Bell Ringer Question
Consider this quote: “Games are as
important for adults as they are for young
people.” Do you agree or disagree with this
statement? Explain.
Just the Facts, please…
•With a partner, analyze St. Amant
High School’s GEE data.
•Highlight or star two things that
stand out to you and discuss with
your partner.
What do you notice?
• Students perform much better on multiple
choice items.
• Constructed Response scores are a good bit
lower than multiple choice scores. WHY do
you think this occurs?
• What can we do about it?
A RARE response =
Better Answers
How to Sound Smart Answering
Constructed Response
Questions
RARE Strategy
4-part strategy that, if used often,
TRAINS YOUR BRAIN
to think about the most important
steps in answering a question!
Restating, Answering,
Reasoning, Evidence
Types of Prompts
• Text-based (you find the answer in the
reading or your knowledge of a topic;
student answers will be similar)
– List and explain three different types of
learning styles.
• Self-based (your opinion, prediction,
beliefs, etc. Answer comes from your head,
and all student answers will be different)
– What do you do to prepare for exams?
Partner Chat
Why would it be important to
differentiate between textbased prompts and self-based
prompts?
Prompt components
• Background information – previously
learned or provided in question
• Prompt petitions – part of the prompt that
tells you to do something rather than asks a
question (explain, predict, describe,
analyze, rate, compare, contrast, define)
• Prompt questions – specifically asks a
question and ends with a question mark.
(Why does…? How could…? Which
might…?)
Partner Chat
1. Why is reading background information
important when answering a CR question?
2. Which kind of prompt, petitions or
questions, do you think students perform
better on? Why?
3. How do you respond differently to a
petition prompt than you do to a question
prompt?
General Reminders
• Don’t start your answer off with “Yes,”
“No,” “I believe,” or “I think.”
• The response should make sense even
WITHOUT the prompt. The smartestsounding responses can stand alone!
• Don’t change nouns to pronouns in the first
sentence.
Before you write…
• Dissect your prompt
– Underline or put a star next to background
information and circle petitions or questions.
– Decide boundaries of response – is it text-based
or self-based?
– Try it out. Dissect the following prompt.
Consider this quote: “Games are as important for
adults as they are for children.” Do you agree
or disagree with this statement?
Think Aloud
Recall with your partner the story of the Three
Little Pigs. Respond to this question:
The wolf in The Three Little Pigs says
that everyone has him wrong. He’s
really a nice wolf. Do you believe
him?
R = Restate
• Restate the question. Use
words from the prompt; use the
correct transition words
(because, by, to, when); don’t
replace nouns with pronouns.
• Typical Answer: No I don’t
believe him.
• Better Answer: The wolf in
The Three Little Pigs is
anything but nice.
Why didn’t we start with, “No, I don’t believe him…”?
A = Answer
• Answer the question with a gist
summary (main idea but no details
yet, just like a topic sentence or
thesis statement)
• Typical Answer: No, I don’t believe
him. He’s gangsta.
• Better Answer: The wolf in the
story The Three Little Pigs is
anything but nice. In fact, he is
best described as aggressive and
mean.
R = Reasons from the Text
• Provide reasons to support your
answer with details from the
text.
• Typical Answer: No, I don’t
believe him. He’s gangsta. The
way he had those pigs so
scared.
• Better Answer: The wolf in the
story The Three Little Pigs is
anything but nice. In fact, he is
best described as aggressive
and mean because he was
relentless in trying to eat the
three innocent pigs.
•
•
•
E = Examples, Evidence,
Explanation or Elaboration and
Ending
Provide examples, evidence, explanation, or
elaboration from the text/your mind to support
your answer.
Typical Answer: Students usually leave this part
out! 
Answer: The wolf in the story The Three
Little Pigs is anything but nice. In fact, he is
best described as aggressive and mean
because he was relentless in trying to eat the
three innocent pigs. For example, he chased
them from house to house and made them run
for their lives. He also destroyed two of the
pigs’ homes in the process. That wolf has a lot to
learn about being nice.
Questions about RARE
• Think about the format of CR answers. Will
every response be exactly four sentences
long? Why or why not?
• Why do you think teacher-made assessments
and standardized tests include Constructed
Response items?
• What is the most difficult part of RARE?
Why?
Back to our question…
Consider this quote: “Games are as important for
adults as they are for young people.” Do you
agree or disagree with this statement?
On your own, develop a RARE response.
RARE checklist and
rubric
• Compare your revised, RARE answer to the
answer you first provided. Does your new
answer sound smarter? Congratulations!
• Now evaluate your partner’s answer using
the RARE checklist and the rubric provided.
• Compare rubrics. How did you do?