Ishu Khurana and Paula Paulino
Creating Text-Dependent Questions for Close Analytic Reading
Selection: A Historic Journey by _____________ Grade: 5 Unit 2
Initial Planning
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 the major points to be made in mind is crucial for crafting an overarching set of successful
questions. This step is also critical for creating a means to check for student understanding.
Identify Lesson Focus: (Review Qualitative Measures)
The lesson focuses on language demands. The language is explicit and straightforward for the benchmark students,
however it is very complex for ELs and SELs
Also, the author’s purpose is to help students understand why it was important for Jefferson to explorer the vast territory.
Text Structure: slightly to moderately complex.
Pg. 167 The map shows the westward route
P168. Picture of prairie dog- example from the diverse animal life
P. 168. One of their diagrams in their journals
CCSS Focus Standards:
RI.5.1 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text
Rl.10 Read and understand complex literacy and informational text independently and proficiently.
RI 5.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or
subject area
Use shorter text or excerpts of longer texts
Supporting Student Needs
Considerations for Reader and Task
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 habits of mind in approaching text. Planning
for multiple reads as well as multiple purposes for reads is essential in order to support all student needs.
Potential Challenges this Text Poses:
Strategies/Lessons to access complex text: Pre teach


Meaning: (Conceptual Understanding Examples, pg. #)
Pg. 167. Paragraph 1 the challenge is why was the water route
so important.
The challenge that this text may also pose to students maybe in
the lack of prior knowledge
Preview the organization of the text
Picture walk, Introduce vocabulary using various
strategies (e.g Identify words and determine a
definition with your students engaging students
dealing with word meaning (word association
and ideas completion) and culminate with
vocabulary tea party.
Enormity of the task before Lewis and Clark (5.1)
CCSS Focus Standards:
Language: (Syntax, Vocabulary Examples, pg. #)
Pg. 167 looking at bold vocabulary words, tier 2 words
(naturalist, trove, combined, diverse, instill, vacant, endurance
ect.)
Pg. 168 vocabulary: gullies, traders and trappers

Vocabulary and sentence structure in the text
Example: P.168. Combined effort produce descriptions of the
diverse, plants and animal life in the territory -22 kinds of
animals and 178 kinds of plants
RI.5.1 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the
text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text
Rl.10 Read and understand complex literacy and
informational text independently and proficiently.
RI 5.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain
specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic
or subject area
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Ishu Khurana and Paula Paulino
Pre teach
1.
2.
3.
Activity/Lesson
Preteach listed vocabulary
Picture Walk
Access informational text
1.Define, example, ask and visual glossary
Idea completion; Lewis and Clark were naturalist
because__________
Word association; diverse (ask students to think of similar
words that will mean diverse) people, plants and animals
are different. (Which words represent diversity)
2. Think pair share (square), have students generate
questions for their peers from the text, identify how the
author has organized this selection (e.g heading, sub
headings, captions and maps)
First Read: Teacher will read the entire selection for the general idea and the gist. The selection is only 3-pages long and the
strategies after reading each paragraph, have students summarize. Teacher models first paragraph
Close Reads
Create Coherent Sequence of Text-Dependent Questions
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.
Close Read I (Start small to build confidence)
Learning Focus: Authors Purpose Focus CCSS: RI.5.1 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text
says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text
Rl.10 Read and understand complex literacy and informational text independently and proficiently.
Text-Dependent Questions
Evidence-Based Answers/Pg. #
Pg. 167
Why did President Jefferson ask Lewis and Clark He wanted to find a water route between
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Ishu Khurana and Paula Paulino
to explore a huge area of North America? (167)
Note: Talk to your partner to make sure that
you can both show evidence from text
What did Jefferson expect them to report on?
(167)
Pg. 168
Why did Lewis and Clark capture a live “prairie
dog” and send it to President Jefferson in
Washington?
What do you think was the reason for the
buffalos to move south? (168)
Why does the author say, “ A few months later,
feast of fresh buffalo were just pleasant
memories.” (167)
What did the team members eat while the
buffalos were gone south? (168)
Why did the author called Clark a horrible
speller? (169)
Mississippi river and the Pacific Ocean to boost
the trade
Pg. 167
He expected them to report on people, plants
and animals that inhabited the territory
Pg. 168 (inferential question)
They wanted Jefferson to see an example of
the new animals they had discovered in that
territory
Students may make different inferences as to
why a live animal was sent
Pg. 168
By fall the buffalos were starting to move south
because the weather was going to be harsh up
north.
Pg. 167
The buffalos were moving south to the
wintering grounds and they couldn’t be hunted
for fresh meat, that the explorers had enjoyed
earlier and that is why they were just pleasant
memories
Pg. 168
Native Americans were great hosts and they
introduced them to the mule deer meat since
buffalo meat was unavailable
P. 169
When they finally reached the Pacific Ocean,
Clark wrote in his journal ocian instead of
ocean. More examples of misspell words are
found in A Historic Journey in Wonders
Close Read II.
Learning Focus: Author Purpose Focus CCSS: RI.5.1 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text
says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text
Rl.10 Read and understand complex literacy and informational text independently and proficiently.
Text-Dependent Questions
The author calls Lewis and Clark “excellent
naturalist” Why? (167)
What does the author mean when he says,
Evidence-Based Answers/Pg. #
Pg. 167
Because they both kept excellent maps and
diaries of everything they saw in nature and
learned. The combined efforts were
used………(167)
Pg. 169
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Ishu Khurana and Paula Paulino
“keeping track while making tracks?” (169)
Why did the author title the selection A Historic
Journey?
What is the author’s perspective about Lewis
and Clark? P. 169
There is a pun on the word track. While they
were exploring (making tracks), the great
endless plains, jagged rocky mountains, and
the glittering Pacific Ocean, they were also
keeping track (writing in their journals) of what
they saw and when they saw.
Inferential question
By inference the students can say that the
author called this selection A Historic Journey
because no explorer before had kept extensive
journals, maps and diagrams. This was perhaps
the first time and therefore historic.
Pg. 169
Students can infer that the author has great
respect and admiration for these explorers. He
is impressed by their courage to take on the
assignment, their endurance and their keen
observational skills to notice the enormous
diversity in plants and animals. The author
uses the word courage, endurance and keen
observation in describing them.
Checking for Understanding
How will you know that learning has occurred? Planning for a means to check student understanding is crucial. Refer back to
the Lesson Focus to plan intentionally to check for student understanding.
Describe how you will check for student understanding:
The teacher will check for understanding by listening to the students during peer to peer collaboration and listening for
academic vocabulary. The students will provide evidence from the selection for their oral responses. Using a flow map and
inviting responses from the students about cause and effect the teacher will gauge students understanding of the selection and
clear misconceptions
The culminating activity will be for students to create a dialogue between Jefferson and Lewis and Clark. The setting for the
dialogue will be before the expedition takes place and at the conclusion of the expedition
Continuing to read about the historic journey in Wonders can also extend this learning.
Louisiana Purchase Pg. 174-175
A Historic Journey 176-177
Vocabulary
KEY WORDS ESSENTIAL TO
UNDERSTANDING
Words addressed with a question or task
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WORDS WORTH KNOWING
General teaching suggestions are provided in
the Introduction
STUDENTS FIGURE OUT
THE MEANING
sufficient context clues
are provided in the text
TEACHER PROVIDES
DEFINITION
not enough contextual
clues provided in the text
Ishu Khurana and Paula Paulino
Combined, diverse, geography,
trapper, gullies
Expedition, water route,
Naturalist, territory, trove
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