I keep six honest serving men (they taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who.” –Rudyard Kipling, The Elephant’s Child
Questioning is intrinsic when you use Dr. Goodreader: Does this make sense? Do I need to make an inference to understand what’s happening? Do I need to understand a word for this to make sense?
However, students need to be encouraged to use Kipling’s six honest serving men ALL the time when they read. The more metacognitive they become, the easier it is to ask the perfect question for the moment: Last night, when reading Forgotten Fire, a story about the Armenian genocide, I had to ask “Where?” because I would lose track of location and continually have to reread and refer to the map. I should have asked “Why?” more, but I was reading for plot as opposed to big ideas.
What, When, How, Where, and Who are not only in the service of journalists, but of good readers everywhere.
Photo credit: jefferykrit.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/quest…