QAR (Question Answer Relationships) is a framework developed by Taffy Raphael to improve literacy instruction and comprehension. It categorizes questions as being either "In the Book" where the answer is explicitly stated or requires searching the text, or "In My Head" where the answer relies on the reader's background knowledge. QAR provides a common language for teachers and students, shows comprehension development across grades, and links to content learning. It also aligns specific comprehension strategies like predicting, inferring and summarizing to the different QAR categories. The framework helps make comprehension goals and instructional approaches visible and coherent across subjects and grades.

1. Question Answer Relationships
(QAR):
A Framework for Improving
Literacy Teaching and Learning
Taffy E. Raphael, Ph.D.
University of Illinois at Chicago
Spring, 2005

2. Focus for Today
• What is QAR?
• Why use QAR
• How can QAR support comprehension
instruction that connects across grade
levels and subject areas and enhances
test-taking?

3. What is QAR?
“Why Not Tell Them Where
Information Comes From?”

4. QAR Core Categories
• In the Book
• In My Head

5. In the BookRight There:
A “detail” type of question,
where words used to form
the question and words that
answer the question are
often “right there” in the
same sentence.
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are needed to see this picture.
Think & Search:
The answer is in the text,
but readers have to “think
& search” to find the
answer; sometimes within
a paragraph, across
paragraphs, or even
chapters.

6. In My Head
On My Own:
The question relates to the
text, but I could probably
answer this one even if I had
never read the text. All the
ideas and information come
from my background
knowledge.
Author and Me:
The information to
answer the question
comes from my
background knowledge,
but to even make sense
of the question, I’d
need to have read and
understood the text.

7. Why Use QAR?
1. A language for ALL to use in talking about
strategies and their use in context
2. A developmental progression that is
visible to students and teachers across
grade levels
3. A logical way to organize comprehension
strategies
4. A valuable approach to test preparation

8. Thus, QAR Provides a
Common Language
Within grade levels
Across grade levels
Across subject areas

9. QAR
A Developmental Progression Builds
Coherence Across Grades

10. QAR Across the Grades
In the Book In My Head
Right There Think & Search Author & Me On My Own
Genre Analyses School Subject
Extensions
Text to Self
Connections
Text to World
Connections
Text to Theme
ConnectionsHow to Take Notes

11. Beginning Focus
• Contrast Book / Head
• Consider how knowledge gets into our heads

12. Individual Accountability
and Reflection
• What do I know about sources of information?
• How can I represent this to someone else?
Picture of Students’ Representations of
In the Book and In My Head QARs

13. Tools for Primary Grades
• Poster with definitions
• How to use post-its
• Flip Chart for every-pupil
response

14. Tools in Middle Grades
• Picture of Right There versus Think and
Search definitions
• Picture of Comprehension Strategies
for each QAR

15. Links to Content Learning
(e.g., science)
• Showing language
connections
– Activating prior
knowledge = making
observations
– Predicting = Stating
a hypothesis
– Taking notes =
Keeping data
Picture of Science
Teacher’s Chart

16. *Au, K. H. (in press). Multicultural issues and literacy achievement. Mahwah
NJ: Erlbaum.)
*Raphael, T. E., & Au, K. H. (in press). The Standards-Based Change
Process. The California Reader.
Getting Organized for
Comprehension
Instruction
“Staircase” versus “Christmas Tree”

17. Where Does QAR Fit?
• Identifying Important Information*
• Summarizing
• Making Inferences
– Predicting
– Visualizing
• Questioning
• Monitoring
• Critique and Evaluation

18. Introduce Students to the
Reading Cycle and the
Role of QAR
Before  During  After Reading

19. Before Reading
• On My Own: From the title or the topic,
what do I already know that can
connect me to the story/text?
• Author and Me: From the topic, title,
illustrations, and/or book cover, what
might this story/text be about?

20. DURING READING
• Author and Me:
– What do I think will happen next?
– How would you describe the mood of the story and why is this
important?
• Think and Search
– What is the problem and how is it resolved?
– What role do [insert characters’ names] play in the story?
– What are the important events? (literary, informational)
• Right There: [locate and recall details]
– Who is the main character? (literary)
– Identify the topic sentence in this paragraph (informational)
– What are some words that describe the setting? (literary)

21. AFTER READING
• Author and Me
– What is the author’s message?
– What is the theme and how is it connected to the
world beyond the story?
– How can I synthesize the information with what I
know from other sources?
– How well does the author make his/her argument?
– How is the author using particular language to
influence our beliefs?
• Think and Search
– Find evidence in the text to support an argument.

22. Align Strategies to QAR
Categories

23. QAR and Comprehension
Strategies: Right There
• Scanning to locate information
• Note-taking strategies to support easier
recall of key information
• Using context clues for creating
definitions

24. QAR and Comprehension
Strategies: Think & Search
• Identifying important information
• Summarizing
• Using text organization to identify relevanat
information
• Visualizing (e.g., setting, mood, procedures)
• Using context to describe symbols and
figurative language
• Clarifying

25. QAR and Comprehension
Strategies: Author & Me
• Predicting
• Visualizing
• Making simple and complex inferences
• Distinguish fact and opinion
• Making text to self connections
• Making text to text connections

26. QAR and Comprehension
Strategies: On My own
• Activating prior knowledge (about
genre, experiences, authors, etc.)
• Connecting to the topic (self-to-text)

27. Making QAR Part of the
Fabric of the Classroom
Embedding QAR Language in a Book
Club Setting

28. Dear Dr. Raphael,
I would really appreciate your input for this scenario. It's a somewhat
delicate situation because the child is a particularly bright third grader
and a voracious reader, reading at least on a 6th to 7th grade level.
The student described above didn't answer all of the QAR's correctly for
the critical thinking assessment for Charlotte's Web and I'm
concerned. Does failure to "get the QAR's" necessarily reflect lack of
critical thinking skills?
I asked him if he had heard of critical thinking and he replied, "No," but
asked me if I meant "mean" or "smart". It's apparent from conversation
that he makes original correct critical observations. i.e. If a tree falls in
outer space it won't make noise because noise requires atmosphere to
travel. He makes astute mature observations about an author's
background, etc. But these contributions aren't captured in QAR's…
How Would You Respond?

29. End-of-Presentation Goals
• I can describe to my colleagues a process of
bringing coherence to our comprehension
program.
• I can describe at least three ways that QAR can
help improve my own and my school’s
comprehension instruction across grades and
school subjects.
• I can make my literacy instructional goals more
visible to my students and their families
• I can create instructional tools for improving
comprehension instruction in my classroom or
school.

30. Related Resources
Raphael, T.E. & Au, K. H. (in press). QAR:
Enhancing Comprehension and Test-taking Across
Grades and Content Areas, The Reading Teacher.
Raphael, T. E. & Au, K. H. Super QAR for Testwise
Students. Wright Group/McGraw-Hill
http://www.litd.psch.uic.edu/pr
taffy@uic.edu