LAUSD 2012-13 – CCSS PD K/1/6 – Text-Dependent Question Template (DRAFT 1/18/13)
Creating Text-Dependent Questions for Close Analytic Reading
Grade ___6____
Unit __3__ Week ___3__
This template is to be used to support alignment of our existing curricular
resources to the Common Core State Standards.
NOTES ON PROCESS
An effective set of text dependent questions delves systematically into a text, to
guide students in extracting the key meanings or ideas found there. The
questions typically begin by exploring specific words, details, and arguments, and
then move on to examine the impact of those specifics on the text as a whole.
Along the way, the questioning targets academic vocabulary and specific sentence
structures as critical focus points for gaining comprehension.
While there is no set process for generating a complete and coherent body of text
dependent questions for a text, this planning process is a good guide that can
serve to generate a core series of questions for close reading of any given text.
To really understand a complex text, the reader will have to read it more than
once, to make sense of what the author is saying and to glean the details at both
the explicit and implicit levels.
First and foremost, close reading demands a willingness to return to the text to
read part or even all of it more than once, ultimately instilling important habits of
mind in approaching text.
In working with CA Treasures as a tool to teach to the Common Core State
Standards:
LOOK AT WHAT THE T.E. and EL RESOURCE BOOK ALREADY HAVE FOR READING
THE SELECTION. They may already have some effective questions and
recommendations that you can use and supplement. Or, you may wish to take a
different approach.
The goal is to maximize student engagement with the learning in the text, as a
pathway to mastering the Common Core State Standards.
Adapted from Student Achievement Partners
1
LAUSD 2012-13 – CCSS PD K/1/6 – Text-Dependent Question Template (DRAFT 1/18/13)
NOTES ON PLANNING STEPS
THOUGH STEP 1 IS ALWAYS THE STARTING POINT, AND THE STEPS ARE
NUMBERED, THE PROCESS FOR DEVELOPING A LESSON IS RECURSIVE.
Step 1: Identify the Core Understandings and Key Ideas of the Text
As in any good backward mapping process, teachers should start by identifying the key insights
they want students to understand from the text. Keeping in mind the major points to be made
is crucial for crafting an overarching set of successful questions.
This step is also critical for creating an appropriate task to check for understanding.
Step 2: Target Vocabulary
Locate the most powerful words in the text that are connected to the key ideas and
understandings. Craft questions that draw students’ attention to these specifics so they can
become aware of these connections. Vocabulary selected for focus should be academic words
and high-utility words that are abstract and likely to be encountered in future reading and
studies.
Needs of English Learners, SELs and SWDs should be a major focus in planning, e.g., contrastive
analysis, vocabulary strategy practice, cognate connections, tiering vocabulary, clarifying
common multiple-meaning words, vocabulary choices for particular registers, etc.
Step 3: Syntax & Text Structures - Tackle Tough Sections of the Text
Find the sections of the text that will present the greatest difficulty, and craft questions that
support students in mastering these sections. These could be sections with difficult syntax or
text structure, use of the passive voice, particularly dense information, tricky transitions, or
places that offer a variety of possible inferences. This is another opportunity to engage
contrastive analysis strategies, e.g., L1-L2 phrasing, analyzing passive & active voice structures,
translation from home language(s) to school and academic language, contexts for use of
particular registers, etc.
Step 4: Create Coherent Sequences of Text Dependent Questions – Start Small to Build
Confidence
The opening questions should help orient students to the text, and be specific enough to
answer so students gain confidence. The sequence of questions should not be random but
should build toward more coherent understanding and analysis to ensure that students learn to
stay focused on the text to bring them to a gradual understanding of its meaning. Think of ways
to maximize student engagement.
Step 5: Identify the Standards That Will Be Addressed in the Whole Lesson
Take stock of what standards are being addressed in the series of questions and decide if any
other standards are suited to being a focus. Form additional questions to exercise those
standards.
Step 6: Create a Task to Check for Understanding
Develop a task around the key ideas or understandings identified earlier that:
Reflects mastery of one or more of the key objectives of the lesson, involves writing, and is
structured to be completed by students independently.
Adapted from Student Achievement Partners
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LAUSD 2012-13 – CCSS PD K/1/6 – Text-Dependent Question Template (DRAFT 1/18/13)
Grade ___6____
Unit _3___ Week __3___
Step 1: Identify the Core Understandings & Key Ideas of Text
Selection Title:
Saving Grace from Time for Kids
Original TE Big Question for Unit (Unit planning page 240/241):
What values are important to your culture?
