What Are “THICK” Questions?
THICK questions are open-ended reading comprehension questions that require students to think deeply, explain their reasoning, and support answers with evidence from the text. These questions promote higher-order thinking, discussion, and written response.
Encourage students to ask and answer THICK questions, such as
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What if…?
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How did…?
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Why did…?
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What would happen if…?
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What caused…?
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What might…?
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How would you feel…?
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What character traits describe…?
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Why do you think…?
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Why is…?
Open Response “THICK” Questions for Fiction (Grades 3–5)
Before Reading
Before reading, have students preview the title, illustrations, and book jacket.
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Write what you already know about this topic, setting, or situation.
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Make a prediction. What clues helped you?
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Read the first page. Do you need to revise your prediction? Why?
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Write questions you have about this text.
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Do you think this story will be funny, sad, scary, or something else? Explain.
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Does the author make you want to keep reading? Why or why not?
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Could this story happen in real life? Why or why not?
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Where does the story take place? What clues helped you decide?
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Who do you think the main character is? How do you know?
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Do you have any connections to the author, illustrator, or topic?
During Reading
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What questions do you have so far? Have any been answered?
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Describe what you visualize about the character or setting. Which words helped?
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What connections are you making?
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Which words were challenging? How did you determine their meanings?
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What do you predict will happen next? Why?
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Who is your favorite character so far? Explain.
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Who is telling the story? What details support your answer?
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How is the main character feeling? What clues show this?
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What problem is emerging in the story?
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Summarize what has happened so far.
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How does the story make you feel? Why?
After Reading
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Describe the main character using one strong character trait. Support with evidence.
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What lesson or message do you think the author wanted readers to learn?
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Would you recommend this book? To whom? Why?
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What questions do you still have?
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How did the character solve the problem?
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How did the character change from beginning to end?
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What was the climax of the story?
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Was this realistic fiction or fantasy? How do you know?
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What connections did you make?
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What scene would make a good movie trailer? Why?
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If you were the main character, what would you have done differently?
Open Response “THICK” Questions for Nonfiction (Grades 3–5)
Before Reading
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What do you think you will learn from this text?
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How will the pictures, captions, and text features help you?
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What prior knowledge do you already have about this topic?
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What questions do you hope this book will answer?
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Why do you think the author wrote this text?
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What do you visualize when you think about this topic?
During Reading
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What words are challenging? How can you find their meanings?
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How does this information connect to what you already know?
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What questions have been answered? What questions remain?
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Identify two key vocabulary words and explain why they are important.
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Write three important facts you have learned so far.
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What surprised you about this information?
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Describe what you visualized while reading.
After Reading
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What was the most important information you learned? Why?
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Did this text change your thinking about the topic?
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How do you know this text is nonfiction?
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What was the author’s purpose?
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Should others read this text? Explain.
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How can you use what you learned?
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What cause-and-effect relationships were explained?
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Do you notice any bias? Why or why not?
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How did reading nonfiction differ from reading fiction?
