First Grade Sample Questions/Prompts

First Grade Sample Questions/Prompts

*For each of the questions below, ask students to support their answer with evidence from the text.

Literature Standards:

RL 2: Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.

Have children page through the story Invite volunteers to take turns retelling the events in order. Encourage them to use the illustration as a guide.
What is the lesson you could learn from the story?
Have children page through the book, taking turns to retell the story to a partner.
Help children retell the story. Ask them who are the characters in the story? What do they do? Why?
Retell the story. What will happen next?

Stop every few pages and ask students to retell the story so far in their own words.
Ask students what a character is like based on their words and actions on several pages of text.
Have students read pages ______, look carefully at the illustrations, and discuss the message the author is trying to teach the character.
Encourage student to use the phrase, “Once upon a time” when appropriate to retell stories.
Have students retell the story with a partner then discuss why a portion of the story might be ______(fun, sad, silly).
Have one partner retell the story- have the other partner pantomimes the actions.
Lead children in a brief discussion about a text. Have them recount the major events in the correct order and describe the characters and setting. Remind children to support their ideas using the illustrations and details from the story.

Retell the tory in your own words. What lesson does the author want us to think about?
Ask children to help you fill out a chain of events organizer, documenting the important events in the story in the order they occurred.
Reviews with children, folktales often teach us a lesson. After reviewing the important events in the story, discuss what lesson the characters are learning.
Which event happens first in the story? Which event happens last in the story?
After discussing the lesson the main character learned- Ask - What do you think the character will do the next time they face a similar situation?
Ask partners to share the information they have learned from this selection.
Ask students to retell the events in the story. They should identify their favorite part of the story and tell why they like it.
Have students retell key details they learned from the photos and the text.

What lesson does ______(character) learn?
What lesson can you learn from the character in this folktale?
Think about the major events that happened. What message do you think the author wanted to give by writing this story?
Have students work with a partner to retell the story. Remind students to tell the events in the order in which they happened.
Retell the story from ______(character’s) point of view.
What lesson does this story teach?
Ask students to restate the stories’ lesson in their own words.

Have students work with a partner to retell the story. Then ask students to discuss what ______(character) was thinking or doing.
Use labels and pictures to assist students in retelling key details in the story.
Ask student to tell about the main message or lesson in the story
What message or lesson do you think the author wants to tell reader with this story?
Ask student to retell the major events in the story. Have them identify their favorite part or event in the story.
What do you know about the ______(characters) so far?
What was the main reason the author wrote this story?
Retell what happened so far. Why is ______(character) ______( emotion sad, happy, angry)?

Ask students to retell the fable. After identifying the lesson learned by the characters- ask students to identify examples from the text of the lesson learned. Ask students to identify opportunities in their own lives in which using the lesson learned by the character was effective. (being kind instead of forceful)
How did ______( character )use what they had learned to show ______(lesson – kindness ) towards ______(other character)
Have students page through the book, taking turns to retell the story to a partner.
What is chapter one mostly about?
What happens in this selection? What is its central message?
What are some key details in the story?
What lesson does ____ learn?

RL 3: Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

Sometimes you can learn about characters by noting details about what they do or say. How does __ feel about __? How do you know?
Look at page __. Where is __ now?
Who are the characters in the story?
What do they do? Why?
What does ____do to help ____?
What does ___’s actions tell you about what kind of person he is?
How does ___feel at the end of the story? How do you know?
What important things do the characters do?
What does the text evidence tell you about what they are like?
Ask students to retell key details in the selection.
Describe the main characters and setting.
Tell the major events from the selection, referring to the illustrations for help.
Many stories tell about events in the order in which they happened. Use a flow chart to write about the sequence of events. Tell what happened first, next and last.
What is the main problem in the story?
Describe what ___does to try to solve the problem.
Describe the important story events in the order in which they happened.
What is the important event that happens on page__?
Use the pictures to retell the story, including key details about characters, setting and events.
Help children summarize different parts of the story. What happens at the beginning of the story? What happens at the end of the story?
What kind of place is __at? Where is ___now?
Who is the new character in this story? Describe him/her.
What is happening in this part of the story?
What is the first thing that ___does?
How is the place at the beginning of the story different from the place the characters are at the end of the story?
Tell what your character does first, next, and last.

