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Text-Dependent Questions, Grades 6-12: Pathways to Close and Critical Reading
Fisher & Frey’s answer to close and critical reading
No doubt since the cave paintings of prehistoric times, humans have asked questions to make sense of the message. So what could possibly be new about posing questions about text?
Plenty . . . and with TDQ, Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey reveal it all. After one quick read, you will have learned all the very best ways to use text-dependent questions as scaffolds during close reading . . . and the big understandings they can yield, especially when executed the Fisher and Frey way. But that’s just for starters. Fisher and Frey also include illustrative video, actual texts and questions, examples from across content areas, and an online professional learning guide, making the two volumes of TDQ a potent professional development tool across all of K-12.
The genius of TDQ is the way Fisher and Frey break down the process into four cognitive pathways that help teachers "organize the journey through a text" and frame an extended discussion around it. Step by step, this approach ensures that in every close reading lesson, students are guided to consider explicit and implied meanings, and deeply analyze and appreciate various aspects of a text, especially those that may be challenging or confusing.
Here’s how the four inter-related processes play out, with every why and every how
What does the text say? (general understandings and key details) How does the text work? (vocabulary, structure, and author’s craft) What does the text mean? (logical inferences and intertextual connections) What does the text inspire you to do? (write, investigate, present, debate)
The cool thing? These questions ignite students’ engagement and discussion because they strategically lead students to a place of understanding where explicit and implied meanings and interpretations can be debated. Far from being overly literal or teacher-led, the questioning framework Fisher and Frey advance enhances the quality of student talk and idea-generation. All in all, there’s no better resource to cultivate students’ capacity for independent reading and incisive thinking.
Longtime collaborators and recipients of numerous teaching and leadership awards, DOUGLAS FISHER and NANCY FREY are Professors of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University as well as teacher leaders at Health Sciences High & Middle College.
No doubt since the cave paintings of prehistoric times, humans have asked questions to make sense of the message. So what could possibly be new about posing questions about text?
Plenty . . . and with TDQ, Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey reveal it all. After one quick read, you will have learned all the very best ways to use text-dependent questions as scaffolds during close reading . . . and the big understandings they can yield, especially when executed the Fisher and Frey way. But that’s just for starters. Fisher and Frey also include illustrative video, actual texts and questions, examples from across content areas, and an online professional learning guide, making the two volumes of TDQ a potent professional development tool across all of K-12.
The genius of TDQ is the way Fisher and Frey break down the process into four cognitive pathways that help teachers "organize the journey through a text" and frame an extended discussion around it. Step by step, this approach ensures that in every close reading lesson, students are guided to consider explicit and implied meanings, and deeply analyze and appreciate various aspects of a text, especially those that may be challenging or confusing.
Here’s how the four inter-related processes play out, with every why and every how
What does the text say? (general understandings and key details) How does the text work? (vocabulary, structure, and author’s craft) What does the text mean? (logical inferences and intertextual connections) What does the text inspire you to do? (write, investigate, present, debate)
The cool thing? These questions ignite students’ engagement and discussion because they strategically lead students to a place of understanding where explicit and implied meanings and interpretations can be debated. Far from being overly literal or teacher-led, the questioning framework Fisher and Frey advance enhances the quality of student talk and idea-generation. All in all, there’s no better resource to cultivate students’ capacity for independent reading and incisive thinking.
Longtime collaborators and recipients of numerous teaching and leadership awards, DOUGLAS FISHER and NANCY FREY are Professors of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University as well as teacher leaders at Health Sciences High & Middle College.
328 pages, Paperback
First published September 9, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
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April 22, 2024This was a good and helpful book, it's just not a sitting down and reading book. It's better as a reference. And now that I know its points and structure, I can go back and reference it any time I need to.
May 14, 2017
Fisher and Frey's method for eliciting deeper meaning is a fundamentally sound text for all areas of inquiry and all disciplines.
May 21, 2017
Definitely a book that is very helpful in creating lessons that mean something to kids as well as help them to meet standards. A win-win for both student and teacher.
February 19, 2026
This was an okay book for my masters class, and while I do feel like I learned some thing, it sadly does not really help for the subject that I teach as we have no close readings.
October 9, 2015
I read this book as part of a professional development workshop series focused on cross-disciplinary literacy in my state. The way the authors broke down the categories or parts into questions to digest texts made sense for me. They also gave me some ideas to rethink about what order I teach aspects of a text.
The examples at the end of each chapter were helpful, but I feel like the author's tried to cover so many content areas and grade spans that they weren't as effective for readers. Yes, I gleaned an idea or two from a non-English section here and there, but I would have preferred more in depth examples that are relevant to my teaching. This is one of the frustrating parts of reading a generalized literacy book, but I'm glad that the authors presented what many ELA teachers already do to a fresh (and often nonfiction based!) audience.
The examples at the end of each chapter were helpful, but I feel like the author's tried to cover so many content areas and grade spans that they weren't as effective for readers. Yes, I gleaned an idea or two from a non-English section here and there, but I would have preferred more in depth examples that are relevant to my teaching. This is one of the frustrating parts of reading a generalized literacy book, but I'm glad that the authors presented what many ELA teachers already do to a fresh (and often nonfiction based!) audience.
May 3, 2015
Through chapter and I agree with the line up and way to engage the student. I like how the standards are being blended together.
Very applicable stuff. A handful of resources that I am ready to use with my classes.
Very applicable stuff. A handful of resources that I am ready to use with my classes.
December 5, 2014
Everything written by Doug and Nancy (and Heather and Marisol) is gold. No bias here. :). Great resource with helpful tools for professional development!
February 12, 2015
Smart.
July 20, 2015
Excellent resource with great ideas! Very clear and straight forward
June 11, 2017
One of the better PL books I've read for making strategic changes to the way we approached reading in my class.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews