1. The Big Picture—What Students Have to Know How To Do
Think critically/inferentially about different types of texts (in essence, know how to do more than literally read the lines: know how to read “between” the lines and “beyond” the lines)
Make connections—at differing levels of depth and complexity—both within and across texts
Understand what makes a connection between texts thematic or meaningful (and what doesn’t)
Understand and be able to apply the specific academic vocabulary associated with literary and informational reading

2. The Big Picture—What Students Have to Know How To Do
Understand that the way an author crafts a piece drives the way the reader reads it. Know that authors use different “tools” to craft different types of pieces (imagery, diction…). Be able to identify these tools and pinpoint/articulate how they affect meaning.
Understand the difference between effective text evidence and flawed text evidence. Know how to stay “inside” the text to find evidence that truly confirms the validity of an idea. Know how to find and use text evidence for different genres of reading.

3. What Short Answer Questions Require A credible IDEA
To become good readers, students must understand what constitutes a credible IDEA in response to a question about a text or texts.
An IDEA represents the quality and depth of thinking and understanding

4. What Short Answer Questions Require A credible IDEA and TEXT EVIDENCE
To become good readers, students must be able to use TEXT EVIDENCE to prove that their ideas are valid/credible.
TEXT EVIDENCE substantiates the reader’s ideas; it reflects the degree to which the reader can connect his or her own ideas with the pieces of the text that best support the analysis.

5. Short Answer Rubric
Score Point 0—INSUFFICIENT: Text evidence is incorrect or missing; the idea is missing or too vague/unclear
Score Point 1—PARTIALLY SUFFICIENT: Text evidence is missing or is inaccurate or weakly connected to the idea; the idea represents only a literal reading of the text, with or without text evidence

6. Short Answer Rubric
A score of 2-SUFFICIENT: The text evidence is accurate and relevant and clearly linked; the idea is reasonable and goes beyond a literal reading of the text representing a good understanding of the text.
A score of 3-EXEMPLARY: The text evidence is specific and well chosen; the combination of the idea and the text evidence demonstrates a deep understanding of the text: perceptive, coherent, discerning, clearly analytical