Use text evidence (what a character says or does) to figure out what a character is like.
Where does this story take place?
Which characters have we met so far?
Summarize what you have read so far, retelling only the most important events.
What actions in the story are repeated by the characters?
The words and pictures tell that there is a new character in the story. Describe the character.
List text evidence about the characters in a chart to help you understand them better.
Discuss whether ____changes the way he acts by the end of the story.
What lesson does ___ learn?
Write a description of what ___is like. Use text evidence to help you describe them.
What happens to ___?
Describe what ___ does after ___.
Which character tells the beginning of the story? How do you know? Use text evidence.
Who tells the rest of the story?
Retell the story as ____ (story character) would tell it.
Describe the characters you meet on these pages.
What words describe the setting of the story?
Describe important events that have already happened in the story.
___ was ___ at the beginning of the story. Where is he now? Describe the place?
What is happening in the middle of the story?
Describe how ___ and ___ are alike?
What does ____ do and what does that show about him? What text evidence helps you to know?

Describe what happens between ___ and ___.
What does the character look like? How does he act?
How is he different from the picture on page __?
Describe what ___ does after __.
Describe how ____changes _____.
How does ___feel about ___?
Have students page through two different selections. Tell how the places (settings) are alike and different. Use text evidence from words and pictures to show this.
Choose a character or event from the selection. Prepare for a talk to clearly describe the character or event using specific details from the text.
Describe __ based on what you’ve read and seen in pictures so far.
How does __ act differently from the other characters?

How are the characters in this story alike? How are they different?
Compare and contrast the characters in this story.
What does the picture on page __ tell you about the story’s setting?
What does __ want to do? What does this tell you about __?
How do __ and ___ think differently about ___?
How has __’s feelings about ___ changed from the beginning of the story to now?
Lead children in a brief discussion about the important events in the story. Remind them to support their ideas with text evidence from the illustrations and details in the text.
As you read, ask yourself what happens and why. Use text evidence to figure out what might happen next.
Why does ___ say _____?
What causes ___ to ____?
What happens when _____?
What do the words and pictures tell you about the way ___ is feeling / acting?
Describe how the event is different this time.
Describe the characters and the reasons for their feelings / actions.
This story has many events that cause other events to happen. What is the effect, or what happens next because of ____.
Have children page through the selection and find silly or funny events that happen. Describe these events.
Tell when and where the story takes place. Tell how the story could be different using when or where.

Describe how you can tell that ____ is a good friend to ____.
Summarize the plot. Describe ____’s problem and its solution.
How did ____’s appearance change from the beginning to the end/
How were the experiences and adventures in ____’s life different at the beginning and at the end?
Who is the main character of the story? In many stories, the main character has a problem. What is ___’s problem? How is his problem solved?
Describe the new character we learn about.
How do you think ___ feels during this part of the story? Why?
Use pictures in the selection, or sequenced picture cards to prompt students to retell the story, describing characters, setting, and major events.
Recall details from the selection to compare and contrast ___ and___.
What do you find out about the setting and the characters on the first few pages of the story?
How do you know which boy is ____?
What does this action tell you about ___?
List clues (words and actions) about the characters to help you figure out how they feel and what they are like. (Consider using a chart to list this.)
What will other characters in the story learn from ____?
Guide students to stop after each portion of the selection to retell what has happened so far.

What did ___ learn from his/her experience?
How is the end of the story like the beginning?
What do you think will happen next? Tell why using text evidence.
Tell what things about __(character) stay the same during both the beginning and ending part of the story.
What problem do ____ have? What do the characters do about their problem?
How do you know ____’s problem is solved?
Have children describe the setting in detail and tell how it is important to the events in the story.
How is the setting important to what happens?
What is chapter 1 mostly about? Describe the events.
Compare and contrast how ____ feels before and after ______.
What does __ do to help ___?
Describe what __ and __ are like. Use details from the story.
What problem is __ trying to solve?
Why does ___think ___? Is he right? Use text evidence to explain how you know.

