What is the role of questioning in reading comprehension?

The role of questioning in reading comprehension is to promote active engagement and understanding. When students ask or are prompted to ask questions about the text they are reading, they become more involved in the material. This engagement encourages deeper thinking and helps them connect new information to their existing knowledge. Questions can guide readers' focus, clarify their understanding, and stimulate critical thinking about the content. Active engagement through questioning supports students in making inferences, predicting outcomes, and summarizing main ideas, all of which are essential components of effective comprehension.

In contrast, the other options do not encapsulate the primary importance of questioning. While discouraging passive reading can be a byproduct of effective questioning, it does not fully capture the comprehensive role of promoting understanding. Similarly, questioning does not primarily aim to encourage memorization of text or improve reading speed; instead, its main function is to foster a deeper comprehension of content.