"Think" Questions & How to Tackle Them

Text-based Responses
(“Think” Questions)

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi Text Responses

Many of you noticed the “Think” Questions in Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.
The “Think” Questions can also be called Text-Dependent
Responses.

Whether you are reading fiction or poetry, a play or nonfiction, text-dependent responses are short, concise answers to questions about a selection that include supporting evidence from the text.

In StudySync, every First Read lesson includes a set of Think
Questions that require a text-dependent response. Here’s how we answer them!

Poll

Did you feel intimidated by/scared of the Think Questions?

• Yes

• No

Poll

What did you struggle with the most on the Think Questions?

• I didn't understand what the questions asked me.

• I didn't want to do it.

• I was concerned it would take me too long.

• I didn't know where to find my evidence.

Text Responses

To answer a Think Question, you need to use details from the text to make an inference or draw a conclusion, and cite these details to support your response.

The strength of your response depends on your ability to use
textual evidence, or details that a reader can use to support his or her ideas and opinions about a text.

Answering such questions allows you to demonstrate your comprehension, or understanding of the text, before moving on to a deeper analysis in future lessons.

Open Ended

What are some strategies we have learned in class to help us find evidence and understand the text?

Steps to a Text Response

Step 1: Annotate the question!

• Ask yourself:

  • What are the verbs telling me I should do?

  • What evidence is the question asking for?

  • How do I answer the question completely?

• Think about:

  • What do I already know?

  • Where in the text did I see something similar?

Step 2: Find the place in the text that matches the question.

Use your annotations to help organize your thoughts!

Poll

What do you think you need help with in preparing a response?

• Annotating what I'm reading.

• Annotating the questions, so I know how to answer.

• Writing a good topic sentence.

• Making sure I write coherently

• Making sure my answer matches the question

Multiple Choice

What is this question asking me to do?
What do the descriptions of Nag in paragraph 23 suggest about his character? Cite specific evidence from the text to support your answer. 

• I'm supposed to look at paragraph 23 and track Nag's description words.

• I'm supposed to copy and paste paragraph 23 as my response.

• I'm supposed to look at Nag's character in the entire story, so I know he's the villain.

• I'm supposed to skip this question and do something else.

Steps to a Text
Response

Step 3: Once you’ve collected evidence, write your response!

Use the RACES strategy to form your response:

Restate the question (Topic sentence part 1)– use the language from the question to frame your response.

Example Question: What is the main character’s motivation throughout the story?

Restatement: The main character’s motivation
throughout the story was…

Answer the question (Topic sentence part 2) - finish your
topic sentence with the answer to the question.

Answer: The main character’s motivation throughout the story was survival.

Open Ended

Restate the question:
How did Rikki-tikki come to live with the English family? Cite specific evidence from the text to support your answer.

Multiple Choice

Pick the best question restatement:
What do the descriptions of Nag in paragraph 23 suggest about his character? Cite specific evidence from the text to support your answer. 

• Cite specific evidence from the text to support your answer.

• What do the descriptions of Nag in paragraph 23 suggest about his character?

• The descriptions of Nag in paragraph 23 suggest...

• Paragraph 23 is very important because...

Multiple Choice

When you put the Restatement (R) and the Answer (A) together, what part of the paragraph did you make?

• the ending statement

• the conclusion

• the evidence

• the topic sentence

Steps to a Text Response

Step 3: Part CES
●Cite Evidence
○Paraphrase the text or use quotation marks if you quote text directly.

●Explain Evidence
○In your own words, explain how the evidence supports your topic sentence/train of thought.

●Make sure to Cite and Explain at least two pieces of evidence from the text to support your response.

●Sum Up the Paragraph
○This is typically restating the topic sentence in a different way or summarizing your argument.

Multiple Choice

Why do you think Mrs. McClain asks you to put 2 pieces of evidence and 2 explanations?

• Mrs. McClain wants us to do the most.

• Mrs. McClain wants us to lock in.

• Mrs. McClain knows that your paragraph will be stronger.

• Mrs. McClain is the GOAT.

• Mrs. McClain is sus.

Reorder

Reorder the following steps to answering a text-dependent question.