RL 4: Identify words and phrases in stories and poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses (see grade 1 Language standards 4-6 for additional expectations) CA

Remind students about their 5 senses. Discuss how the sensory words and phrases help them picture things. After reading ask students to identify sensory words on page ______.
After readings have students work with a partner to find words and phrases in the poems that tell what the ______and ______look like. In addition, have them find words or phrases that tell how the characters feel.
Describe how ______feels while ______. Which words help tell how ______feels.
After reading the ______, have children identify words that tell about feelings.
After reading – ask students to identify words or phrases that tell how things look, sound or make them feel.
Make a list with the class of words that tell how the poem makes them feel or describe things in the poem.

Which words are repeated on these pages? Why do you think the author did this? Discuss how repeating words makes the story or poem ______.
What words tell how ______(character) is feeling when ______happens?
Which words in the sentence help you know what ______means?
Recall details from the selection to compare and contrast ______and ______.
Ask the children to find words in the poem that describe ______. Then have students use those words along with their own words to describe a ______.

What details in the words and pictures tell you how ______feels?
What words help you understand the meaning of ______(vocab word) on this page?

How does the picture match the words?

What words on page ______tell you how ______is feeling when ______happens in the story?
During and after reading guide students to identify figurative language that appeals to the senses or suggests feelings. Discuss how these words and phrases add meaning to the story.
Review that an author chooses words to help describe how things look, feel, sound, smell, or taste. Which words on pages _____is ______help us to understand what the (character) ______is ______(insert feeling or one of the 5 senses)?
How does ______( character) feel about ______? What text evidence helps you know?
The author describes ______(character or object) as ______( adjective or adverb). What do you picture in your mind when you read the word ______?
Which word in the story tells how ______is feeling?
Where does the author provide sensory images? (taste, touch, feel, sight, hear, smell)
When the author uses the word ___, which of the five senses are demonstrated?
When the author says _____ how does that make you/the character feel?
Where does the author provide feeling words?
How do we know the character feels happy/sad/angry/frustrated/etc?
Where does the author provide sensory images? (taste, touch, feel, sight, hear, smell)
When the author uses the word ___, which of the five senses are demonstrated?
When the author says _____ how does that make you/the character feel?
Where does the author provide feeling words?
How do we know the character feels happy/sad/angry/frustrated/etc?

RL 5: Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information, drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types.

Do the words tell a story or facts? How do you know?
What do the pictures tell you about whether this story is make-believe or fact?
Remind students that a story is a fantasy when it is make-believe. Make-believe means that something cannot happen in real life. What evidence do you find in the words and pictures that tell you this story is a fantasy?
Explain the major differences between a fantasy story like ____, and an informational text like ____. Use details that support your answers.
What text evidence tells you that this story is a fantasy?

Explain the difference between books that tell stories and books that give information.
What do the title / heading tell you about what you will learn from this text?
Point out words and pictures that tell you this is a make-believe, or fantasy story.
How can the pictures and/or title in _____help you figure out that the selection is an informational text?
Point out features of the text that help you to know this selection is a folktale.
Explain the major differences between folktales like_____ and informational texts like _____.
Review the selections _____ and ______. Identify which selection is make-believe and which one is informational text. Use details to explain how you know this.
Is this part of the story about real things or make-believe things? How do you know?
Does this book give true information?
Display a fantasy book. Ask children to find some make-believe parts in the book.
Display an informational text. Ask children to find facts in it.

How can the photographs in ______help you figure out that the selection is an informational text? Point out other features of informational text that you notice in this selection.
Explain the main differences between a make-believe fairy tale and an informational text.

Is this selection a make-believe story or informational text? How do you know?
Which selection is true? Which is make-believe? Tell how you know.
Decide whether ____ is fiction or non-fiction. Tell why you think so.
Identify characteristics of informational texts you have read.
Identify characteristics of fantasy stories you have read.
Are the characters in ___ real or make-believe? How do you know?
Could the events in the ____ really happen? Explain your answer.
Think about the people in (informational text). How are they different from the characters in (fictional text)?

RL 6: Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text.