How can parents ask good questions without reading the book?

Every parent wants to ask good reading questions to help their child stretch their reading comprehension but who has time to pre read all the books and come up with good questions? This list of 10 reading questions will help you support your child’s literacy development and start critical thinking discussions.

Whenever I ask critical thinking reading comprehension questions of students, I always expect them to tell why they think that. Teach your child to answer the question and tell why. I reassure students that there may be more than one right answer and telling why or giving proof from the text will help their answer to be understood better.

Here are 10 reading questions you can personalize and use to ask your child about what they are reading regardless of the book or their school grade level. Ask one or two of these at a time and give plenty of thinking time if needed.

What made you select this book?
What character are you most/least like?
Would you be friends with the main character if they lived next door?
What is the crisis in the story and how do you think it will be resolved?
What would be a better ending or title for the story?
Which friend would you recommend this book to?
What surprised you in the book?
If you could change something in the book, what would it be?
How would the story change if it was told from a different character’s point of view or written 10 years ago?
What is a good 20 word summary that could go on the book jacket?