Students Cite Evidence from Text

Citing evidence from a text is a big deal in Common Core and in Constructed Response Testing. I introduced some third graders to this idea a few weeks back as they were learning about genres. Students read an excerpt from "Tops and Bottoms", and then wrote a formulaic response to it. One student wrote:

"Tops and Bottoms" is a fantasy text. Fantasy storys include elements that are impossible. For example, the athr rote "I'm hungry," Bear said.

This author of this three-sentence text response did several things:

• Made a claim: Determined the genre of the text.
• Described the genre.
• Cited evidence from the text to support the claim.

The student showed me:

• That he understands the genre of fantasy.
• That he can apply his knowledge of genre to a text.
• What he applies regarding grammar and word knowledge.
• That he can reference an anchor chart ("...include elements that are impossible").
• That he can cite evidence from a text.

Now, we're ready to apply this skill at a deeper level! Oh-ho!

Check out this anchor chart from Jennifer Hartley's 5th-Grade class: