QAR (Question-Answer Relationships)

A Routine for Reading Comprehension

in the Content Areas
This strategy helps students engage and improves comprehension.

Core Content-Area Examples …Visual Scaffold: Chart… Another Visual Scaffold…More to Think About

Purpose: to improve students’ comprehension of their readings

Description: Students consider the thinking demands of a reading passage through four types of questions:

 right there : answer is stated directly in text

 think and search : answer is in the text, but Right
not directly stated directly. Students have There
to read between the lines or put 2+2
together
 author and you: the answer is not in the
text. Student must derive a logical and Four Types
On Your Think and
justifiable answer by integrating author’s Own
of QAR
Search
Questions
information with student’s background
knowledge and experience.
 on your own : the answer is not in the text.
Student must develop logical and justifiable
answers from background knowledge, Author
and You
especially as it relates to the content and
message of the reading.

When teachers model

the QAR process,
they are helping
students become
aware of and skilled
at using learning
strategies to find the Explicitly teach students the relationships
information they need between questions and answers in a text.
to comprehend at The procedures for QAR have to be directly before
different levels of students can use them.
response to text.
Most students are unaware of the information sources in a text
Vacca, Vacca, and Mraz (2011),
that can help uncover an answer.
Teachers may have to use a portion of several days’ lessons
to teach students these relationships.
 Procedures for Using QAR
Apply the QAR strategy to actual content area assignments.
For each question asked, students decide on the appropriate QAR strategy and write out their answers.

 Introduce the concept of the four kinds of question/answer relationships in QAR.

 Display to students a description of the four basic question-answer relationships .
 Charts work really well for this introduction
 Consider making a wall chart large enough for students to use as a scaffold as they first start to
work with QARs.
 A suggested chart appears at the end of this document. Or you can use the information to create a
stunning graphic organizer of your own.
 Guided Practice
 Choose several short passages to read, either from your textbook or content-related authentic
text (articles). For each passage, prepare one question for each type of QAR to model with
students.
 Day ONE: Demonstrate. As a whole group, work through at least two passages, one at a time, as
follows:
~ Teacher or fluent reader(s)--Read the passage aloud.
~ Teacher -- Follow each reading with one question from each of the QAR categories on the chart.
~ Then lead a discussion on the similarities between a Right There Q/A and a Think and Search
Q/A. (Both have definite answers, which can be defended with evidence from the text.)
~ Now lead discussion on the similarities between Author and You and On Your Own Q/A’s. (Both
lead to multiple possible answers. Both, however, should use text information to justify
whether the answer is reasonable or not.
~ Do this procedure with at least two different passages.
~ Reinforce the discussion by assigning several more short text passages and asking a question for
each. Students should soon begin to catch on to the differences among the four QAR
categories, and what skills they need in order to address each one.
 Day TWO: Analyze. As whole group or small groups, work through at least three passages, one at
a time, as follows:
~ Again, Teacher prepares one question for each QAR category per passage for 2 of the passages.
~ First, give students a passage PLUS the sample Questions PLUS sample answers PLUS the
identified QAR type.
~ Students must justify WHY the Qs and As represent that particular type of QAR, and why they
don’t represent the other types.
~ Second, give students a passage along with questions and answers but no identified QAR type.
~ This time students must identify the QAR for each AND explain their reasoning.
~ Finally, give students a third passage. Have groups or individual students create their own set
of 4 QAR questions for the passage.
~ Then trade sets of QAR questions with other groups/students, who will answer each question.
~ Finally, let original Question Writers give feedback to the students who answers their
questions: Right/Wrong? Justified/Unjustified? Reasonable/Unreasonable?
 Day THREE: Review and Extend.
~ Using a gradual release model, have students practice writing their own QAR questions (2 per
type=8 total) for a longer or more complex passage of reading. First, have students work in
groups to decide on QAR category for each question and the answers for each. Next, assign a
second passage for students to work on individually. Discuss their responses either in small
groups or with the whole class.
 QAR Description
~ The question is asked using words from the text.
Right There
~ The answer is directly stated in the reading.
~ The answer is in the text but is not stated
Think and directly.
Search ~ The reader interprets the meaning by “putting 2
and 2 together.”
~ The answer is not in the text. There are multiple
justifiable answers.
~ The reader must use the text in order to justify
Author and
his/her answer.
You
~ And… must use personal knowledge about
information provided or suggested by the
author.
~ The answer is not in the text.
~ The text is used to provide context.
~ The answer will apply text knowledge to real-
On Your Own
world or what-if situations.
~ The reader must develop the answer based on
his/her knowledge and personal experience.
 In the Reading In My Brain
(Read Text for Key Words (Read Text for Clues and
to Find Answers) Think About What You Know)

RIGHT THERE AUTHOR AND ME

The answer is NOT
You can put your directly in the
finger RIGHT ON text. You have to
THE ANSWER. read and FIGURE
It is right in the IT OUT! Read for
text. Look for clues and think
key words. about it!

