Activity 4

Connecticut Core Standards for English Language Arts & LiteracySystems of Professional Learning

Module 2 Grades 6–12: Supporting all Students in Close Reading, Academic Language, and Text-based Discussion

Activity 4 2

Creating Text-Dependent Questions• Step 1: Identify core content and ideas• Step 2: Identify vocabulary and

language structures• Step 3: Identify difficult sections

Phase 1: Read the text closely before

creating text-dependent questions

• Step 4: Start with easier questions• Step 5: Connect lesson standards and

questions• Step 6: Create culminating assessment

aligned with standards

Phase 2: Create coherent

sequences of text- dependent questions

Activity 4 3

Creating Text-Dependent QuestionsIdentify core understandings and key details in the textStart small to build confidenceTarget vocabulary and text structureTackle tough sections head-onCreate coherent sequences of text-dependent questions Identify the standards that are being addressedCreate the culminating assessment

From SAP’s Guide To Creating Text Dependent And Specific Questions

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Activity 4 4

Activity 4: Creating a Sequence of Text-dependent Questions

Activity 4: Text-dependent questions –Try it out

1. Working in pairs, use the text you selected for close reading and vocabulary.

2. Craft a short series of text-dependent questions.3. Share with another pair of participants.4. Reflect in your notepad: What support will teachers

need in creating text-dependent questions?

Page 61

Activity 4 5

Text-dependent Questions Prompt Critical Thinking

“Text-dependent questions allow students to examine the meaning and structure of a particular author’s work. It calls upon them to reread carefully to identify what the text states explicitly and to make logical inferences from the work. Teachers need to construct such queries and orchestrate learning experiences around them so they can elicit responses that deepen students’ understanding of a text.” Kathy Glass (2013)

Activity 4 6

Closing in on Close Reading

What makes you say that?How do you know?Where in the text did you find that?Can you tell me more?Why do you think that?

Follow-up questions to push student thinking

Activity 4 7

Closing in on Close Reading

Can I summarize the meaning of this text in my own words?Can I generate metaphors and diagrams to illustrate what the author is saying?What is clear to me and what do I need clarified? Can I connect the core ideas in this text to other core ideas I understand?

Linda Elder and Richard Paul (2014)

We should be coaching students to ask themselves four basic questions