ERIC EJ1020728: Using Raphael's QARs as Differentiated Instruction with Picture Books

2013·0.14 MB·English

by  ERIC

Chin-Wen Chien
Taiwan
Using Raphael’s QARs as
Differentiated Instruction
with Picture Books
In Taiwan, economic, social, and el 1982, 1986). QARs are extremely
cultural differences within the effective in enhancing learners’ read-
population are associated with ing comprehension and questioning
great disparities in English profi- skills at different levels. In this article,
ciency among students in elementary I will briefly describe the four types
schools. As a result, some teachers of Raphael’s QARs and their dem-
confront a two-peak phenomenon in onstrated beneficial effect on learn-
their classes, where one third of the er engagement and reading ability.
students have never studied English, Utilizing Krauss’s (1945) The Carrot
Seed, I will illustrate one way to use
while another third may already have
QARs with reading comprehension
read Harry Potter. This phenomenon
tasks and associated writing exercises
requires a way to plan and implement
for elementary school learners with
differentiated instruction methods in
different levels of English proficiency.
the curriculum to reflect the reality
that learners differ in important ways. The four QAR types
When teachers differentiate instruc-
QARs comprise an established
tion, they consciously and conscien-
method that involves applying ques-
tiously make the content, processes,
tioning strategies to texts in order
and learning outcomes of instruction
to improve reading comprehension.
accessible to all students, regardless of
There are four types of questions:
race, gender, ethnicity, language, or (1) Right There questions have only
differing abilities (Tomlinson 2001). one answer that can be found at one
One technique for differentiated place in the reading text; (2) Think and
instruction that I employ in my class- Search questions have answers that can
es is the strategy to improve reading also be found in the text, but because
comprehension known as Question there may be more than one correct
Answer Relationships (QARs) (Rapha- answer, students must put different
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parts of a story together in order to answer answers are obtained, and determining why
them; (3) Author and You questions are not an answer is correct requires readers to reflect
answered directly in the text and require the on their own thought processes. Once readers
reader to read between the lines, using prior begin thinking about these issues, they are on
knowledge and information from the text to the way to a deeper analysis and are more able
make inferences; and (4) On Your Own ques- to understand the differences between graph-
tions are related to students’ experiences and ics as well as the relationships depicted.
feelings on a topic and can be answered with- Raphael and Au (2005) believe that a
out reading the text (Raphael 1982, 1984, QAR framework provides a straightforward
1986). It is important to note that the answers approach for reading comprehension instruc-
to question types 1 and 2 can be found in the tion with the potential of closing the literacy
book, while answers to question types 3 and 4 achievement gap. According to the authors,
are based on what the learner knows. QARs serve as a reasonable starting point to
An adaption of QARs put forth by Law- address the problems that stand in the way of
rence (2002) to prepare students for standard- moving all students to high levels of literacy.
ized tests uses a “traffic light” analogy with Jones and Leahy (2006) affirm that QARs
three types of questions: (1) Green Light ques- actively engage students in the questioning
tions are the simplest kind, where students process. The different skills required to answer
can go to one spot in the text to find the the four types of questions allow students to
answer; (2) Yellow Light questions oblige stu- become aware of their own thinking processes
dents to slow down and proceed with caution as they ask and answer questions. Moreover,
as they take time to look in more than one generating questions facilitates deeper thought
place in the text to assemble an answer; and than does merely answering questions. In
(3) Red Light questions compel readers to stop order to ask good questions about the text,
and think about the text and about what they students must revisit the text, process its
already know, as the answer cannot be found important elements, and choose what content
solely in the text. Learners must have a clear to highlight for questions and answers. QARs
understanding of what was read and use their also help students to think aloud, which helps
prior experience and knowledge to answer Red them become aware of and analyze their own
Light questions. learning processes.
