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https://www.desmos.com/
Not just for calculator has activities for math independent and group practice plus games

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Desmos offers best-in-class calculators, digital math activities, and curriculum to help every student love math and love learning math.

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So glad to have you in 7th grade! You fit right in!

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https://the-teacher-next-door.com/using-the-race-strategy-for-text-evidence/

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Constructed response questions can be scary at first. Scary to teach and scary to write! Using the RACE Strategy will help ensure students get this skill right, every time!

I mean, when you compare writing a constructed response to answering a multiple-choice question, well, there really is no contest.

Constructed Response makes multiple-choice questions seem so simple to complete.

Since we know that students need to be able to write constructed responses, I was so happy when I was introduced to the RACE strategy.

It took the fright out of teaching constructed responses for text evidence.
The RACE Strategy gave me a step-by-step template to teach my students precisely what to do.
Even though writing constructed responses are still challenging, when you teach your students the RACE strategy and give them lots of opportunities for practice, your students will master it!
What is the RACE Strategy?
So, just what is the RACE strategy? RACE is an acronym that helps students remember which steps and in which order to write a constructed response.
R = Restate the Question

The first step is to change the question into a statement.

This is also known as restating the question.

Students need to remove the question word like who, what, when, where, or why and then restate the keywords.

For example, if the question was, "Why did Jill decide to give her mother a jewelry box?" the answer would start this way, "Jill decided to give her mother a jewelry box because."

A = Answer the Question
After restating the question, the second step is to finish the sentence and answer the question.
Here are a few tips for this.
Students may use their knowledge and inferences from the text to identify the answer.

1) Students must answer the specific question being asked.

2) Students also need to answer every part of the question. Sometimes questions have more than one part.
hey need to list the character's name before using a pronoun like he/she/they.

C = Cite Text Evidence Citing evidence is the tricky part.

First, kids need to find relevant evidence to support their answer.

Then, they must write it correctly using a sentence stem

According to the text...

The author stated...

In the second paragraph...

The author mentioned...

On the third page...

The text stated...

Based on the text...

To teach this skill, I make an anchor chart with the question stems and put them up when we start to work on citing evidence.

Once kids memorize a few question stems, this part of the RACE strategy goes much more smoothly.

I make sure students know to quote the text exactly as it is written and use quotation marks correctly too.

E = Explain What it Means

The last part of the Constructed Response is where kids tell how their text evidence proves their point.
Here are a few examples of sentence starters that help students begin to Explain:
Again, some simple sentence starters help kids stay on track here.

This shows

This proves

This is a good example of

This means that

When I teach the RACE strategy, I give the kids an overview of a completed constructed response example, so they can see where we're going.

Then, I break it down into separate parts and teach each one before putting it all together.

By the time kids reach my fourth or fifth-grade class, most students at my school have had teachers who have required them to answer a question using a restatement.

Students aren't doing constructed responses yet, but most are fairly comfortable with restating a question.

Because of this, I might spend a few days teaching or reviewing the restating and answering part.

I teach the Restating and Answering together since they usually form one sentence.

Then, I move to Citing text evidence, which takes much longer to teach.

The Explaining part goes pretty quickly after that.

Once I've taught all of the components, it's time for students to practice putting it all together.

To do this, we read a short text as a class.

It might be a Scholastic News article, a page from Chicken Soup for the Soul, or a passage I've created.

Finally, I model (with their input) a Constructed Response using a RACE template from The Teacher Next Door's Text Evidence Differentiated Unit

I project it on the smartboard so everyone can see it.

The next day, we repeat this with a different passage in pairs.

When students are finished, we go over it together to compare notes when they're finished. After that, it is time to work on it independently.

A few notes...

Make sure to start teaching the RACE strategy early in the year, so there's plenty of time to practice. If you teach this strategy right before standardized testing, it will not be very effective.

Start with short passages. One page is ideal. Giving students practice with shorter texts will help them gain confidence for the longer texts in the future. Baby steps, right?

You'll want students to write constructed responses repeatedly, but NOT for every passage they read.

Constructed responses are somewhat of a chore, even with an excellent strategy like RACE.

