Quality Answers to constructed response questions 5th grade THIS VERSION OF THE PRESENTATION WAS DESIGNED TO USE WITH A SMART BOARD! HOWEVER, IT WORKS GREAT PROJECTED ON A REGULAR WHITE BOARD. YOU COULD EVEN PRINT OUT OVERHEADS AND USE THEM ON AN OVERHEAD PROJECTOR. This presentation is a good introduction or review of the steps to writing quality answers, but your students will need a lot of practice with each of the steps. You might even want to introduce a few steps at a time and practice those steps with other questions that your students answer in class. Before beginning this presentation, you may want to review the story of the “The Three Little Pigs” with your class. You can read it aloud to them and/or give them a copy of the story to refer to. You can find a nice, concise version of the story at http://www.wolfcountry.net/information/myth_stories/3pigs.shtml. Another option is just to review the plot in a fun, informal way. Just be sure to that students can answer questions about the specific characters in the story. You may want students to have a pen and answer sheet handy so that they can write some practice answers. 5th grade

Why are quality answers so important? Learning to write quality answers is very important in order to: communicate clearly, show what you know, get good grades, and take tests with confidence. Talk about using these steps to write quality answers to “Think and Respond” or “Compare texts” questions in Trophies readers.

Today’s objective is to show you how to write quality answers. In these boxes, you will find a sample question from the “Three Little Pigs.” In these boxes, you will write a sample answer to the question. Questions for you to answer will appear in blue. Explanations of the answers will appear in green.

How do you write quality answers. 1 How do you write quality answers? 1. Read the question to find out what it is asking you to do. Underline key words in the question that give you clues to help you find out exactly what the question is asking. In the story of “The Three Little Pigs,” which pig was the wisest? Explain how you know. Have students underline the key words on the Smart Board. Some students will have difficulty with this one. You may want to review the terminology that you use for question words. You may also need to clarify exactly what this slide is asking them to do. You may need to stop at this point and practice finding key words in several questions. (See key words practice sheet.) What are the key words?

Which pig was the wisest? Explain how you know? The key words are “which pig was the wisest” and “explain.”

How many parts does this question have? What are the different parts? Ask yourself how many parts the question has. In the story of “The Three Little Pigs,” which pig was the wisest? Explain how you know. How many parts does this question have? What are the different parts?

The question actually has 2 parts. That means that your answer should have 2 parts. The first part asks you which pig was the wisest. The second part asks you to explain how you know.

Restate the question in your answer. In the story of “The Three Little Pigs,” which pig was the wisest? Explain how you know. Have students write this answer individually on the answer sheet. The next slide provides a place to share on the Smart Board. How would you begin your answer to the above question?

In the story of “The Three Little Pigs,” which pig was the wisest In the story of “The Three Little Pigs,” which pig was the wisest? Explain how you know. Have a student volunteer write his/her answer on the Smart Board to share with the class. The class can offer feedback if that is comfortable for you and your students.

3. Think about where to find the answer. Ask yourself, will the answer be: In one spot in the story? In many places in the story? In your head? In the story of “The Three Little Pigs,” which pig was the wisest? Explain how you know. Have students look at the actual story to answer this question. Where would you find the answer to the above question?

4. Use details or reasons from the story to support your answer In the story of “The Three Little Pigs,” which pig was the wisest? Explain how you know. Have kids answer this question individually on the answer sheet first. You may even have the kids brainstorm several details that they could use from the story to support their answer. The next slide will provide space to share an answer on the Smart Board. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Go back in the story and highlight the details that helped you support your answer. Point out the specific details from the story.

5. Check your answer by rereading it Reread your answer and ask yourself if you: answered all parts of the question fully? Restated the question in your answer. used details or reasons from the story to support your answer.

Here is how your answer should look. In the story of “The Three Little Pigs,” the third little pig was the wisest because he built his house of bricks so he would have a strong and sturdy home.

Improving the Quality of Your Answers

Answer all parts of the question fully Is this story true or make believe? How can you tell? Use two examples from the story in your answer. The story is make believe because it couldn’t really happen. Brainstorm several text-based reasons that would support this answer. Students can fill out the ideas on their answer sheet. The next slide has space to share ideas on the Smart Board.

What are some examples that you could add to improve this answer? The story is make believe because it couldn’t really happen. What are some examples that you could add to improve this answer? Have a student volunteer write his/her answer on the Smart Board to share with the class. The class can offer feedback if that is comfortable for you and your students.

Here is a better answer supported by specific reasons. The story is make believe because it couldn’t really happen. Animals can’t talk, and pigs can’t build houses.

Use names from the story instead of he, she, or it. Compare how the wolf got into the first little pig’s house with the way that he tried to get into the third little pig’s house. He got into his house by blowing it down. He tried to get into his house the same way, but it didn’t work so he tried to go down his chimney instead. Point out to students that when a question asks them to compare, they should explain how things are alike and how they are different. Students can cross out the pronouns on their answer sheets and write the nouns above them. Have (a) student volunteer(s) cross out and replace the pronouns on this slide on the Smart Board. Replace the pronouns with names to improve this answer?

Here is a better answer with specific names from the story. The wolf got into the first pig’s house by blowing the straw house down. He tried to get into the third pig’s house the same way, but blowing it down didn’t work, so he tried to go down the third pig’s chimney instead.

Check your answer answered all parts of the question fully? Reread your answer and ask yourself if you: answered all parts of the question fully? Restated the question in your answer. used details or reasons from the story to support your answer. used names instead of he, she, or it. used capitals and punctuation.

Great job! Extend this lesson to all constructed response questions that you do in class. Keep expectations consistent. Be sure to give students specific, descriptive feedback on their individual efforts so that they know what they need to improve. It would also be a good idea to have students use the teacher feedback to rewrite their answers as needed. The answer sheet might be a good pre-assessment tool to differentiate further instruction in quality answers. After kids practice writing quality answers, have them practice scoring with the “Scoring Practice” presentation. Scoring practice helps kids to see the difference between a mediocre answer and a quality answer.