Image Map Skip to Main Content

Reading Apprenticeship and RATs: Question Answer Relationships

This guide is to support RTC's RATs (Reading Apprenticeship Teachers and supporters) in improving student reading comprehension in content-areas with the use of WestEd's Reading Apprenticeship framework. RTC-RATs.org is now being redirected to this site.

Question Answer Relationships (QAR) - Definition and Use

Question Answer Relationships (QAR) was developed by Taffy Raphael to help students learn how to answer questions based on what is actually found in the text as well as using their own background knowledge.

The QAR routine can visibly show students the relationships between questions and answers and that the answers (and where the answers can be found!) are related to the type of question being asked.

There are four types of questions:

  1. Right There - Question and answer are found in the same sentence.
  2. Think and Search - Answer is in the text but student needs to look in several places to find the answer.
  3. Author and You - Answer is not in the text. Student combines what they know from the text with their own knowledge.
  4. On My Own - Answer is not in the text and student can answer question from their own knowledge without reading the text.

QAR can also be used with websites and media formats.

QAR Websites

Other Websites about Teaching Questioning Skills

    RTC Library Materials

Below are RTC Library materials about using QAR. Click on the title for more information about the item from the Library's online catalog.