I try not to burn kids out on any one thing so that they dread it. It would be like asking them to write a five-paragraph essay each day. No one wants to do that. So, my advice is to give them a good foundation for how to write them and then sprinkle them in now and then throughout the year. Spiral practice is key!

You can apply the RACE Strategy to any set of materials that you have on hand. However, The Teacher Next Door knows how time consuming it can be to search for standards-aligned and grade level appropriate materials.

To save you time, The Teacher Next Door has created a Text Evidence Differentiated Unit with everything you need for students to master this skill!

The Text Evidence Differentiated Unit contains:

10 color coding passages

8 practice passages

3 sets of text evidence games (with 32 task cards in each set)

Posters for the entire RACE Strategy

If you'd like to read more about how to teach text evidence, we have another post you may want to read : Citing Text Evidence in 6 Steps.
The entire unit is differentiated for you! Each passage comes in three different levels, and the three games are differentiated too!

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Using the RACE Strategy for Text Evidence - The Teacher Next Door

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A simple strategy for upper elementary students to use to successfully cite text evidence using the RACE Strategy for success, every time!

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You keep me smiling!!

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With three upcoming RRs for your caseload, thank you for your patience with all of my questions!

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You all Rock in everything you do! You all are awesome to work with :-)

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Thank you all for always being so supportive.

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Thank you to my mentor Lacey! She is really supportive and helpful :)

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Thanks for being a rockstar with RR input and always being prompt and super thorough. You make it clear how well you know your students!

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Alyssa,
Thanks for answering my millions of questions a day :) You are the best !

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All of your hard work this year has not gone unnoticed. We know this year has been difficult and that you have had high case loads. You never stopped working and always took care of the kiddos. We can not thank you enough!

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WE GOT THIS!

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thank you all for being so supportive every day. I could not do it without you all <3 Brittany W

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Thank you so much for your help on an IEP! So appreciated!!!

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Thank you for all of your help with fluency and EVERYTHING else you do for us and the kids! You are both amazing!

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James has been an amazing addition to the 8th Transition class. He is quick to jump right in on anything needed, and the students absolutely love him! Thanks for being awesome James!

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You are all amazing!!! What a great bunch of people!

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Thanks for being so amazing with our first afterschool help session for sp ed students!

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Thank you so much to Anna for showing me how to teach math 180!

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Thank you for always helping and being amazing!

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Lots of love and support to each other!

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Thanks again Lacy for helping with all of those fluency probes. It was awesome!

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Thank you, for coming into the chaos Tuesday, and helping us save the day :-)

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Thank you team for being the absolute best! I will miss all of you so much! <3

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Becky McHaffie - For keeping our 7th grade students in communication with upcoming reminders by sending emails when needed! 

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Becky McHaffie - For keeping our 7th grade students in communication with upcoming reminders by sending emails when needed! 

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For always getting back to me quickly when I know how busy you are!

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Awesome job on your recently submitted IEP and NOREP, both with no errors! Keep up the awesome work!

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Always working with me and helping me ! Truly appreciate you :)

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https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16OdvYcqiVCWcvY85CFXGv28-EtiyRoyIXKpNsGK3LE8/edit?usp=sharing

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Truly are the dream team!! 8th grade cannot thank you enough for all you help us do and for all the times you are one step ahead of us and already taking care of things! :)

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Thank you for keeping me a float !

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Thank you guys for keeping me on track and sane throughout the day. Our group chat is what keeps me going -- Brittany

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Thank you soooo much for all the hard work you two put in every day to help our kids! We could not do it without you--- Brittany:)

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Thank you for always brainstorming for Learning Support with me. Thanks for all your great ideas- I love sharing with you! Thanks for just being kind and supportive and being there to bounce ideas off of each other!
-Hannah

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Thank you so much for always thinking of me when you share resources and ideas. You are so sweet and it is greatly appreciated!
-Hannah

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Thanks so much for sharing so many resources for a student you previously had. Thank you for also helping me meet the needs of the non English speaking parents. You have been so helpful.
-Hannah

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Thank you for always working as a TEAM. #dreamteam

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Carolyn !! THANK YOU  for all you do for the para team . We love having you as our go to person ! You always have a way of calming us all down ,so we are not stressing . We appreciate you so much . Love your calm energy !!