Enhanced Big Question (if applicable):
Step 1 – Identify Core Understandings and Key Ideas of Text
How do values represent what people believe and guide the way people live?
Selection Concept(s) - Each selection builds to a larger understanding of the Big Question.
How does this selection connect to the Big Question?
Generosity and selflessness are values that can have wide-ranging impacts on people.
CCSS Focus Standard(s) ______________
What CCSS literacy standard(s) will you be addressing with this re-read of the selection?
RI6.1, RI6.2, RI6.3
Selection Question - Connect the CCSS Focus Standard to the Selection Concept(s) in the
form of a question:
What can be learned from the particular details in the text about the spirit of generosity and altruism in
people?
What is evidenced in the text that philanthropy can be found in unexpected situations?
Adapted from Student Achievement Partners
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LAUSD 2012-13 – CCSS PD K/1/6 – Text-Dependent Question Template (DRAFT 1/18/13)
Steps 2 & 3: Target Vocabulary, Syntax, and Text Structure
TEACHER PROVIDES DEFINITION
Not enough clues provided in the text
Pg
304
304
304
Pg
304
STUDENTS FIGURE OUT THE MEANING
Sufficient context or word structure clues
text
Step 2 - Target Needed Vocabulary
Step 2 - Target Needed Vocabulary
KEY WORDS ESSENTIAL TO
UNDERSTANDING THIS TEXT
Words
philanthropist
alumni
scholarships
Words
donating
Clues/Supports
from the Greek
meaning “love of
humanity”
from Latin,
meaning “foster
son, pupil”
root word scholar
Clues/Supports
root word donate
HIGH UTILITY WORDS FOR LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT – Words ELs & all students need, to
access this and other learning
Pg
Words
Clues/Supports
304
prohibit
305
inadequate
305
moderate
306
foundation
mult. meaning word
306
hamper
mult. meaning word
306
accessible
root word access
307
bewildering
Pg
Words
Adapted from Student Achievement Partners
prefix, root word
Clues/Supports
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LAUSD 2012-13 – CCSS PD K/1/6 – Text-Dependent Question Template (DRAFT 1/18/13)
Step 3 – Challenging Syntax & Text Structures
“Tyre remembers a time when McCarty charged just 50 cents a bundle (a week’s worth of laundry for a family
of four). Eventually her fee climbed to $10 a bundle, still a very moderate price.” Parenthetical phrase on
page 305
“She continued to project an air of genuine puzzlement by the question she heard over and over: Why didn’t
you spend the money on yourself? “I am spending it on myself,” she answered with a smile. Page 307
Project can be used as noun (an individual or collaborative enterprise planned and designed to achieve an
aim), or as a verb (to propose, contemplate or set forth). Colon sets apart the question she was asked.
Adapted from Student Achievement Partners
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LAUSD 2012-13 – CCSS PD K/1/6 – Text-Dependent Question Template (DRAFT 1/18/13)
Step 4 - Craft questions that start small, address vocabulary, and build toward the key understandings and standards
Step 4: Create Coherent Sequences of Text-Dependent Questions
Text-Dependent Questions
Evidence-Based Answers
What does the reader learn about Oseola McCarty after
reading page 304?
She came from a town in Mississippi and did
other people’s laundry for most of her life.
Even though she did not have a job that
would provide a lot of money, she was able
to give away a large amount to help
students get an education; something she
never had. We also learn she never
married, and had no children of her own.
She states she was a hard-working woman
her whole life.
The author uses the text feature of headings to organize the
article. Identify the three headings, and summarize the
contents of each.
Hard Work: McCarty left school early to
care for an ailing aunt. She never returned
to school, but instead became involved in
the family’s laundry business. It was
physically demanding work, carrying water
from the hydrant, boiling clothes in a big
black tub, and hanging them to dry. She
never used a modern washer or dryer. She
initially earned 50 cents a bundle, but
eventually earned $10 a bundle.
So Others Can Learn: After arthritis
prevented her from working, McCarty
offered the money for the scholarship to the
University of Southern Mississippi. The
executive director of the university was very
surprised because it was a large amount
saved from a very modest income.
Originally, the scholarships were not to be
distributed until after McCarty’s death, but
it was decided that McCarty should have the
chance to see a student benefit from her
selfless donation before she died.
