Small Wonder Comprehension Questions & Reading Journal
Small Wonder has 36 chapters · Grades 3–5 · 288 pages
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Inside the journal: 36 chapter pages, one question each · 3 example answers · a cover for your reader’s name
Open-ended Thought-provoking questions for any chapter book.
What is the most important thing that happens in this chapter, and why does it matter?See all 36 questions ↓
A printable reading journal for Small Wonder: one question per chapter, with example answers.
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Small Wonder questions by chapter
We don’t know this book well enough to ask about its story, so these are open-ended prompts that get a reader thinking about the chapter they just finished: what happened, who changed, what they would do. One question per chapter, across all 36 chapters, and every one is editable before you print. The example answers under 3 of the chapters are the ones printed at the front of the booklet.
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Chapter 1
What is the most important thing that happens in this chapter, and why does it matter?
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Chapter 2
Which character's goal is clearest in this chapter? Explain what that character wants and how you can tell.
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Chapter 3
How does the place or time affect what happens in this chapter? Use a detail from the text.
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Chapter 4
Based on a clue in this chapter, what do you predict will happen next? Explain your thinking.
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Chapter 5
Choose a word that is new, interesting, or used in an unusual way. What do you think it means, and which nearby words help you?
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Chapter 6
Which part of this chapter would you most like to reread, and why?
Example answer: I would reread the part where the main character has to make a choice. On my first reading, I wanted to find out what would happen, so I read quickly. This time, I would pay closer attention to the character's thoughts. Those details could help me understand why the character chose that way.
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Chapter 7
Describe a character's reaction to something in this chapter. What does that reaction show about the character?
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Chapter 8
What problem or unanswered question stands out in this chapter? Explain what makes it difficult to solve.
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Chapter 9
What might this chapter teach readers about how people treat one another? Support your idea with a detail.
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Chapter 10
How would you describe the mood of this chapter? Point to words or details that helped create that feeling.
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Chapter 11
Pick a choice a character makes in this chapter. What other choice could the character have made, and how might that change things?
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Chapter 12
Explain how two events or ideas in this chapter connect. Does one lead to the other, or do they connect in another way?
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Chapter 13
Find a description that helps you picture something clearly. Which words make it effective?
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Chapter 14
Where do you notice a character's feelings changing or becoming clearer in this chapter? Explain what reveals those feelings.
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Chapter 15
What idea about solving problems could a reader take from this chapter? Show how the chapter supports your idea.
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Chapter 16
Which detail from this chapter might become important later? Predict how it could matter.
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Chapter 17
Do you agree with something a character says or thinks in this chapter? Explain your view using the text.
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Chapter 18
What does a conversation—or a character's private thought—help you understand in this chapter?
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Chapter 19
Choose a strong action word from this chapter. How would replacing it with a simpler word change the sentence?
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Chapter 20
How might another character describe one moment from this chapter differently? Explain what that character would notice.
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Chapter 21
What makes you want to keep reading after this chapter? Explain which question or possibility interests you most.
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Chapter 22
Describe a strength or weakness a character shows in this chapter. How does it affect what happens?
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Chapter 23
Which detail seems small at first but adds something important to this chapter? Explain its value.
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Chapter 24
If you could ask a character one question about this chapter, what would you ask, and why?
Example answer: I would ask the main character, "What do you wish the other characters understood about you?" I want to know whether the character's actions match their feelings. Sometimes people act confident even when they are worried. The answer could help me see the chapter from the character's point of view.
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Chapter 25
What does this chapter suggest about doing the right thing when it is difficult? Explain your idea, or describe why the right choice is unclear.
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Chapter 26
Look for a phrase that means more than its words seem to say, or choose a vivid description. Explain its meaning in your own words.
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Chapter 27
Suppose a character's current plan does not work. Based on this chapter, what might the character try instead?
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Chapter 28
How much do you trust what a character says in this chapter? Explain what makes you believe or doubt it.
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Chapter 29
Summarize this chapter in three sentences, focusing on the beginning, the middle, and the end.
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Chapter 30
What connection can you make between this chapter and your own life, another story, or the world? Explain both a similarity and a difference.
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Chapter 31
Where does the author slow down to give details or speed up to move through events? How does that choice affect your reading?
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Chapter 32
Which object or place in this chapter seems most important to a character? Explain what makes it matter.
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Chapter 33
Imagine giving a character advice at the end of this chapter. What would you suggest, and what detail supports your advice?
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Chapter 34
What does this chapter leave unexplained? Offer two possible explanations and tell which seems more likely.
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Chapter 35
Create a new title for this chapter. Explain how your title connects to its events or ideas.
Example answer: I would call the chapter "Still Figuring It Out." I finished reading with questions about why the characters acted as they did. My title shows that understanding a situation can take time. It also fits my feeling as a reader because I want to keep looking for clues.
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Chapter 36
Looking only at this chapter, what is one idea you understand better by the end? Explain which details helped your understanding.
Discussion questions for after Small Wonder
Bigger questions for when the book is finished, each printed on its own ruled page at the end of the booklet.
- Choose a character who changes during the story, or whose beliefs are tested. How is that character at the beginning compared with the end? Explain which events, choices, or relationships help you understand the change—or why the character stays the same. Use details from different parts of the book.
- What do you think this whole story is really about beyond its events? Explain a message or big idea using details from the beginning, middle, and end. Then describe who you would recommend the book to and why that reader might find the story meaningful.
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How to use this Small Wonder reading journal
At home, as a discussion guide
After each chapter your reader writes a few lines on that chapter’s question. Read the answer together at bedtime: it shows what they understood and gives you something real to talk about, without a quiz.
In class, as a novel study
Print a class set (booklets fold from plain letter paper) and use one question per chapter as the reading-response or literature-circle prompt. The example answers at the front show what a full answer looks like.
Homeschool
One booklet covers the whole book, 36 chapters, so it doubles as the reading log for Small Wonder. Reword any question before printing to match your reader.
Printing
The booklet PDF prints on ordinary 8.5 × 11 paper: print double-sided (flip on the short edge) at 100%, fold the stack in half and staple on the fold. There is also a one-page-per-sheet PDF and A5 binder pages.
Where the questions come from
Thought-provoking questions for any chapter book. We don’t know this book well enough to ask about its story, so these are open-ended prompts that get a reader thinking about the chapter they just finished: what happened, who changed, what they would do. The questions were drafted with AI from what is known about the book and checked before publishing; every one is editable before you print.
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