Mini-Lesson

Objective: Students will ask questions-and search for answers-as they read.

1. Pass out the latest timeforkids.com news story. Read the headline and subhead. Encourage students to share questions these may have sparked. Explain that asking questions-and searching for answers-helps readers to stay focused and remember information from a story.

2. Demonstrate asking yourself questions based on the first paragraph of the article. For example: It says here that Barack Obama's week-long trip has included stops in Afghanistan, Kuwait and Iraq. I wonder: Has he visited any of these countries in the past? What other countries will he visit as part of this trip? I'm going to jot down these questions and look for answers as I read.

3. Encourage students to write down one of their own questions and then look for the answer as they read the rest of the article.

4. Have students share their questions and answers. Ask: Did anyone find answers to my questions? Did any of your questions have more than one answer?