What are the differences between Guided Reading Mode, Assessment, and Discussion questions?

CommonLit library texts feature a variety of question types to support student comprehension as they read, assess their understanding of key themes or ideas, and spark further reflection and discussion. Each library text includes Guided Reading Mode (GRM) Questions, Assessment Questions, and Discussion Questions (Note: Discussion Questions are not digitally-assignable).

Guided Reading Mode (GRM) Questions are used to check for student understanding while reading a text. You can enable Guided Reading Mode when you create an assignment. Students continue answering until they select the correct answer, and teachers can view the number of tries it took a student to get the correct answer on the Assignment Report. These questions do not impact a student's total score on an assignment.

💻 Guided Reading Mode questions can be enabled for digitally assigned library texts, but these questions are not currently included on the downloadable PDF of the text.

Assessment Questions are text-dependent multiple-choice or short-answer questions that are evidence-based. This means that the student must refer back to the text to answer the question correctly. They are standardized, have a correct answer, and count towards the student's total grade. Students only get one try to answer these questions correctly (unless the teacher unsubmits their assignment).

💻  Assessment Questions are included both digitally and on the downloadable PDF for a text. If the text is assigned to students on CommonLit, they will be able to answer the questions on the platform, and their score on multiple-choice questions will be calculated automatically.

Discussion Questions are open-ended questions intended to be used in class to spark a discussion or debate. They are not currently digitally assignable, but they can be copied and shared with students. CommonLit recommends teachers use the discussion questions to lead an oral debate in class. To do this inside the classroom, print out the “Discussion Questions” page by clicking “Download PDF” just above the text’s title. Then, distribute this handout to students and ask them to brainstorm their answers in writing before discussing it with their peers.