citing textual evidence worksheets 8th grade

When introducing supporting thinking with evidence from nonfiction, it’s often beneficial to start with a focus on questions. Activity to Try: Ask and Answer Questionsĭownload the Ask-and-Answer-Questions Activity PDF After working through the questions, students can then choose the question that they feel helps them best identify the theme and fill in the appropriate box. For example, “Does the main character ask questions that reveal his inner struggle?” or “Is there repetition? What is it?” These questions, and the others on the activity page, help kids gain the smarts needed to infer and determine theme. To support students, use the Pick a Question organizer to make the exercise more like a game, sending them to hunt for clues to a question you pose. Then, have students write the theme in a full sentence on a sticky note, along with one sentence explaining why they chose that theme. That’s why I love to introduce theme by using short movie clips (Pixar shorts are terrific).

Activity to Try: Pick a Questionĭownload the Pick-a-Question Activity PDFįinding theme can be tough because it requires so much inferential thinking across a text. Often, we have charts displayed with the phrases that help introduce evidence, but they are also right on the page for the students who need immediate access to them. The final step is to “lift a line” from the text (or a phrase) that adds support to their thinking. Students read the text a second time, highlighting and annotating if possible, or simply jotting their ideas in the thinking bubbles. Using a short piece of text, have students read through it once, and then fill in the “observation from the text” section. Choose a skill you want readers to practice-for example, describe the character, event, setting, or theme. This “Back Up Your Thinking” organizer is a great start for getting students to share their thinking rather than merely answering questions. Activity to Try: Back Up Your Thinkingĭownload the “Back Up Your Thinking” Activity PDF You can also check out the FB Live on teaching evidence-based writing. Of course, always model these organizers or co-construct before asking students to do them independently! And always use your favorite and fabulous books! Here, I share four of my favorite activities for citing textual evidence-two for fiction and two for nonfiction. I’ve found that as students gain confidence, having them jot their thinking on organizers helps a lot. Ask students to “cite evidence from the text” and you often see a look of desperation on their faces. It can be hard and intimidating for readers to back up their ideas and think about a book with specific quotes and passages from the text.

Citing textual evidence worksheets 8th grade