Reading Comprehension

Lesson: Citing Evidence (30 minutes)

Overview:

The LiC: Reading Comprehension Tool allows students to collect and sort new vocabulary. In addition, the customizable lists make it a flexible app for other purposes. The Common Core English Language Arts emphasizeciting evidence to support explicit and inferential textual analysis. In this lesson, students create lists to collect textual evidence for each of the built-in exercises in the passage of The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry.

Objectives:

In this lesson, students will:

  • Read a passage from the beginning of The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry
  • Collect evidence from the text to support answer choices

Materials/Technology:

  • LiC: Reading Comprehension Tool

Instructional Plan:

  1. Ask students to open The Ransom of Red Chief in theLiC: Reading Comprehension Tool.
  2. Model how to delete and add lists. Ask students to create a new list for each multiple-choice, true-or-false, and short-answer question. If this is your class’s first experience with the app, you may need togive students more time to explore the features.
  3. Tell students that while they read the passage and answer exercise questions, you want them to collect specific evidence to support each of their answers.
  4. Read the first paragraphand complete the first question about the narratortogether. Students may quickly point out that the narrator is “a criminal.”Ask them to find specific evidence supporting this answer. Students may volunteer supporting phrases such as “We selected for our victim” and “melt down for a ransom.” Model how to drag these words to the list created for the first multiple-choice question.
  5. Give students time to read the rest of the passage and to collect evidence for each question on their own.
  6. Plan time to share evidence lists at the end of the lesson.
  7. Consider having students choose a more challenging text available in the app, such as War and Peace, and complete the exercise again.

Sample Image:

Assessment Strategies:

  • Ask students to peer check evidence lists.
  • Observe students while they work and listen to their contributions to class discussions.

Standards:

This lesson is designed to address the following Common Core State Standards:

  • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.1, 4

Next Steps:

Extend the application of learning by asking students to write formal responses toThe Ransom of Red Chiefshort-essay prompt. Set a specific guideline for the number of textual evidence citationsrequired to support analysis.