Ground reading, writing, and speaking in evidence from text, both literary and informational.
College- and career- ready standards, including the CCSS, place a premium on students writing to sources, i.e., using evidence from texts to present careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information. Rather than asking students questions they can answer solely from their prior knowledge or experience, college- and career-ready standards expect students to answer questions that depend on their having read the text or texts with care. CCR standards also require the cultivation of narrative writing throughout the grades, and in later grades a command of sequence and detail will be essential for effective argumentative and informational writing. Likewise, the reading standards focus on students’ ability to read carefully and grasp information, arguments, ideas and details based on text evidence. Students should be able to answer a range of text-dependent questions, questions in which the answers require inferences based on careful attention to the text.
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All of the lessons found in the Classroom Resources section include text-dependent questions and tasks.
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ELA / Literacy Student Writing Samples
All of the student writing samples found in the Classroom Resources section include text-dependent questions and tasks.
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Access resources to create your own text-dependent questions.
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David Coleman, John B. King, Jr., and Kate Gerson discuss evidence-based conversations between students. Eleven minute video selection.
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The Importance of Good Questions
David Coleman, President and CEO of the College Board, uses the Gettysburg Address to illustrate the importance of pairing good texts with good questions. Six minute video selection.
