This document introduces Question Answer Relationships (QARs), which are used to develop an understanding of the relationship between questions and answers in a text. There are four types of QARs: Right There, Think and Search, Author and Me, and On My Own. Right There questions have answers directly stated in the text, Think and Search questions require combining information from different parts of the text, Author and Me questions involve using information from personal knowledge along with the text, and On My Own questions are answered without referencing the text using only personal knowledge and experience. Examples of each type are provided.

1. Q A R
Question Answer
Relationships

2. Question Answer Relationships
• Are used to develop an understanding of
the relationship between questions and
answers.
• With some questions, the author provides
the the answer in the text or story.
• With others, answers have to be
developed based on the reader’s ideas and
experiences.
• QARs will help you recognize the kind of
thinking you need to engage in when you
respond to questions.

3. RIGHT
THERE

4. “Right There” Questions
• The answer is in the text,
usually easy to find.
• The words used to make
up the question and words
used to answer the
question are RIGHT
THERE in the same
sentence.

5. “Dumb Crimes and Dumber Criminals”
• 1. What does the phrase “five finger
discount” mean?
• 2. What would happen if Jonathan tried
to slip out with any tagged merchandise?
• 3. Where did Jonathan decide to hide
the jackets?
• 4. What happened to the magnetic strips
that Jonathan had removed?
• 5. How did police identify the robber?

6. Marking Text
This first one is called the case of the
This first one is called the case of the
sloppy shoplifter!
While browsing at a trendy clothing
store, 19 year old Jonathan Parker realized
that he really wanted a leather jacket. Then
he realized that he wouldn’t be happy with
just one! Jonathan wanted three leather
jackets! Of course he didn’t have any money.
So he decided to take a “five finger
finger
1
discount.” That That is, is, he he decided decided to to steal steal
them.
them.

7. How do I answer “RIGHT
THERE” questions?
• All “right there” questions should be
answered in complete sentences and if
possible should include part of the
question.(TTQA – Turn the Question
Around!)

8. ANSWERING QUESTIONS
• 1. What does the phrase
“five finger discount” mean?
• The phrase “five finger
discount” means that you steal
something instead of paying for
it.

9. THINK
and
SEARCH

10. “Think and Search” Questions
• The answer is in the
story, but you need to
put together different
story parts to find it.
• Words for the question
and words for that
answer are not found in
the same sentence. They
come from different
parts of the text.

11. “The Elian Gonzalez Story”
• 1. What was the strange object the fishermen
spotted on Thanksgiving Day 1999?
• 2. Why was Elian’s journey so dangerous?
• 3. Why was it so difficult to determine where
Elian should stay?
• 4. Describe the protests in Cuba and Miami.
• 5. Why were people angry at Janet Reno, the US
Attorney General?

12. Marking Text
It all started in November 1999. It was
Thanksgiving Day. Two men were fishing off
the coast of Florida. Suddenly the men
spotted something strange in the distance.
They could make out an inner tube, but
something seemed to be strapped to it.
They weren’t sure what it was. After they
got closer, they decided it was just a rag
doll. But then they saw its hand move and
realized it was a little boy

13. Marking Text
It all started in November 1999. It was
Thanksgiving Day. Two men were fishing
off the coast of Florida. Suddenly the men
spotted something strange in the distance.
They could make out an inner tube, but
something seemed to be strapped to it.
They weren’t sure what it was. After they
got closer, they decided it was just a rag
doll. But then they saw its hand move and
realized it was a little boy

14. How do I answer
“Think and Search” questions?
• All “think and search” questions
should be answered in complete
sentences and if possible should
include part of the question.
(TTQA – Turn the Question
Around!)

15. ANSWERING QUESTIONS
• 1. What was the strange
object the fishermen spotted
on Thanksgiving Day 1999?
• On Thanksgiving Day in 1999,
two fishermen spotted a little
boy off the coast of Florida.

16. AUTHOR
and
ME

17. “Author and Me” Questions
• The answer is not in
the story.
• You need to think
about what you
already know, what
the author tells you
in the text and how
it fits together.

18. for example…
•Where does Isabel work?
• It was Mr. Watts again. Isabel sighed
and grabbed the hose. She took the
cap from the gas tank and called
through the car window. “A whole
dollar’s worth again, Mr. Watts?” She
knew she sounded nasty, but she didn’t
care.
Isabel worked at a gas station.

19. ANSWERING QUESTIONS
• 1. How does Mr. Watts’ behavior affect
Isabel?
• What the text Says
– “She knew she sounded nasty, but she didn’t care.”
– “Isabel looked at Mr. Watts with scorn.”
– “Maybe you ought to get a job a girl can do right”
– “The boy that was here before never forgot”
• What you think
– Mr. Watts’ behavior toward Isabel made her feel
angry. She resented it when he came for a dollars
worth of gas and spoke to her so rudely.

20. “On My Own”

21. “On My Own” Questions
• The text gets you
thinking, but the answer
is inside your head.
• The author can’t help you
much. You can even
answer the question
without reading the
story. So you think about
it and use what you
already know to answer
the question.

22. ANSWERING QUESTIONS
• Describe a time when you had a
disagreement with a close friend. How
long did it last? How did you feel?
• The last time I had a disagreement with
a close friend…