• read the text & annotate

• annotate the question

• find the spot in the text that matches your notes

• Restate and Answer (Topic Sentence)

• Cite Evidence & Explain it, Summarize your paragraph

1

2

3

4

5

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Textual Evidence

Multiple Choice

Why should I use evidence?

• I need to fill up the paragraph somehow.

• I should justify my answer.

• The author obviously knew best.

• It saves me time.

Text Evidence Skill
Overview

Any time you answer a text-dependent question, you need to cite textual evidence.

Explicit evidence - evidence that is directly stated, or explicit, in the text

Implicit (Implied) evidence - evidence that is suggested but not directly stated that the reader must infer to understand

Readers must also refer to textual evidence when they analyze and examine the different parts of a text in an effort to interpret and explain its meaning, theme, or central idea, such as the actions of a character or the cause-and-effect relationships between events in nonfiction.

Multiple Select

What does text evidence help us do? (Check all that apply)

• interpret the text

• find the theme

• track characters or events

• answer the question and answer it well

Explicit Text
Evidence Checklist

1.

Read the text closely and critically

2.

Identify what the text says explicitly

3.

Find the most relevant textual evidence that supports your analysis

4.

Consider why an author explicitly states specific details and information

5.

Cite the specific words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or images from the text that support your analysis

Multiple Choice

What does explicit evidence mean?

• Explicit means bad, so it's bad things.

• Explicit means directly stated, so it means very clear evidence.

• Explicit is a rating on music that my mom doesn't let me listen to.

• Explicit means evidence that is about the author.

Implicit (Inferred)
Text Evidence Checklist

1.

Combine information directly stated in the text with your
own knowledge, experiences, and observations

2.

Cite the specific words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or images from the text that support this inference

Consider the following questions:
●Have I read the text closely and critically?

●What inferences am I making about the text?

●What textual evidence am I using to support these inferences?

●Am I quoting the evidence from the text correctly?

●Does my textual evidence logically relate to my analysis?

●Have I cited several pieces of textual evidence?

Multiple Choice

Which Think Question is asking for implicit (implied, inferred) evidence?

• How did Rikki-tikki come to live with the English family?

• Describe in two to three sentences how Rikki-tikki saves the family from snakes.

• What do the descriptions of Nag in paragraph 23 suggest about his character?

• Describe the bungalow and creatures inside it.

Think Questions Practice

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
“Think” Questions 1-3

1.

How did Rikki-tikki come to live with the English family? Cite
specific evidence from the text to support your answer.

2.

What do the descriptions of Nag in paragraph 23 suggest about
his character? Cite specific evidence from the text to support
your answer.

3.

Describe in two to three sentences how Rikki-tikki saves the
family from snakes.

Multiple Choice

Where in the text should I look for the answer to this question: How did Rikki-tikki come to live with the English family?

• The ending

• The beginning

• The middle

Multiple Choice

What action should I take to answer this question: What do the descriptions of Nag in paragraph 23 suggest about his character?

• Infer: Use my knowledge about what Nag is to inform what kind of character he is.

• Persuade: I should persuade my reader that I don't need evidence.

• Suggest: I should suggest that Nag is a villain before reading the text.

• Describe: I should just describe Nag and not worry about the rest of the question.

• I should infer from the text, use it as evidence, and describe Nag's character.

Multiple Choice

If Mrs. McClain asks you to describe how Rikki-Tikki saved the family, what is she asking you to do?

• Copy and paste from the text

• Forget everything you know about Rikki-Tikki

• Summarize the events in my own words

• Invent a new ending to the story

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
“Think” Questions 4-5

4. Find the word cultivated in paragraph 18 of “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.” Use
context clues in the surrounding sentences, as well as the sentence in
which the word appears, to determine the word’s meaning. Write
your definition here and identify clues that helped you figure out the
word’s meaning.

5. Use context clues to determine the meaning of sensible as it is
used in paragraph 79 of “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.” Write your definition of
sensible here and identify clues that helped you figure out the
meaning. Then check the meaning in the dictionary.

Multiple Choice

Where do I find context clues?

• In the glossary of the book.
• In the footnotes at the bottom of the page.
• In the surrounding text of a word or phrase.
• In the index at the back of the book.