Comprehension Conundrum

Tonight, I went online to search for some decent comprehension questions for James and the Giant Peach. I recently found great free online resources for Cricket in Times Square and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, so I was hopeful. Unfortunately, no good resources were to be found for Peach, a Dahl classic. They were too simple, didn't go deep enough for my fifth graders. They may be reading at Level Q, but they can think like fifth graders!

Necessity is the mother of invention, so I cranked out questions for the first four chapters and have shared them below for anyone interested. I want students accessing schema/ making connections, inferring, predicting, and learning about literary elements and author style. I will post more chapter questions as I write them.

James and the Giant Peach

Please answer the following questions in your journal using T.T.Q.A. and support your answers with evidence from the text.

 Chapter 1:

1.      Do you feel bad for James? Why or why not?

 

2.      Will James jump over the fence? Why or why not?

 

Chapter 2:

1.      What words does the author use to describe Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge?

 

2.      Why did James start to cry?

 

Chapter 3:

1.      Summarize what happened in this chapter.

2.      What do you think will happen next? Why?

 

Chapter 4:

1.      What does the old man promise James if he drinks the jugful?

2.      “Whoever they meet first, be it bug, insect, animal, or tree, that will be the one who gets the full power of their magic.” This is an example of foreshadowing, the author is hinting at what may happen soon in the story. What do you think will happen with the “green things?”