Benefits of using Raphael’s QARs Storytelling with picture books
QARs can be a part of any literacy pro- Storytelling is an inherently motivating
gram designed to help students become stra- task. Learning English through stories helps
tegic, independent readers and competent students acquire basic language functions and
writers. In a study by Ezell et al. (1992), structures, vocabulary, and language-learning
reading comprehension training with QARs skills. Stories can be selected to match the
was conducted with 23 third-grade children language level of the students, as well as to
at three levels of achievement (low, average, link English with other subjects across the
and high) and was followed by class-wide curriculum.
peer-assisted sessions for learners to practice In many elementary schools, picture book
asking and answering questions. The study stories are widely used to supplement the
concluded that the children’s performance on main textbook for English instruction. Pic-
both answering and asking comprehension ture books not only encourage cross-cultural
questions improved through the use of QAR comparison and learning but also cater to
strategies acquired in a peer-assisted instruc- different learning styles and develop differ-
tional format, with low-, average-, and high- ent types of intelligences (Brewster, Ellis,
achieving children all showing gains. and Girard 2002). The use of picture books
Mesmer and Hutchins (2002) used QARs for reading instruction has several benefits
to help students interpret graphics and charts. for younger learners, due to the interesting
They consider QARs an excellent vehicle for pictures, dialogues, and plots. Besides their
metacognitive instruction because the pro- wonderful and thought-provoking illustra-
cess of categorizing graphics, discussing how tions, picture books are great for English
E n g l i s h T E a c h i n g F o r u m | Number 3 2013 21
learners—the words or sentence patterns are carrot seed” and circle “carrot seed.” Students
repeated often enough to enable students to can also write “page number,” “teacher,” or
predict their appearance and thus contribute “classmates” in the “How did you find the
to an advanced reading ability. answer?” column. For Think and Search ques-
For these reasons I chose Krauss’s (1945) tion 3, “How did the boy feel at the end?” the
The Carrot Seed for a QAR-based reading and students could write “He felt happy” in the
writing lesson. The story is about a boy who “Answer” column. In the “How did you find
plants a carrot seed. Although his family keeps the answer?” column students might draw a
telling him that the carrot will not come up, picture based upon the one on the last page of
he still pulls up the weeds and waters the seed the book, which shows the boy smiling.
every day. Finally, the carrot comes up. If students with higher English proficiency
levels regard the picture book itself or the
Differentiated reading lesson: questions in the four corners as being too easy,
The Carrot Seed they are asked to generate their own questions
Before starting the differentiated lesson, I related to the picture book or the topic.
design four learning corners in the classroom
Scaffolding: Gas Station
that are based on the four QAR question
Learners need to be challenged, but with
types. After the first storytelling, students
support and assistance that permit them to
complete tasks in one or more of the learning
perform. Therefore, it is important to pro-
corners, depending on their language level.
vide scaffolding for students with different
Each learning corner contains at least one
proficiency levels. In my lesson this is accom-
copy of the picture book to be read, as well
plished at the “Gas Station.” The term Gas
as a worksheet containing questions at the
Station comes from the Chinese term Jia You,
appropriate QAR level (see the Appendix for
which literally means “refuel” but could be
examples of the four worksheets).
translated into English as a term of encourage-
To begin the lesson, the students sit in
ment like “go for it.” Drivers need to refuel if
a circle while I use the picture book to tell
they run out of gas, and similarly when learn-
them the story. (A high-level student could
ers lack certain skills or feel discouraged, they
also read the story.) After the first reading, I
need teachers’ encouragement and support.
explain that students will go to a corner, pick
The Gas Station is set up to provide students
up the worksheets, and write their answers on
with scaffolding help that both challenges
them. I make it clear to students that since
and supports them. This scaffolding allows
they have different English proficiency levels
them to perform at a level slightly above their
and because everyone learns differently, they
current understanding (Vygotsky 1978). As a
should choose their tasks based upon their
teacher, I stay at the Gas Station, but higher-
proficiency levels. All learners must go to
level learners can be trained to be teaching
Corner 1 (Right There) and Corner 2 (On Your assistants and stay in the Gas Station as
Own) and answer the questions. They can well. Learners can come to me for help—for
work independently or with other classmates. example, if they have forgotten how to spell a
Learners with higher English proficiency lev- word or do not understand a question on the
els easily answer questions in Corners 1 and 2 worksheet. Dictionaries, pictures, and charts
and then go to Corner 3 (Think and Search) are also provided in the Gas Station for stu-
and Corner 4 (Author and You) and try to dents’ references.
answer all the questions there.