Stephanie Bullock was the first to receive
$1000 to make a college education possible
for her, something McCarty never had.
The Gift of a Lifetime: McCarty’s selfless
generosity resulted in many others
contributing to the university. She was
puzzled when she was asked so frequently
why she didn’t spend the money on herself.
She always responded that she was
spending it on herself. Ms. McCarty died in
1999 at the age of 91.
What benefit did Oseola McCarty receive from her
philanthropy and giving $150,000 to the University of
Mississippi?
McCarty knew that the help from her
scholarship fund would make college
accessible to students. The decision to
award the first scholarship before she died
allowed her to see at least one of her
beneficiaries graduate. (page 306) She
knew that she helped students get the
education that she never received. The
smiles in all the photos showed this made
Adapted from Student Achievement Partners
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LAUSD 2012-13 – CCSS PD K/1/6 – Text-Dependent Question Template (DRAFT 1/18/13)
her very happy.
How did Oseola McCarty’s philanthropy influence others to
become generous too?
Page 307 describes local businesspeople,
upon hearing of Ms. McCarty’s gift, pledged
to match the $150,000 donation. Soon the
university was receiving donations from all
over.
What can be inferred about these additional donations?
The act of giving and the spirit of generosity
make people happy and feel good about
them. Ms. McCarty set the example and
others followed. The value of giving is a
win/win for everyone.
Step 5: Standards Addressed in the Whole Lesson
Adapted from Student Achievement Partners
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LAUSD 2012-13 – CCSS PD K/1/6 – Text-Dependent Question Template (DRAFT 1/18/13)
A single lesson can cover multiple standards
Step 5 – Identify Standards Being Addressed in Lesson
RI6.1, RI6.2, RI6.3
W6.2a-f, W6.4, W6.5, W6.6, W6.7, W6.8
SL6.1, SL6.6
L6.1, L6.2, L6.3, L6.4a,b,d, L6.6
Step 6: Create a Task to Check for Understanding
Describe task and steps students will take to achieve them.
Step 6 – Task to Check for Understanding
Prompt = Teacher instructions to students:
Oseola McCarty was described as being a philanthropist on page 304. The word is derived from the Greek
meaning love of humanity, and is defined as a person inclined to help mankind by charitable aid or
donations. These acts are intended to promote human welfare. In order to be a true philanthropist a
person must be of generous-spirit. Conduct a short research project on a philanthropist in our
community. Use both the internet and print resources to identify an individual in Los Angeles who has
made a difference by selflessly working toward making the lives of others better. Include background
information on this individual, and what drew his/her interest to the cause supported by the donations.
Document the results of this individual’s contributions.
Task & Steps:









Write an informative researched essay about a philanthropist who has benefited the city of Los
Angeles.
Convey the information through the selection, organization, and analysis of this person’s life and
contributions to the community.
Introduce the topic, and develop the facts using concrete details, quotations, or other information
(charts, graphics, formatting, multi-media).
Describe why/how this person selected the particular philanthropy to contribute to or found
Document how this generosity has affected and positively influenced people
Use appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary.
Establish and maintain a formal style.
Provide a concluding statement that follows from the information presented.
Adapted from Student Achievement Partners
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LAUSD 2012-13 – CCSS PD K/1/6 – Text-Dependent Question Template (DRAFT 1/18/13)
Adapted from Student Achievement Partners
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LAUSD 2012-13 – CCSS PD K/1/6 – Text-Dependent Question Template (DRAFT 1/18/13)
Additional Tasks – (optional) Ex: to supplement or build toward culminating task; provide additional
depth, complexity, novelty or acceleration for advanced students; make content connections; etc.
Notes to Teacher Ex: Which sections of text to focus on for particular teaching points; considerations
for grouping; content connections, supplemental resources or links
Student Engagement – What format or strategies will give students the opportunities to
actively engage with the learning?
Relate the issue of philanthropy to their own knowledge and experience. In what way has the generosity of
others affected their lives?
Round table exercise:
Write a response to the selection concept: Generosity and selflessness can have wide-ranging impacts on
people. Pass it to the person to your left until the whole group has had the opportunity to respond.
Responses can also be passed between the groups or posted on the theme board.
Adapted from Student Achievement Partners
10
LAUSD 2012-13 – CCSS PD K/1/6 – Text-Dependent Question Template (DRAFT 1/18/13)
Adapted from Student Achievement Partners
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