The question-answer relationship (QAR) comprehension strategy teaches students how to ask key questions about their reading, and then how to find the answers to their questions —whether it means locating a specific fact, drawing an inference, or connecting the reading to their own experience.
When to use: Before reading
During reading
After reading
How to use: Individually
With small groups
Whole class setting
What is the question-answer relationship strategy?
The question-answer relationship (QAR) strategy helps students understand the different types of questions. By learning that the answers to some questions are “Right There” in the text, that some answers require a reader to “Think and Search,” and that some answers can only be answered “On My Own,” students recognize that they must first consider the question before developing an answer.
Why use the question-answer relationship strategy?
- It can improve students’ reading comprehension.
- It teaches students how to ask questions about their reading, a cognitive strategy skilled readers use.
- It helps them find the answers to their questions, whether it means locating a specific fact, drawing an inference, or connecting the reading to their own experience.
- It inspires students to think creatively and work cooperatively while challenging them to use higher-level thinking skills.
How to use the question-answer relationship strategy
1. Explain to students that there are many questions readers can ask about their reading and that one way to find the answer is to think about what kind of question it is. Define the four types of questions and give an example.
- Right There Questions: These are literal questions whose answers can be found in the text. Often the words used in the question are the same words found in the text.
- Think and Search Questions: These ask readers to collect information from more than one part of the text and put it together to answer the question.
- Author and You: These questions are based on information found in the text but ask the reader to relate the question to their own experience. Although the answer does not lie directly in the text, the student must have read it in order to answer the question.
- On My Own: These questions do not require the students to have read the passage. Readers rely on their background or prior knowledge to answer the question.
2. Read a short passage aloud to your students.
3. Have questions of different types prepared to ask about the passage. When you have finished reading, read each question aloud and model how you decide which type of question you have been asked to answer.
4. Show students how find information to answer the question (e.g., in the text or from your own experiences).
Watch a classroom example: question-answer relationship
The teacher introduces 5th grade students to the QAR strategy. The teacher guides students through the process of deciding where and how they found the answer to a series of questions. At the end of the lesson, the teacher summarizes the four types of questions and sets them up for doing this again with their teacher. (See aligned lesson from CORE)
Watch a classroom example: reading strategy instruction — question-answer relationship (grades 5–6, whole-class)
The teacher introduces the QAR strategy and explains the four question types, distinguishing between using prior knowledge and using information from the text, and guides the students through determining question types.
Watch a classroom example: reading strategy instruction — question-answer relationship (whole-class)
In this variation of QAR, the students generate questions about Smoky Night, a whole-class read-aloud. The teacher guides them through determining where and how they found the answer using a graphic organizer.
Collect resources
- QAR strategy summary sheet
- QAR write your own questions
- QAR question stems

Differentiate instruction
- Have students work in pairs or small groups to form questions about the text, find the answers, categorize their questions, and share with the whole class.
- Do a whole-class QAR activity and have the students write down the questions and answers on their own QAR templates as you write them on the board.
- Use a big book or projector to enlarge the text and annotate it so the students can follow along as you think aloud about the reading.
Extend the learning
Language Arts
In this lesson plan, students use the QAR strategy for a study of the book Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles.
- QAR lesson
- QAR sheet for The Story of Ruby Bridges
See this QAR template for the study of Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
Math
In this comprehension lesson, students apply the question–answer relationship strategy to word problems that refer to data displayed in a table.
Related strategies
- Paragraph Shrinking
- Story Maps
- Story Sequence
- Visual Imagery
See the research that supports this strategy
Fordham, N. W. (2006). Crafting questions that address comprehension strategies in content reading. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 49, 390-396.
Liang, L. A., Watkins, N. M., Graves, M. F., & Hosp, J. (2010). Postreading questioning and middle school students’ understanding of literature. Reading Psychology, 31, 347-364.
Raphael, T.E., & Au, K.H. (2005). QAR: Enhancing comprehension and test taking across grades and content areas.The Reading Teacher, 59, 206-221.
Wilson, N. S., & Smetana, L. (2011). Questioning as thinking: A metacognitive framework to improve comprehension of expository text. Literacy, 45, 84-90.
Children's books to use with this strategy
One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
By: Kate Smith Milway
Genre: Biography, Nonfiction
Age Level: 6-9
Reading Level: Independent Reader
This fictionalized story of Kojo, a boy from Ghana, who changes his world with a small loan and one hen, is based on a real person. Kwabena Darko lives in West Africa and started a system of micro-loans in villages that would not otherwise have access. Additional resources and sources for further information allow readers to find out more.
