Literacy Matters Vol. 23 Winter 2023

• What do you already know about the topic we will read about? • Introduce and discuss new vocabulary and connect it to students’ prior knowledge. Have you heard of these words before? If so, in what context? • Identify the subtitles. What do you think they may mean? • Identify the pictures, graphs, maps, and captions. What do they tell you about our topic? • Have students write a question (or two) about what they envision the text may be about. Context questioning Pre-reading questioning is the initial step in situating text whereby students glean a measure of understanding about what is to be read. It sets the proverbial stage for deeper, more critical, comprehensive text comprehension. Context questioning, another means of facilitating student reaction, is much more than passively “reading about Japanese internment.” It intentionally situates the reader within the textual setting and asks them to generate questions based on positionality, power, perspective, personal reflection, and subsequent action (Buchanan, 2016). Such contextual notions of position, power, and perspective are ideally suited to our social studies classrooms (Hughes & Parker-Katz, 2013). After providing students with an array of rich and diverse text-based sources, ask students to address the following questions, either individually or via small groups: • Whose viewpoint is expressed? • Whose voices are missing, silenced, or discounted? • Whose interests are served by the text? • Howmight alternative perspectives or opinions be represented? • How would additional perspectives and opinions contribute to your understanding of the topic? • How does your background influence your understanding of the text? Is it a topic you already were familiar with? Did you feel more (or less) aligned with particular individuals or perspectives in the text because of your background? (McLaughlin & DeVoogd, 2004; Meloche et al., 2020). Questioning the Author Conceived several decades ago by McKeown, Beck, and Worthy (1993), Questioning the Author (QtA) is a question answering strategy that encourages and facilitates student questions. Such questions, initially posed by the teacher and subsequently generated by the student, are rooted in inquiry and, ultimately, assist in challenging author-posed assertions that often lead to deferential, unchallenged assumptions.

The tenets of QtA have long roots in social studies classrooms (Beck, McKeown, & Gromoll, 1989; Beck, McKeown, Sinatra, & Loxterman, 1991; McKeown & Beck, 1990). At its core, QtA focuses on social studies text comprehension through discussion-based inquiry rather than the tireless model of comprehension through teacher-presented and textbook-dominant facts (Beck & McKeown, 2002). Research has shown that, when systemically incorporated into classroom instruction, QtA increases reading comprehension at all grade levels (Beck, McKeown, & Sandora, 2020; Intihan, Fitriani, & Achmad, 2022; Sencibaugh & Sencibaugh, 2015).

When presenting social studies text-based content, present questions using the following sequence:

Initiating Questions: • Does this passage make sense to you? • What do you think the author wants to say here?

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Follow-up Questions: • Why do you think the author chose to use this phrase or wording? • Did the author explain this clearly? • Howmight the author have written it more clearly? • What would you have wanted to say instead?

Summative Questions: • Has the author “made the case” that satisfies you? • What are your general impressions of the author’s perspectives or conclusions? • What might the author have “missed” that you would have liked included in the text? Conclusion

For many students, reading and subsequent meaning making can be challenging. These challenges often lead to passive, deferential readers. One way to mitigate deference and facilitate reactionary response in the social studies classroom is through structured questioning. Here, students and the teacher work together to wrestle with the text and to create contextual, conceptual, and relevant meaning of and from it. Soares andWood (2010) rightfully argue that social studies teachers must move beyond merely asking questions and shift comprehension into action-taking. However, moving students from passive deference into critical, responsive action starts with purposeful, powerful, and pointed questions. Questions lead to hands in the air. Responses are given. Discussion and debate ensue. Students become empowered. Moreover, in doing so, deferential literacy in the social studies classroom gives way to relevant, reflective, and reactionary reading.

Literacy Matters | Volume 22 • Winter 2023 | 29 |

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