Most teachers find reading a useful way of learning a language and it certainly is, but let's all be honest and admit that students generally aren't great reading fans. Sure, they read, but it rarely gives them the pleasure lovers of languages (such as English teachers...) tend to derive from it. Besides, they'll rather read all Facebook status updates from their friends before even touching that page with the article you're offering them.
You quickly reach the conclusion that in order to get them to really read what you're giving them, you should attach questions to it. This way, they'll set out to answer them and hopefully pick up something in the process. Text books have it all figured out for you already, but if you're giving them your own selections, you need to write your own questions too. There is a variety of possible questions, but they all fit within the three basic types of form questions, content questions, and theoretical questions.
Form questions
These questions focus on how something was said. It is the nitty-gritty of learning English and involves the language itself. This would include questions such as:
- Why was word XYZ chosen in this context?
- What rules about tense/punctuation/adverbs/prepositions can you derive from (a specific sentence in) the text?
- The text contains 5/13/20 adverbs/adjectives/prepositions. Identify them and the words they modify.
- What sentence structures/verb tenses/instances of passive voice do you see in the text? Why are they used?
- What synonyms of the word XYZ does the author use?
- There are two mistakes with adverbs/five spelling mistakes/eight verb tense mistakes. Find them and correct them.
Content questions
These allow students to consider the actual ideas provided in the text and to integrate them with their own thought and experiences. It involves asking things like:
- In the first sentence the author says XYZ, but he doesn't really mean this. What does he imply?
- What is your opinion on (one of) the ideas expressed in the text?
- How does this text relate to a recent news event/another text we read in class?
- What are the three/four/five main points the author makes in the text?
Theoretical questions
These can be used if you're using the text as an aid for writing. You can ask some specific writing theory questions to show them how the concepts learned are applied in reality. You could teach those concepts beforehand, but it's also possible to try to show them how it works and then have them derive the "rules" from the example. This type would lead to questions as:
- What is the topic sentence?
- What is the purpose of the first/last sentence/paragraph?
- What is the tone of the text?
- What type of paragraph organization do you see in paragraph 2/5/8?
- What is the function of paragraph 7?
Note
If you're having them look for errors or something like all the adverbs, I believe it's better to tell them how many they need to find. That will keep them more oriented on the task and they'll know when they haven't competed the task yet.
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