Reading Comprehension Questions for Your Little Ones -

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I remember that day as if it was yesterday. Watching my kids struggle to understand the stories they were reading broke my heart.

They’d get frustrated and would rather give up than try harder.

That’s when I realized I had to step in, but how?

The key to helping them was to improve their reading comprehension through reading comprehension questions!

Could something as simple as asking questions really help my kids become better readers?

Well, I’m happy to say yes! I saw the transformation in their reading skills and the newfound confidence they had.

What Are Reading Comprehension Questions?

Let’s break it down.

Reading comprehension questions are, quite simply, questions that help kids better understand and remember what they’ve read.

They build their critical thinking skills, improve their memory, and help develop a profound love for reading!

How To Start: Choosing the Right Questions for Your Kids

The first step in our reading transformation began with choosing the right questions. And believe me, this can be tricky.

It’s essential to choose age-appropriate questions that challenge your kids just enough. To make things easier, here are some helpful tips I’ve picked up:

Identify their reading level: It’s crucial to know where your kids stand in terms of their reading skills to choose suitable questions.
Consider their interests: If you want to engage your kids, pick questions that spark their curiosity. You know what they say, one size doesn’t fit all!
Mix it up: Keep things fresh by rotating between different types of comprehension questions.

My Tried-and-True Question Categories

After trial and error, I discovered four broad question categories that worked well for us:

Literal questions ask your kids to recall facts and details directly from the text, like “What happened in the story?”
Inferential questions encourage them to think beyond the text and draw their conclusions, like “Why do you think the character did that?”
Evaluative questions encourage critical thinking and making judgments, such as “Was the character’s decision a good or bad choice?”
Creating questions spark their imagination and creativity by challenging them to come up with their scenarios, like “What would happen if…?”

Before Reading

Look at the cover of the book. What do you think the story is going to be about?
What do you think will happen in this story?
How do you feel about the pictures on the cover?