Metacognition in Literacy
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Using Evidence
Using Evidence
Students must use the text to support their answers and reasoning. Without textual evidence, students will be unable to make a strong claim. Textual evidence is what gives each student credibility in his or her answer.
Students must use the words they find in the text in order to support their inferences. The goal is for students to PROVE their answer. Using textual evidence is the most effective way for students to support their answer and assert themselves to be correct.
Students must use the words they find in the text in order to support their inferences. The goal is for students to PROVE their answer. Using textual evidence is the most effective way for students to support their answer and assert themselves to be correct.
Where is the best place to first incorporate “using evidence?”
The best place to initiate using evidence in the classroom would be during class discussion. As the teacher, you can ask students to turn and talk to each other about a specific situation in a story. Have students discuss different pieces they remember directly from the story. Then, have students share with the whole class. As students share their specific examples, the teacher will go back to the story and point out each detail that the students mention. By doing so, this will promote students to go back to the text to ensure that the detail they selected is really in the story and not made up in their head. This is a strong starting point for using textual evidence for students.
Tips for Using Evidence
- Select stories which promote debate between students. Try to find stories that question the students about a character’s actions.
- Encourage students to search for answers by asking questions. For example, ask students what the character said at one specific point during the story and have them point out an example. Then, ask them how does the textual evidence support their answer. This approach develops a student’s ability to learn to use the text to prove their point.
- Slow down. The discussion must be paced slower than normal, so the students have enough time to grab evidence directly from the text.
- Anticipate your students’ misunderstandings. If a student provides an inaccurate piece of textual evidence, encourage your student to go back to the text and reread in order to find a strong piece of evidence.
- Develop and facilitate during discussion. Prompt students to compare and contrast their ideas and statements with their classmates. Using leads such as “I heard Jim say something that contradicted what Sarah stated. How can we solve this?” This will not only help students strengthen their discussion and debate skills, it will also force them to look back in the text as well.
- Heavily focus on the details. Encourage students to really hone in on an author’s writing.
- Reflect. Have students reflect on how they incorporated textual evidence into their responses.
Bring on the Evidence: Strong evidence-based leads for student responses
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Using the evidence found in the text:
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