How to Heal a Broken Wing
By: Bob Graham
Genre: Fiction
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Children often see what adults miss, and so it is when Will finds a pigeon with a broken wing on the sidewalk of a busy city. Will and his parents, help the bird recover over time then release it. Limited text and well paced and placed illustrations tell the affecting story.
Pale Male: Citizen Hawk of New York City
By: Janet Schulman
Genre: Nonfiction
Age Level: 6-9
Reading Level: Independent Reader
Stunning watercolors evoke the height and breadth of New York City while a dramatic text relates the true story of a now-famous feathered resident, a hawk named Pale Male. The tension between the lifestyle of Pale Male and human residents as well as the fate of Pale Male's mates and offspring create riveting reading.
Comments
Great!
These questions are based on information provided in the text but the student is required to relate it to their own experience. Although the answer does not lie directly in the text, the student must have read it in order to answer the question.
It seems that the common core is trying to balance out the preponderance of text-to-self connections.
Great article!
Great article. I have used this a bit with the students I work with, but not as intensive. I can see how more questions would be helpful for building their skills in reading.
This is a fantastic article. I can't wait to use all the strategies!!!
QAR can provide a framework for all other thinking about text. It might help to think of QAR as simplified language so that young students can understand how to answer and ask text questions leading to deep thinking about text.
I think that's true for everyone—we are, after all, the ones hearing the text in our heads when we read and think about it.
It seems that the Common Core is trying to balance out the preponderance of text-to-self connections with "Hey, Look! There's a Text! And an Author! And Skill used by the Author! Let's take a look at what that is!"—because, truly, kids don't need a teacher to help them identify text-to-self connections—most of them are pretty clear on what they're thinking. They DO, however, need teachers to help them with the harder stuff.
My MA Thesis was an examination of American Lit textbooks from the late 80s to 2000 and the decline in post-text questioning was appalling. It all went from challenging, thoughtful analysis in 1989 to, "If you were a Puritan..." from about 1996 onward.
So.
Agree that we all have personal connections to texts that need to be acknowledged and respected. Also Agree that CCSS is trying to rebalance a long-out-of-whack pedagogical table which has left kids unable to do much OTHER than identify how everything connects to them.
Agreed! I know this is an old comment, but I just stumbled upon it. I'm concerned at the growing prevalence of "Connect to your life!" questions. Seems to encourage narcissism, something that this current generation of students certainly doesn't need help developing.
This description should be revised to take into account the perspective in Common Core that skillful reading is not only about relatiing to one's experience, but to author's craft, structure of the discipline andd the content of the reading pieces.
The Common Core isn't the "end all." Yes, we need to pay attention to text first, yet I as an avid reader rarely leave behind my schema when reading.
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FAQs
What is the question answer relationship strategy? ›
The question-answer relationship (QAR) comprehension strategy teaches students how to ask key questions about their reading, and then how to find the answers to their questions — whether it means locating a specific fact, drawing an inference, or connecting the reading to their own experience.
What are the 4 types of QAR questions? ›QAR provides four levels of questions – Right There, Think and Search, The Author and You, and On Your Own – to indicate how the question is related to the text.
What is question answer relationship Qar? ›The QUESTION–ANSWER RELATIONSHIP (QAR) is a question answering and generating strategy that improves comprehension by helping students understand the different types of questions.
What is the four question answer relationship? ›QAR is a questioning strategy that emphasizes that a relationship exists between the question, the text, and the background of the reader. In this strategy, students are taught to use four question/answer relationships (QAR's) to find the information they need to answer the question.
What are the four 4 types of questions? ›In English, there are four types of questions: general or yes/no questions, special questions using wh-words, choice questions, and disjunctive or tag/tail questions. Each of these different types of questions is used commonly in English, and to give the correct answer to each you'll need to be able to be prepared.
What are the four relationships of Qar? ›QAR outlines where information can be found "In the Text" or "In my Head." It then breaks down the actual question-answer relationships into four types: Right There, Think and Search, Author and Me, and On My Own.
What are the 4 essential questions? ›- What do we expect our students to learn? ( Goals/Expectations) Building and Class Expectations (rules) ...
- How will we know they are learning? ( Assessment) ...
- How will we respond when they don't learn? – Intervention. ...
- How will we respond if they already know it? ( gifted)
- Depending on your students, you may choose to teach each type of question individually or as a group. ...
- Read a short passage aloud to your students.
