1. Question Answer Relationships
Enhancing comprehension and test taking across grades and content areas

2. QAR In the Book In My Head Right There Think & Search On My Own
Author & Me
Simple List
Sequence
Explanation
Description
Text-to-self
Text-to-world
Text-to-text

3. In the Book
Think & Search
The answer is in the text. I need to “think and search,” or put together different parts of the text, to find the answer. It can be within a paragraph, across paragraphs, or even across chapters and books.
Right There
The answer is in the text. Words from the question and words that answer the question are often “right there” in the same sentence.

4. In My Head On My Own Author & Me
The answer is not in the text. I need to use my own ideas and experiences to answer the question.
Author & Me
The answer is not in the text. To answer the question, I need to think about how the text and what I already know fit together.

5. QAR -- Sample Comprehension Strategies
On My Own
Activating prior knowledge (e.g., about genre, experiences, authors)
Connecting to the topic (e.g., self-to-text)
Right There
Scanning to locate information
Note-taking strategies to support easier recall of key information
Using context clues for creating definitions

6. Think & Search Comprehension Strategies
Identifying important information
Summarizing
Using text organization (e.g., comparison/contrast, problem/solution, list, explanation) to identify relevant information
Visualizing (e.g., setting, mood, procedures)
Using context to describe symbols and figurative language
Clarifying
Making text-to-text connections
Making simple inferences

7. Author & Me Comprehension Strategies
Predicting
Visualizing
Making simple and complex inferences
Distinguishing fact and opinion
Making text-to-self connections

8. Before reading… On My Own
From the title or the topic, what do I already know that can connect me to the story or text?
Author & Me
From the topic, title, illustrations, or book cover, what might this story or text be about?

9. During reading… Author & Me
What do I think will happen next? How would I describe the mood of the story and why is this important?
Right There
Who is the main character?
What are some words that describe the setting
Identify the topic sentence in the paragraph
Think & Search
What is the problem and how is it resolved?
What role do (characters’ names) play in the story?
What are the important events? (literary, informational)

10. After reading… Author & Me What is the author’s message?
What is the theme and how is it connected to the world beyond the story?
How can I synthesize the information with which I know from other sources?
How well does the author make his or her argument?
How is the author using particular language to influence our beliefs?
Think & Search
Find evidence in the text to support an argument

11. QAR – Sample Passage
Jeff has lived in Martinsville his entire life. But tomorrow, Jeff and his family would be moving 200 miles away to Petersburg. Jeff hated the idea of having to move. He would be leaving behind his best friend, Rick, the baseball team he had played on for the last two years, and the big oak tree in his backyard, where he liked to sit and think.

12. And to make matters worse, he was moving on his birthday
And to make matters worse, he was moving on his birthday! Jeff 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. Jeff 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? But that was just the problem. No one every asked Jeff what he wanted. 

13. Questions… How long has Jeff lived in Martinsville? (Think and Search)
What is the name of the town where Jeff and his family are moving? (Right There)
What might Jeff do to make moving to a new town easier for him? (In my Head)
Does Jeff like playing on the baseball team he has played on for the last two years? (Think and Search)
In what ways can moving to a new house and to a new city be exciting? (In my Head)
What is Jeff’s best friend’s name? (Right There)

14. Reference Taffy E. Raphael, Kathryn H. Au,
QAR: Enhancing comprehension and test taking across grades and content areas, The Reading Teacher, Vol. 59, No. 3, Nov 2005