Using Evidence to Answer Text-Related Questions and to Demonstrate Understanding

Subject: English/Reading

Grade Level: 3rd Grade

Corresponding Common Core State Standard:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Reason for choosing this video:

This video is an excellent resource teachers can use to show students how to find and use evidence within a text in order to answer text related questions and to demonstrate an understanding of the text. This video would be extremely beneficial for students who fail to back-up their answers with evidence from the text and for students who simply make up erroneous answers. This video provides three simple steps students can follow in order to gather adequate and sufficient evidence to back up their answers to text related questions and to demonstrate an understanding of the text, the steps include: 1) Looking at text features to find a starting point; 2) Using clues in the text; and 3) Finding all relevant evidence.

One of the major benefits of using this video is that it can easily be projected onto a screen for all students to see. If teachers tried to demonstrate the concepts and skills found within the video by using a physical text, they would most likely have a hard time making sure all students adequately follow and understand their explanations. Another benefit of using this video is that during the demonstration of the proper implementation of the aforementioned steps the important parts of the text are highlighted, which makes them easier to see. Highlighting the text is a feature that would most likely not occur during an explanation with a physical text, because it would likely ruin the physical text for future use. Overall, this video is an excellent resource teachers can use to demonstrate to students how to adequately find and use evidence within a text in order to answer text related questions and to demonstrate an understanding of the text.