Reading Discussions
Use a few of the following prompts with your child each day! Show your child you value literacy by reading with your child and having book discussions.
*Who are the characters?
*Describe the changes in (character) from chapter ____ to now?
*How does the character change from the beginning to the middle of the story, middle to the end of the story?
*What character traits describe the characters?
*What advice would you give the character?
*At the end of chapter ___, how does the character feel?
*Describe the problem in chapter ____. What does the character do to try to solve the problem?
*Do people you know in real life behave like the characters?
*Was the behavior of the character right or wrong? Why?
*Would you like having one of the characters in the story as a friend?
*What is the most important idea from this part of the book?
*Name in correct sequence, the 3 most important events in the story.
*Name an important event that happened in the story (effect), and then tell why it happened? (cause)
*What do you predict will happen next?
*Where does the story take place? Describe the place.
*Could there be a place like this?
*Would you visit this place? Why?
*When did the story take place? Did the story take place a long time ago or in the future? How do you know?
*What does the place remind you of? Have you ever been somewhere like this?
*Were there any examples of similes or metaphors? (2 things being compared)
*Were there any examples of personification? (Giving human traits to nonliving things)
*Did the story end like you thought it would?
*If you could change the ending, how would you change it?
*What special sensory words or phrases did the author use to help you see, hear, smell, feel or taste things?
*Did you learn any new words in the story?
*Who is the author?
*What is the author’s purpose for writing this story/chapter? (To entertain, to describe, to persuade or convince, to inform)
*What genre is this? (Fiction, nonfiction, short story, novel, journal, letter, instructions, recipe, biography, autobiography, play, poem, newspaper article, magazine article, essay)
*What would you say in a friendly letter to the author?
*Would you read another book by this author?
*Rate your book. (1-10)
*What was your favorite part of the story?
*If you wanted to suggest this story to a friend, what would you say?
*Does your book have pictures or maps or diagrams? Were they helpful?
*When was your book published?
Allison Wooten