CRE-CER-RACE

CRE

How to Answer a Question Thoroughly

CRE is…

a short answer to a question, and it is at least 3 sentences long.

C- stands for claim, this is your answer to the question.

R- stands for reason, this is your explanation of your answer.

E- stands for evidence, this is your proof and your quote to prove your evidence.

Here is an example of a CRE

What is the main idea of the fable “The Plane Tree?”

The main idea of “The Plane Tree” is two travelers rest under a tree and are ungrateful for

its shade. The entire story is made of their complaints as they lie underneath the tree.In the

story, one man says, “How useless is the Plane Tree!”

Read the following short passage

The Famous Toll House Cookie is Born

It may be hard to believe, but this cupboard staple has only been around about 70 years. The Toll House

cookie came about as the result of a mistake! The legend is that Mrs. Ruth Wakefield loved to make

desserts for the travelers staying at her Toll House Inn, near Boston, Massachusetts. One day, she had

run out of baker's chocolate for one of her batches of cookies. Substituting small bites of a semi-sweet

chocolate bar from Andrew Nestle, Mrs. Wakefield expected that the chocolate would melt through the

cookies. Instead, the cookies came out, studded with these "chocolate chips." They were so popular, that

they quickly became known as the Toll House Cookies.

Open Ended

Type a 1 sentence answer to the following question. IF the teacher approves it, then write your sentence on your paper. This is your claim.

What effect did changing the type of chocolate for the recipe have on the cookies?

My own Claim

What effect did changing the type of chocolate for the recipe have on the
cookies?

My Answer: Changing the type of chocolate made the cookies studded with
chocolate chips.

Open Ended

Explain your claim. Tell me how you know it is the answer in one sentence. If the teacher approves it, write it down immediately following your claim on your paper. We are building a short paragraph

What effect did changing the type of chocolate for the recipe have on the cookies?

Here is my C and R now

My Answer: Changing the type of chocolate made the cookies studded with
chocolate chips. Instead of the chocolate melting as expected, the bits of
chocolate stayed on top.

Open Ended

Select the best evidence for your claim from the passage. 

Write down your evidence following the E when the teacher approves it.

It may be hard to believe, but this cupboard staple has only been around about 70 years. The Toll House cookie came about as the result of a mistake! The legend is that Mrs. Ruth Wakefield loved to make desserts for the travelers staying at her Toll House Inn, near Boston, Massachusetts. One day, she had run out of baker's chocolate for one of her batches of cookies. Substituting small bites of a semi-sweet chocolate bar from Andrew Nestle, Mrs. Wakefield expected that the chocolate would melt through the cookies. Instead, the cookies came out, studded with these "chocolate chips." They were so popular, that they quickly became known as the Toll House Cookies.

Here is my completed CRE, compare it to your own. If
there is anything you need to edit or change, now is the
time.

Changing the type of chocolate made the cookies studded with chocolate chips.
Instead of the chocolate melting as expected, the bits of chocolate stayed on top.
As the text states, “ the cookies came out, studded with these chocolate chips.”