Sparking Curiosity in Students

By Doug Buehl,
Madison East High School teacher
Member, Wisconsin State Reading Association

March 2005

So what exactly is the Da Vinci code? Where is this code located? Is it hidden in the painting of the Mona Lisa, which is pictured on the front of the book jacket? What is the mystery behind this code? What will the characters featured in this book discover as they try to “crack” the code?

Consider how your mind buzzes with questions as you contemplate the reading of a long-awaited new novel. Even before you open the volume and dig in, you are wondering about a host of things. Some of your inquisitiveness concerns the content of the book. What is the plot? How will the storyline unfold? What might I expect to happen as I read along? But you will also be wondering about the actual experience of reading this book. Will I enjoy it as much as I anticipate? Will I find events and characters predictable or refreshing? Will I admire how this author uses language or crafts the suspense? Will I find that I can’t put the book down, or will I be disappointed? If you have sampled this author before, you are also probably wondering how this book will “stack up” to the others you have tasted.

Of course, the questions keep on rolling once you slip into the pages. Readers of Dan Brown’s best-selling “The Da Vinci Code” would have generated a non-stop montage of questions as they moved deeper into the mystery. Who could be trusted, and who was up to some treachery? What was the Holy Grail that seemed to be constantly surfacing in clues? What was this secret society, and what was its mission? And ultimately, what perils will be faced by the intrepid pair of Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they endeavor to decipher the code and solve the mystery?

And our questions don’t end when we reach that last page and set the book aside. Likely, we are still wondering ... Could this story really be plausible? Do secret societies such as the one portrayed in the book actually exist? Did the author base this book on any authentic historical events or theories? And on a more personal level, we might savor where our imaginations transported us. Would I have made the same decisions as the protagonists in the novel? What would it have been like if I had been a character in this story myself?

The strategy
Generating questions before, during, and after reading is integral to reading comprehension. Effective readers actively engage with a text through continuous self-questioning, as they wonder why, what, if, whether, who, when. Strategies that prompt students to ask their own questions are a key ingredient in developing independent readers.

Step 1: Select a short text that can be shared with students, and model how generating questions is a natural component of the thinking we do when we read.

Explain that before we begin a text, we pose a range of generic questions, such as: What will this text be about? How much do I already know about this topic? How challenging will it be to read this? In addition, model how to examine features of a text that can elicit specific questions. For example, a New York Times article titled “New Microbes Could Become the ‘New Norm’” might immediately create these questions in a reader’s mind: What exactly is a microbe? What do they mean by ‘new norm’? What is the current norm?

Headings, photos or other text features also provide grist for questions before reading. In our microbe example, a pull-quote states “Rift Valley, scrub typhus, Chandipura: get used to them.” This is designed to catch a reader’s eye and elicit more questions in the reader’s mind: How dangerous are these microbes? Where are they found? How could I get them? Why should we get used to them?

Have students record these questions in the “Before Reading” column on a Questioning B/D/A (Before/During/After) Chart. Ask them to make a mental note of what they are wondering, and to contribute their questions to the chart before they begin reading.

Step 2: Read aloud the first paragraph or so, and again, think aloud about questions you have. These are entered in the “During Reading” center column of the Questioning Chart. For example, you might wonder: Why are so many new illnesses happening today? Or: How likely will diseases in Africa and China become a threat in the United States?

Assign students to work independently on reading the rest of the text, recording their questions about the material. You may wish to set a target number of questions (such as five for the passage) or recommend considering a question for every couple of paragraphs.

When students have completed this phase, have them meet with partners to share their questions. Ask them to identify those questions that were eventually answered by the text, and those that remain.

Step 3: The third phase involves questions that still linger after a text has been read. Emphasize that as inquisitive people, we will likely finish a text and realize that some of our questions remain unresolved. Additional exploration and reading will be necessary to flesh out satisfactory answers. Such questions are placed in the “After Reading” column. When the chart has been completed, solicit questions that students feel are particularly significant to guide class discussion of the passage.

Step 4: Finally, prompt students to inventory their learning by summarizing key ideas in the box titled “What do you understand now?” Again, ask students to share with a partner, and then generate a list of important understandings from the class on the board or on an overhead transparency.

Posted March 1, 2005