Anansi comes up with a clever plan and finds smart solutions to puzzling problems. Other times, he winds up causing lots of mischief.

QAR Practice Passage  Tom has lived in Marysville his entire life. However, tomorrow, Tom and his family would be moving 200 miles away to Grand Rapids. Tom hated the idea of having to move. He would be leaving behind his friend, Ron, the baseball team he played on for the last two years, and the big swing in his backyard where he liked to sit and think. And to make matters worse, he was moving on his birthday! Tom would be thirteen tomorrow. He was going to be a teenager! He wanted to spend the day with his friends, not watching his house being packed up and put on a truck. He thought that moving was a horrible way to spend his birthday. What about a party? What about spending the day with his friends? What about what he wanted? That was just the problem. No one ever asked Tom what he wanted.

QAR Questions  How long has Tome lived in Maryville?  What is the name of the town where Tome and his family are moving?  What might Tom do to make moving to a new town easier for him?  Does Tom like playing on the baseball team he has played on for the last two years?  In what ways can moving to a new house and to a new city be exciting?  6. What is Tom’s best friend’s name? Right There (RT) Think and Search (TS) Author and Me (AM) On My Own (MO) Right There (RT)