Explaining Evidence

When you write an explanation sentence, you must:

• Repeat your topic sentence exactly

• Restate your evidence and Repeat the topic sentence

• Explain your evidence and Connect it to the topic sentence

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.1

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.1

Which of the following should you check for and explain when you are writing about evidence? Check all that apply.

• Unexplained Pronouns in the Evidence

• Figurative Language in the Evidence

• Background Information

• The author's last name and page number

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.7.8

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.7.1

CCSS.RL.8.1

What should you do when you're connecting the evidence to the topic sentence?

• Restate the topic sentence exactly.

• Use key words from the topic sentence.

• Not mention the topic sentence.

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.1

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Read the topic sentence and evidence below.

In “Mongrel Heart,” one theme is that animals need their people. The poem says, the dog sounds “as if [he’s] mourning a dead king,” (Baker, line 3).

What's one thing you'll need to explain about the evidence?

• I need to tell people what a dog is.

• I need to explain the figurative language.

• I need to tell you why the poem is called "Mongrel Heart."

• I need to mention he bays like a basset hound.

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

Read the topic sentence and evidence below.

In “Mongrel Heart,” one theme is that animals need their people. The poem says, the dog sounds “as if [he’s] mourning a dead king,” (Baker, line 3).

What's one word or phrase you'll repeat when you connect to the topic sentence?

• In “Mongrel Heart,”

• one theme is that

• animals need people

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.1

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.1

Read the topic sentence and evidence below.

In “Four Skinny Trees,” one theme is that we should never give up. The poem says, “Keep, keep, keep, trees say when I sleep,” (Cisneros).

Which of the following would be the best explanation?

• This shows the theme is to never give up.

• The speaker imagines the trees encouraging her to never give up, so we shouldn't either.

• The trees are saying keep to the girl who looks like them. They want the girl to be happy.

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.1

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.1

Read the topic sentence and evidence below.

In “Mother to Son,” one theme is that even when life is hard you have to keep moving. The poem says, “Don’t you set down on the steps/ ’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard,” (Hughes, lines 15-16).

Choose the best explanation to follow this.

• So you can't sit on steps and let the world pass you by.

• The mother, who is speaking in the quote, means that the son shouldn't give up when it's tough.

• When life is hard you have to keep moving and going forward because it's tough a lot of the time.

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

How are you feeling about writing explanations that explain the evidence and connect it to the topic sentence?

• Great! I can demonstrate mastery.

• Pretty Good. I'm ready to practice.

• I think I'll need help while I practice.

• I need to review the notes again.

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.7.8

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.7.1