The research shows that when students generate their own questions, their reading comprehension improves because:

  • It requires deeper interaction with the text and therefore a better understanding.
  • They become more focused readers, especially if the questions are posed before reading the text.
  • It builds students’ critical thinking skills and activates higher level thinking skills.
  • It improves students’ retention of information.
  • It helps students understand how questions are created and therefore where to look for information so questions generated by other people can be correctly answered.

Reference

Ness, M. (2016). When readers ask questions: Inquiry-based reading instruction. The Reading Teacher 70(2), 189-196.