Levels of Questions (2)

Question: What are some higher levels of questions to use in helping students respond to literature?

Answer:

Sample questions for “A Mother’s tale,” a short story by James Agee, anthologized in 1973.

Knowledge: “What event is taking place as the story opens?”

Comprehension: “Can you summarize the story that she tells them?”

Application: “”How would you apply this tale to her uncertain feelings about humans?”

Analysis: “What motivates her to tell the tale even though she is not sure it is true?”

Synthesis: “What might be other situations where a mother might have this kind of concern for her son?”

Evaluation: Do you think the mother is presented in a sympathetic manner?” p. 271.

Comment: The researcher suggests that the types of questions be presented in this order. I disagree. Except for the knowledge questions that establish the students’ understanding of the basics of the story, the other types of questions could come in any order. I think. RayS.

Title: “A Study of the Effects of a Hierarchically-Ordered Questioning Technique on Adolescents’ Responses to Short Stories.” RA Lucking. Research in the Teaching of English (Winter 1976), 260-276.