THINK AND SEARCH ON MY OWN

The answer is in The answer is NOT in

more than one the text. You have to
place in the think about what you
text. Read on to know and have
find all key experienced!
words and clues
and PULL IT
TOGETHER.
 Cross-Curricular Examples
From Social Studies—During a reading about the Declaration of Independence, ask the following questions.
Right There—When was the Declaration signed?
Think and Search—What are some of Thomas Jefferson’s notable accomplishments?
Author and You—What influence did participation in the development of the Declaration have on the signers?
On Your Own—If you were a delegate of the Second Continental Congress, would you have signed the Declaration?

From Math—Before, during, and after reading a variety of data charts and graphs, use QAR to help students
determine if the answer is provided in the data display or whether analysis, manipulation, computation, or calculation is
needed to respond to the different kinds of questions:

Right There—The specific number is provided

Think and Search—The answer is there, but I need to understand the structure of the chart to locate the answer
Author and You—I can figure out the answer from the data if I do some calculations
On Your Own—The data doesn’t provide a specific answer; I have to manipulate the data and figure it out on my own

From Science—After reading a variety of articles on global warming, model the QAR question development with one
article and then have small groups of students practice creating their own QAR questions to analyze the facts and
opinions in the articles, using the following cue words to identify the type of question:

Right There—who, where, list, when, how many, name, what, based on this passage
Think and Search—summarize, what caused, contrast, explain, retell, how did, find
Author and You—in what instances
On Your Own—what do you think, based on your experience, if you were this person

From English Language Arts—After reading The Diary of Anne Frank, use QAR to help students understand
whether the questions are literal or require analytical, evaluative, or inferential thinking,

Right There—Who is in the house besides the Franks?

Think and Search—Who makes the rules, Mr. or Mrs. Frank?
Author and You—Why is Anne rebellious?
On Your Own—What would you have done differently from Anne?
 Some More Thoughts to Consider

Mix and Match for different purposes.

Teachers can create questions from the 4 QAR types for students to answer as their Reading Guide
OR…students can create the questions to trade with other students in class. OR… students can create the
questions and bring them to drive Seminar Discussion. QAR is a framework for teachers to use to write
questions; it is also a framework for students to apply in making their own meaning from a text.

Use the Terminology in your class daily.

When posing questions in other contexts in your class, cue students into the kind of answers you want by
saying, “This is a Right There question” or “You are On Your Own on this one” or
“This is a combination of Author and You and Think and Search.”

Connect to Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy …

Right There questions are Remember tasks.
Think and Search questions are Understand and Apply tasks. Sometimes, students may Analyze through
these types of questions, also.
Author and You and On Your Own questions expect students to
Analyze, Evaluate, and Create.

…and to Webb’s Depth of Knowledge

Right There questions are Level 1: Recall tasks.
Think and Search questions lend themselves to Level 2: Skill/Concept tasks. Sometimes, more complex Think
and Search questions require Level 3: Strategic Thinking.
Author and You and On Your Own questions usually require Level 3: Strategic Thinking. Questions that lend
themselves to Design Cycles, Project-Based Learning, Performance Tasks, and full-length Essays are Level 4:
Extended Thinking tasks.
Sources for This Strategy

Vacca, R., Vacca, J., & Mraz, M. (2011). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum.
Boston: Pearson.

Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2012). Improving adolescent literacy: Content area strategies that work. Boston:
Pearson.

http://www.education.ky.gov/nr/rdonlyres/2d670309-9a31-427e-a85e-712fd1f2bc15 /0/
ccsso_contentliteracy.pdf

http://www.kbumreading.com/files/PDF_KB_QAR_CHART_2007.pdf

Image of QAR clip art taken from

http://nikajo.wikispaces.com/file/view/qar.png/112928439/qar.png