Question Types
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Not all questions are the same! When someone asks you a question, they might want different kinds of answers. Learning to recognize question types helps you give the best answer.
Three Main Question Types
1. "What happened?" Questions
These questions ask you to remember facts from what you read or heard.
Example: "What did the cat do in the story?"
How to answer: Look back at the story and find exactly what happened.
2. "Why?" Questions
These questions ask you to explain a reason.
Example: "Why did the boy feel sad?"
How to answer: Think about cause and effect. What made something happen?
3. "Which is best?" Questions
These questions give you choices and ask you to pick the best one.
Example: "Which answer best tells the main idea?"
How to answer: Read all choices first. Cross out wrong ones. Pick the best match.
Examples
Read this short story:
"Mia wanted to bake cookies for her friend's birthday. She mixed flour, sugar, and eggs in a big bowl. Then she put the dough on a tray and baked it in the oven. The cookies came out golden brown and smelled delicious!"
Example 1: "What happened?" question
Question: What did Mia put in the bowl?
Answer: Mia put flour, sugar, and eggs in the bowl.
How we found it: We looked back at the story and found the exact words.
Example 2: "Why?" question
Question: Why did Mia bake cookies?
Answer: Mia baked cookies because it was her friend's birthday.
How we found it: The story says she wanted to bake them "for her friend's birthday."
Example 3: "Which is best?" question
Question: Which sentence best tells what the story is mostly about?
- A) Mia has a friend.
- B) Mia bakes birthday cookies for her friend.
- C) Cookies smell good.
- D) Ovens get hot.
Best answer: B
Why: Choice B tells the whole story. The other choices only tell small parts or things that are not the main point.
Practice
Read each passage and identify the question type. Then choose the best answer.
Passage 1:
"The dog ran across the yard. It was chasing a red ball. The ball rolled under the fence."
Question 1: What was the dog chasing?
Question type: "What happened?"
- A) A cat
- B) A red ball
- C) A bird
- D) A stick
Question 2: Why did the dog run across the yard?
Question type: "Why?"
- A) It was scared.
- B) It wanted to go inside.
- C) It was chasing a ball.
- D) It saw another dog.
Passage 2:
"Sam loves to read books. Every night before bed, he picks a book from his shelf. His favorite books are about space and stars. Sam dreams of being an astronaut someday."
Question 3: When does Sam read books?
- A) In the morning
- B) At school
- C) Before bed
- D) After lunch
Question 4: Which sentence best tells what Sam wants to be when he grows up?
- A) Sam wants to be a teacher.
- B) Sam dreams of being an astronaut.
- C) Sam wants to write books.
- D) Sam dreams of having more books.
Passage 3:
"The garden was full of colorful flowers. Bees buzzed from flower to flower. They were collecting nectar to make honey. The gardener smiled as she watched them work."
Question 5: Why were the bees going to the flowers?
- A) To rest
- B) To hide from the gardener
- C) To collect nectar for honey
- D) To find water
Question 6: What kind of place is described in this passage?
- A) A store
- B) A garden
- C) A park
- D) A farm
Passage 4:
"Emma lost her favorite pencil. She looked in her desk but it was not there. She looked in her backpack but it was not there either. Finally, she found it on the floor under her chair!"
Question 7: Where did Emma finally find her pencil?
- A) In her desk
- B) In her backpack
- C) On the floor under her chair
- D) On her teacher's desk
Question 8: Which sentence best tells what this story is about?
- A) Emma has a desk.
- B) Pencils are important.
- C) Emma searched for and found her lost pencil.
- D) Chairs are in classrooms.
Question Type Practice:
Question 9: What type of question is this: "What color was the bird?"
- A) A "Why?" question
- B) A "What happened?" question
- C) A "Which is best?" question
- D) A "How many?" question
Question 10: What type of question is this: "Which answer best describes how the girl felt?"
- A) A "Why?" question
- B) A "What happened?" question
- C) A "Which is best?" question
- D) A "When?" question
Check Your Understanding
Think about these questions:
- What are the three main types of questions we learned about?
- How do you answer a "What happened?" question?
- What should you do first when you see a "Which is best?" question?
- Why is it helpful to know what type of question you are answering?
Practice Answers:
1. B | 2. C | 3. C | 4. B | 5. C | 6. B | 7. C | 8. C | 9. B | 10. C
Next Steps
- Practice identifying question types when you read at home
- Before answering, ask yourself: "What kind of question is this?"
- Move on to the Timed Drill lesson to practice answering quickly