What do I do when I do not understand the story that I just finished reading?

Question

I read my story and I know all the words in the story, but I am not able to answer questions about the story.

How do I answer questions about the story?

Answer 1

Hi!

While you are reading, stop every 3 to 5 pages and ask yourself Who, What, When, Where, Why, and/or questions. Use sticky notes to jot down your answers and place them on the pages each time you stop. If you are not able to answer questions or jot down any notes about what you just read, that tells you need to go back and reread that section of the text. Once you are finished, you will be able to look back at your notes as a reminder of what you read.

I have a lot of resources for asking and answering questions before, during, and after reading. If you would like me to share them with you, please let me know.

Answer 2

When you finished reading a story, it is important to organize the events of the story. You can organize what happened in the story by sequencing the events of the story using the words FIRST, NEXT, THEN, LAST. On a piece of paper write the answer for each of these words. Use either a sentence or short phrase. Reread you answers and confirm the answers by rereading the story. You will then have a sense of what happened in the story.

If you have a question about a detail a story, underline the key word in the question. Go back to the story and find that word. Read that sentence and the sentence before and after to be able to answer the question about the story detail.