In addition to worksheet columns for Differentiated writing lessons:
“Question Type” and “Question,” students The Carrot Seed
will find columns for the “Answer” and “How After learners answer the questions at the
did you find the answer?” For the Right There four learning corners, I lead a whole class
question 1, “What did the boy plant?” stu- discussion, and students can volunteer or be
dents could write “He planted a carrot seed” called on to share their answers. Sometimes
under the “Answer” column. In the column I will ask learners to share their answers with
“How did you find the answer?” they can copy a partner sitting next to them. Then students
the whole sentence, “A little boy planted a choose one of three previously designed writ-
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ing assignments based on their own interests The second type of writing assignment
and proficiency levels. is called Dialogue Writing and is shown in
The first writing assignment is called Small Figure 2. Learners use the questions from
Book and is designed particularly for learners the QAR activities and worksheets to write a
with lower English proficiency levels. This dialogue. (They can also write a dialogue on
design does not demand too much English, a related situation from their lives.) This task
so learners with lower proficiency levels can is designed for learners with intermediate or
complete the task without difficulties. Learn- higher English proficiency levels because writ-
ers are given the handout depicted in Fig- ing a sample dialogue is a good exercise for
ure 1, and they fill in the blanks, draw pictures them to put words into sentences. In addition,
based on the sentences, and fold the handout learners have to draw pictures based on the
into a book. dialogue. Students can work in pairs or small
Cover Page 1 Page 2 Page 3
The _____ Seed I plant a ____ My ____ tells My ____ tells
By __________ seed. me, “It won’t me, “It won’t
come up.” come up.”
Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Back
My ____ tells I water the I pull the weed. The ____ comes
me, “It won’t plant. up as it should.
come up.”
Figure 1. Small Book example
Name: ___________________
Pictures
Sample dialogue:
John: I found something special in my garden.
Mary: What was it?
John: A carrot.
Mary: Did you plant it?
John: Yes, I planted the carrot seed on May 20th.
Figure 2. Dialogue Writing example
E n g l i s h T E a c h i n g F o r u m | Number 3 2013 23
groups, but there should not be more than Book as their writing assignment, and as this is
five in each group. exactly at their proficiency level, they will not
The third type of writing task is the Writ- be graded down but instead receive the total
ing Journal (see Figure 3), which is designed score for level appropriateness. On the other
especially for learners with higher English hand, if students with higher English profi-
proficiency levels. Learners brainstorm words ciency levels choose Writing Journal, they will
or phrases related to a certain topic or story, also receive the full score for level appropriate-
draw a picture, and work in pairs or a group ness. Students who complete tasks above their
of three; they use selected questions from proficiency levels are acknowledged by direct
the QAR worksheets to write a journal entry praise in class and also in their school reports.
based on the words and picture. Students who work in groups are graded based
As with the Gas Station, scaffolding is an on the English proficiency levels and the writ-
important component for student writing ing assignments they choose.
success. Scaffolds provide important models
Conclusion
and support from teachers and peers and assist
students in comprehending and producing The implementation of Raphael’s QARs as
written language patterns (Peregoy and Boyle differentiated instruction is not limited to pic-
2008). Therefore, models or samples of these ture books, but can be used in teaching other
three types of writing assignments are an inte- genres (e.g., novels and short stories). In all
gral part of the writing lessons. cases, teachers should select authentic materi-
als that are accessible, useful, and relevant for
Assessment of the writing tasks learners’ English learning. Moreover, instruc-
To assess the writing task, all learners tion time, learners’ conceptual level, and
participate in an oral presentation individu- ability to concentrate should be considered.
ally, in pairs, or in groups, regardless of what Teachers can access a wide selection of picture
writing assignment they chose. Each learner books with varying themes and language lev-
is graded individually, and the assessment els online for free at the following sites: www.
is based on five criteria with different per- magickeys.com/books; www.kizclub.com/sto-
centages: accuracy (25%); creativity (25%); ries.htm; www.starfall.com; www.gutenberg.
presentation (25%); illustration (15%); and org; www.freebookspot.es (look under “For
level appropriateness (10%). Compared to Children”).
advanced learners, students with lower Eng- The integration of QARs into picture-
lish proficiency levels usually choose Small book instruction is an excellent way to involve
Names: ___________________
Brainstorm related words: Picture
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Figure 3. Writing Journal example
24 2013 Number 3 | E n g l i s h T E a c h i n g F o r u m
and support all students with different needs teaching K–12 English learners. 5th ed. Boston:
in a mixed-level English classroom. Care- Allyn and Bacon.
