It is important for students to learn to become text evidence detectives when they start digging into reading comprehension. Even though basic reading comprehension is just simple recall it is important to start teaching students to use their text evidence to support their answers. This is a skill that is important for students as they get older. If we start teaching them to support their answers at a younger age this will help them as they grow into strong readers.
I know, I know. How can I teach a kindergartener to find text evidence when they can't even read yet? Well, that's a good question but it can be taught during shared reading. I love to teach emergent readers to find text evidence through poetry. As we read the poems together the students start to pick up on reading skills but also are memorizing what we read each day. You can use one poem each week to teach so many skills. For example, Monday could be just reading the poem for fun and enjoyment. Tuesday could be learning a letter and sound that is in the poem multiple times. Wednesday could be working on one or two sight words in the poem. Thursday could be teaching a reading strategy for anytime they come to an unknown word. By Friday the students have read the poem many times and probably have it memorized. This is a great time to ask them one or two questions and have a student come show you where in the poem they could find their answer. It will take time for them to learn this skill but it is an important building block!
As students become better readers this skill can be practiced through interactive read aloud. Kids learn so many things through discussions and this is a great place to reinforce using test evidence to answer questions. As you pause the read aloud to ask a question it is important to allow the students an opportunity to turn and talk to a partner. In this discussion teach the students to explain what happened in the text to support the answer they are sharing with their partners. This is a great method especially for students who might be struggling with this skill because they can learn so much through these conversations. Another way this skill should be practiced is with short passages with a few questions that are answered in the passage. The students can underline the evidence that answers each question. For some reason kids think work becomes a game when you add crayons into the mix so let them underline their answers in different colors. This skill will also help students as they progress into grades that take state tests, so they are in the habit of looking back into the text to find their answers.
I know some people might cringe when they read this but we know that state testing is a reality. I truly feel teaching students to find text evidence helps them on tests. One method I make sure my kids use when testing is underlining their text evidence when answering their questions. When they read the text they annotate it but when they answer each question I have them go into the text and underline where they found the answer or the part of the text that supports their answer if the answer isn't directly stated. Then they write the question number next to you it in case they need to go back and look at that question again later. This is another reason I really try to make sure my kids are comfortable finding text evidence on a regular basis. If it becomes a skill that they practice regularly it becomes a habit. Once I added this piece into my teaching my students started showing more success.
As students start writing essays, they also need to be able to find, cite, and explain the text evidence in the essays. In many states this standard starts as early as 4th grade. If we wait until 4th grade to start teaching this skill, it becomes a bit overwhelming to the kids. Don't panic though if you are a teacher that teaches this standard and your kids don't have a habit of doing this yet. I have been that teacher more than one time and I was still able to teach it effectively. To be honest, it took me a few years to get good at it but I found a way that works for me. I start the year doing some practice with very simple articles and just have the students underline the text evidence. Then when they become good at that and start using it in all their work I add in lessons to teach them how to properly cite text evidence (If you skip this step then most of them will tend to plagarize when writing their essays so it is important). It is important to practice finding and citing text evidence regularly before you expect it to be used properly when writing essays. I also suggest practicing with pretty simple passages and questions so the main focus becomes the proper way to cite and explain their evidence. With time, your students will master the skill of finding text evidence and it will benefit them any time they answer reading questions. They will also master the skill of citing text evidence and it will benefit them when writing essays.
If teachers in elementary school can practice at every grade level to create text evidence detectives, students will leave elementary school with that important skill. The skill of being able to support their thoughts with evidence is an important life skill too.
Other Resources for Creating Finding Text Evidence Detectives
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