The Race Strategy This is a constructed response strategy that will help students write acceptable written responses. 6 th Grade ELA

R - Restate  To help students restate the question:  Underline the words  Use as many words in the question as possible Example: Why were the three bears so upset when they got home from their walk? The three bears were upset shen they got home form their walk because….

A – Answer the Questions  Answer the questions in complete sentences correctly.  A sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark (period).  Give a general answer.  Provide only a gist of the whole answer.  Make the readers ask “what do you mean?” Example: The three bears were upset when they got home form their walk because…..  Their house was not like they left it  The house was a mess  Someone had been in their house

C – Cite evidence from the passage  Use details or evidence to support the answer. The “gist” answer leads you into the details.  Decide the order of the details or evidence:  Chronological order: the way in which things happen; use transition words  Order of importance: either from the most important to the least important  Example: The three bears were upset when they got home form their walk because their house was not like they left it. Details for evidence: To begin with, the bears noticed that someone had been eating their porridge. Next, they discover that someone had broken baby bear’s chair. Lastly, their beds were messed up. However, all this happened because a little girl was in their house!

E – Expand your Answer  Expand or explain your answer – add more.  Strategies for effectively expanding a constructed response answer:  Refer to the question again.  Describe a personal connection that you can make to the passage.  State an opinion about the passage.  Make a prediction about what you think might happen next.  Make a comparison about two characters in the passage.  Make an inference about something you read in the passage.  Point out a cause/effect situation in the passage.  Make a conclusion about the passage.

E- Expand your Answer Cont’d  Example: The three bears were upset when they got home form their walk because their house was not like they left it. To begin with, the bears noticed that someone had been eating their porridge. Next, they discover that someone had broken baby bear’s chair. Lastly, their beds were messed up. However, all this happened because a little girl was in their house! Expand: As a result, the three bears were furious about the little girl messing up their home.

Staying on Topic  The problem:  Sometimes students are prone to over elaborate or get off- topic.  Get carried away/I filled in the whole page.  Want to tell every sing thing that comes to mind/topic or not.  Sometimes they copy every word in the text. Help student think about:  What do I leave in or leave out?  Would a stranger understand this response?  Highlight important facts and details.  Use a rubric to keep track – RACE.

Reading the Question/Prompt  Students need to practice reading prompts or questions and underlining the action words. Example: Do you think reindeer help the people that live in the Arctic survive? Give one detail from the article to support your opinion. Be sure to write your response in your answer document.