Raphael, T. 1982. Improving question-answering
fully constructed QAR activities and materi-
performance through instruction. Reading Edu-
als allow students of all levels to participate
cation Report No. 32. University of Illinois at
equally in engaging activities and obtain Urbana-Champaign: Center for the Study of
an increased understanding of texts and an Reading.
improved ability to answer and ask questions. ——. 1984. Teaching learners about sources of
information for answering comprehension ques-
Differentiated instruction with QARs allows
tions. Journal of Reading 27 (4): 303–311.
students to work in appropriate learning
——. 1986. Teaching question answer relation-
corners and experience the freedom to choose ships, revisited. Reading Teacher 39 (6): 516–
reading and writing tasks that are challenging 522.
Raphael, T. E., and K. H. Au. 2005. QAR: Enhanc-
yet not too easy or too difficult for their level.
ing comprehension and test taking across grades
From my experience, this is something they
and content areas. Reading Teacher 59 (3): 206–
greatly enjoy. 221.
Tomlinson, C. A. 2001. How to differentiate instruc-
References tion in mixed-ability classrooms. 2nd ed. Alex-
Brewster, J., G. Ellis, and D. Girard. 2002. The andria, VA: Association for Supervision and
primary English teacher’s guide. Harlow, UK: Curriculum Development.
Pearson Education. Vygotsky, L. 1978. Interaction between learn-
Ezell, H. K., F. W. Kohler, M. Jarzynka, and P. S. ing and development. In Mind in society: The
Strain. 1992. Use of peer-assisted procedures to development of higher psychology processes, ed.
teach QAR reading comprehension strategies to M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, and E.
third-grade children. Education and Treatment of Souberman, 79–91. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
Children 15 (3): 205–227. University Press.
Jones, J., and S. Leahy. 2006. Developing strategic
readers. Science and Children 44 (3): 30–34.
Krauss, R. 1945. The carrot seed. New York: Harper
and Row. Chin-Wen Chien received her Doctor of
Lawrence, K. M. 2002. Red light, green light,
Education from the University of Washington.
1–2–3: Tasks to prepare for standardized tests.
She is an assistant professor in the
Reading Teacher 55 (6): 525–528.
Department of English Instruction, National
Mesmer, H. A. E., and E. J. Hutchins. 2002. Using
Hsinchu University of Education in Taiwan.
QARs with charts and graphs. Reading Teacher
Her research interests include language
56 (1): 21–27.
Peregoy, S. F., and O. F. Boyle. 2008. Reading, teacher education and curriculum
writing, and learning in ESL: A resource book for development.
E n g l i s h T E a c h i n g F o r u m | Number 3 2013 25
QAR Worksheets for The Carrot Seed
Using Raphael’s QARs as Differentiated Instruction with Picture Books • Chin-Wen Chien
Corner 1 Worksheet for The Carrot Seed
Question Type Question Answer How did you find
the answer?
Right There 1. What did the boy
plant?
2. What did the
father say to the
boy?
3. What did the
mother say to the
boy?
4. What did the big
brother say to the
boy?
5. What happened
to the seed?
6. What did the boy
do?
Corner 2 Worksheet for The Carrot Seed
Question Type Question Answer How did you find
the answer?
On Your Own 1. Is this a good
book for you to
read by yourself?
2. Is this a good
book for you to
read with a friend?
3. Do you like this
book?
4. Have you planted
any seeds before?
26 2013 Number 3 | E n g l i s h T E a c h i n g F o r u m
QAR Worksheets for The Carrot Seed
(Continued)
Using Raphael’s QARs as Differentiated Instruction with Picture Books • Chin-Wen Chien
Corner 3 Worksheet for The Carrot Seed
Question Type Question Answer How did you find
the answer?
Think and Search 1. What does a plant
need?
2. How did the boy
feel when nothing
came up?
3. How did the boy
feel at the end?
Corner 4 Worksheet for The Carrot Seed
Question Type Question Answer How did you find
the answer?
Author and You 1. In your opinion,
why did the boy
keep on watering
the plant and
pulling the weeds?
2. Were you
surprised at the
end? Why or why
not?
E n g l i s h T E a c h i n g F o r u m | Number 3 2013 27