A Reading ResponseStrategy

What is RAD?

Created by Mrs. Flynn

What is RAD?

RAD is a strategy I designed to help students respond to questions about reading. Each letter stands for an required part of their answer.

What are the required elements?

R stands for restate.

A stands for answer.

D stands for details.

How to Use RAD

How to write a really good answer to a

writing prompt.

Here’s a sample prompt.

Tell what you noticed about the main character, Goldilocks, in the story “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”. What can you tell by her words and actions?

Level One Answer

She is a girl that goes to their house.

1. Avoid using pronouns.

2. Be specific and use names.

Only the first part of the prompt is answered in a very general way.

Level Two Answer

Goldilocks is a girl that goes into the bears’ house uninvited when the bears aren’t home.

Tell what you noticed about the main character, Goldilocks, in the story “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”. What can you tell by her words and actions?

This is a good start, but only the first part of the question was answered.

Level Three Answer

The main character, Goldilocks, is a young girl that goes into the bears’ house uninvited when the bears aren’t home. Her actions show she’s bad because you shouldn’t do that. This is a more complete answer, but

the details and character traits are too general.

Restate: Using part of the prompt in the answer helps us to focus on a main point.

Level Four Answer Goldilocks, the main character in

“Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” is a disrespectful girl that breaks into the bears’ house when the three bears aren’t home. She eats their porridge, breaks their chair, and even sleeps in the baby’s bed. When she’s discovered she doesn’t even apologize! Her illegal actions show she’s thoughtless and dishonest.

The story details are very specific and match the character traits.

Character traits should be as precise as possible.

Let’s read the prompt again.

Tell what you noticed about the main character, Goldilocks, in the story “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”. What can you tell by her words and actions?

Now, Let’s look for theRAD elements.

Goldilocks, the main character in “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” is a disrespectful girl that breaks into the bears’ house when the three bears aren’t home. She eats their porridge, breaks their chair, and even sleeps in the baby’s bed. When she’s discovered she doesn’t even apologize! Her illegal actions show she’s thoughtless and dishonest.

Restate Answer

Details

REVIEW of RADR stands for restate.

A stands for answer.

D stands for details.

Remember to use RAD when responding to our class blog.