- Have predetermined questions you will ask after you stop reading.
The QAR strategy divides questions into two broad categories; "In the Book" (text-explicit) questions and "In My Head" (text-implicit) questions. "In the Book" questions are generated directly from a reading selection.
What are the most asked relationship questions? ›- What was your first impression of your partner?
- What did you like or love about your partner?
- How did the relationship start?
- Do you still like what you loved about your partner and why?
- Are you happy with the intimacy you share?
Which app is best for question and answer? ›
Quora is a free question-and-answer app like the website with the same name.
How do the 36 questions work? ›The 36 questions are broken up into three sets, with a gradual increase in the intensity of self-disclosure. The couple takes turns asking questions over a period of 90 minutes. So if you are meeting someone for your first date or wanting to build greater intimacy in a relationship consider giving it a try.
What are the relationship questions? ›- Do you want children?
- Do you want to get married?
- What do you think the most important element is in maintaining a relationship?
- What is the No. ...
- What is your favorite thing to do on a date?
- What is the most romantic place you've ever visited?
- If you want children, how many children do you want?
...
Here are the questions:
- What is something I am currently doing that you would like me to do more?
- What is something that you would like me to do less?
- What is something new you would like me to start doing?
- What is something you would like me to stop doing?
- #1 Open-ended versus closed-ended questioning.
- #2 Funnel questioning.
- #3 Asking probing questions.
- #4 Asking leading questions.
- #5 Asking rhetorical questions.
- Plan to use questions that encourage thinking and reasoning. Really effective questions are planned beforehand. ...
- Ask questions in ways that include everyone. ...
- Give students time to think. ...
- Avoid judging students' responses. ...
- Follow up students' responses in ways that encourage deeper thinking.
- Clarifying concepts. ...
- Probing assumptions. ...
- Probing rationale, reasons and evidence. ...
- Questioning viewpoints and perspectives. ...
- Probing implications and consequences. ...
- Questioning the question.
Pose a question to the group and select a student to respond (A). Ask another student to build on A's response (B) and a third student to challenge B's point of view (C). Alternatively pose a question and elicit three different responses where each student has to build on the previous answer.
What are the 3 types of probing questions? ›- Open-ended questions. ...
- Closed-ended questions. ...
- Loaded questions. ...
- Recall and process questions.
Level 1 (the lowest level) requires one to gather information. Level 2 (the middle level) requires one to process the information. Level 3 (the highest level) requires one to apply the information. Prove your answer.
Which question is an example of an author and you Qar? ›
Author and Me
Students must think about what they learned from the text and what they know to generate an answer. For example: Why did the author…? What was the most surprising part of the book or article?
Question Answer Relationships (QAR) is based on research done by Taffy Raphael who found that when students understand how questions are created, they do a better job when answering and asking questions.
What are the 7 key questions? ›7 Key Questions: Who, What, Why, When, Where, How, How Much?
What are the 5 types of questions? ›Types of questions. There are 5 basic types of questions: factual, convergent, divergent, evaluative and combination.
What are 4 quick intervention strategies? ›- Give plenty of feedback. ...
- Continually monitor progress. ...
- Clarify your objectives. ...
- Direct instruction. ...
- Have students rephrase your lesson. ...
- Make sure those kids reflect.
- One-on-One Conferences. I'm a huge fan of conferencing as an assessment tool both in class and online. ...
- Higher Order Thinking Assignments. ...
- Digital Quizzes. ...
- Digital Writing Discussions.
- Open questions. Asking open questions is a great way to gather more details about a specific situation. ...
- Closed questions. Closed questions can be useful when you need a simple answer. ...
- Probing questions. ...
- Funnel questions. ...
- Leading questions. ...
- Clarifying questions. ...
- Rhetorical questions. ...
- Recall questions.
All healthy relationships share the following three core components: Mutual respect. Mutual trust. Mutual affection.
What are the 5 most important relationships? ›the five constant relationships. The five relationships in classical philosophy are between ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, older and younger brothers, and friends. Those were the relationships that ancient society regarded as vital.
Which website is best for question and answer? ›- Answers.com. User-powered question and answer platform. ...
- Ask a Librarian. Online reference desk service from the Library of Congress. ...
- Brainly. Post questions to a community of millions of students and teachers. ...
- Chegg Study. ...
- Dummies. ...
- eHow. ...
- PolitiFact. ...
- Quora.
Which app is best for multiple choice questions? ›
...
Explore our recommended multiple-choice test generators below.
- EdApp. ...
- Fyrebox. ...
- Kahoot! ...
- ProProfs. ...
- Survey Monkey. ...
- Quizlet. ...
- EasyTestMaker. ...
- Typeform.
Today, Quora is a popular Q&A websites, helping connect experts for almost any topic imaginable.
What makes him fall in love? ›Physical attraction, sexual compatibility, empathy, and emotional connection are key to making a man fall in love with a woman.
What age do boys fall in love? ›And it turns out that for most people it happens when they're quite young, with 55 percent of people saying they first fell in love between the ages of 15 and 18! Twenty percent of us then fall in love between the ages of 19 an 21, so around the time you're at university or working your first real job.
Does 36 questions fall in love work? ›The 36 questions have helped at least some couples fall in love, though others haven't had as much luck using them. Catron, the writer behind the viral Times essay, went on to marry the man she did the experiment with.
What are the 7 types of relationships? ›- Infatuation: passion only.
- Friendship: intimacy only.
- Empty love: commitment only.
- Romantic love: passion + intimacy.
- Fatuous love: passion + commitment.
- Companionate love: intimacy + commitment.
- Consummate love: passion + intimacy + commitment.
- 1: Open communication. ...
- 2: Listening and feeling heard. ...
- 3: Working through disagreements. ...
- 4: Mutual intimacy. ...
- 5: Trust.
- What do you think your younger self would think of our relationship?
- What have you learned about relationships from your parents?
- When was the last time you cried?
- Have your friendships taught you anything about romantic relationships?
- What does 'work-life balance' mean to you?
- Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?
- Would you like to be famous? ...
- Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say? ...
- What would constitute a “perfect” day for you?
- When did you last sing to yourself?
- Keep eye contact. According to American social psychologist, lawyer, and author Zick Rubin's study people who are in love maintain eye contact 75 per cent of the time. ...
- Be a good listener. ...
- Validation. ...
- Smiling. ...
- Touching.
What is question answer model? ›
Question-Answering Models are machine or deep learning models that can answer questions given some context, and sometimes without any context (e.g. open-domain QA). They can extract answer phrases from paragraphs, paraphrase the answer generatively, or choose one option out of a list of given options, and so on.
What are the 4 questions of strategy? ›- What is your current share position in the market?
- What is the core strength that your brand can win on?
- How tightly connected is your consumer to your brand?
- What is the current business situation that your brand faces?
- Question 1: What is the real problem here? ...
- Question 2: Why is our solution better than everyone else's? ...
- Question 3: How are you going to do it?
- Wait time. Once you have asked your question, allow adequate wait time before taking answers from pupils – they need time to consider their responses.
- No hands up. ...
- No opt out. ...
- Say it again, better. ...
- Probing. ...
- Pepper. ...
- Think-pair-share. ...
- Whole-class response.
Question answer teaching strategy is an old strategy also known as the “Socratic Method of teaching”. It was developed by the famous philosopher Socrates.
How do you frame a question answer? ›Frame Questions
The interrogative pronouns who, what, whom, whose, which and the interrogative adverbs where, when, why and how are used to frame information questions. The structure how + an adjective/adverb may also be used to frame information questions. How old is your father?
There are two common types of question answering tasks: Extractive: extract the answer from the given context. Abstractive: generate an answer from the context that correctly answers the question.
What is the 5 P's of strategy? ›Each of the five P's represents a distinct approach to strategy. This includes Plan, Ploy, Pattern, Position and Perspective. These five elements enable a company to develop a more successful strategy.
What the are 3 C's of a strategic action? ›The 3 Cs are: Company, Customers and Competitors - the three semi-fixed environmental factors in your market.
What are the 3 strategy formulation? ›Here are the three levels of strategy: Corporate level: How you structure the organization and coordinate across business units. Business level: How you target and retain customers and compete with other organizations in your market. Functional level: How you plan to grow and improve the organization.
What are the 3 strategic approaches? ›
- Business strategy.
- Operational strategy.
- Transformational strategy.
- 1 - What is our value proposition to our customers? ...
- 2 – Where are you going to compete? ...
- 3 – How will we win against our key competitors? ...
- 4 – What capabilities are needed to achieve success? ...
- 5 – What business systems are required to achieve success?
- Clarifying concepts. ...
- Probing assumptions. ...
- Probing rationale, reasons and evidence. ...
- Questioning viewpoints and perspectives. ...
- Probing implications and consequences. ...
- Questioning the question.
The six levels are remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.