Much appreciate you
Steph F.

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Thank you for being so patient and helpful! You both answer my countless questions and never make me feel like they are unimportant! Having a strong support has helped me so much I cannot thank you enough! - Brittany:)

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Lacey, you always have the LINK or the TAB or the ANSWER . Always organized and know what to do , I thank you for all your help always !!!

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Posters you can use to display and discuss executive functioning within your classes.

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Welcome to Newsela another great resource that provides a text with questions. 

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Welcome to Newsela another great resource that provides a text with questions. 

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Students again login with Google

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Great tool that provides leveled readers along with question sets. Students sign up using their google

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Great tool that provides leveled readers along with question sets. Students sign up using their google

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From Nicole if you need help-not sure why my name is not coming up :)

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Improve your students' reading comprehension with ReadWorks. Access thousands of high-quality, free K-12 articles, and create online assignments with them for your students.

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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OerlYia4wdhLrN8Z4s6UPJjwcFTXhK6t/view?usp=sharing

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James we are so happy to have you back! You bring such a positivity to our team and you definitely bring the laughs. You get the award for best GIFs. You are so dedicated to the students and it shows by the support you give both them and the teachers. You are constantly finding new ways to support and providing great input. Thank you for all you do! :)

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Cathrin! Thank you so much for your endless support. You constantly support the students and teachers and go above and beyond. You have great ideas and are always trying to problem solve. You are constantly looking for ways to better support teachers and students and the dedication shows. Thank you so much :)

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Anna, thank you so much for being such a light within our team. You have worked endlessly to make sure that each of your students is getting what they need. You have gotten some tricky cases on your caseload but you are excellent at problem solving and finding the best solution while being student centered. Thank you for all you do! :)

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Stephanie! Thank you for being such a leader within your grade and our team. You are constantly sharing tips and tricks and resources that help support our team. You are always problem solving with our students to ensure they have everything they need. You are excellent at getting to know new programs and supporting students with that transition as well. Thank you :)

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Thank you for your committment to our students. You are consistently making sure that they have everything they need and if they don't, you make sure they do. You are dedicated to each student and we are thankful for that! Thank you for being on top of all your tasks and being a great team member! :)

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Alyssa, thank you for working so hard on the ELA Summit curriculum and collaborating so well. You are constantly sharing ideas and bringing positivity to the group. You have worked so hard to reach all students on your caseload and support them in every way possible. Thank you! :)

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Thank you consistently supporting the 7th grade team! You take initiative and jump right in and help in whatever way is needed. Our students love you and you make such a difference in their lives. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do :)

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Brittany! Thank you for jumping right in and supporting our students and teachers each step of the way. You are very appreciated and have helped make the teachers jobs just a bit easier. We are so excited to have you! Thank you :)

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Caitlin thank you so much for your determination and dedication during these first couple weeks. You have a difficult family that you are dealing with but you are doing it with patience and kindness. You have been a great support for them and they absolutely adore you. Huge success! Thank you :)

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Ash! Thank you for spending so much time getting our Math 180 program together, putting resources together and collaborating with the other team members. You are committed to our students and want all to succeed. Thank you for being so on top of making sure all students get the support they need during these first couple weeks! Thank you :)

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Tara, thank you for caring about each and every student. You have had multiple students with tech issues and outside concerns and you have spent all day every day supporting them and finding the best possible solutions. Thank you for your positivity and your committment to our students! :)

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Thank you for sharing all your resources with the team and always going the extra mile. Your organizational strategies and resources help support your team immensely. Sharing your resources with everyone really assists others and it is truly appreciated! Thank you :)

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Thank you for constantly supporting our students and teachers. You have been a huge help with testing, working one on one and support the gen ed teachers. You always ask what to do and take initiative. We are thankful for you! :)

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Brittany! Thank you for taking on a challenging EL student situation. You have handled it so well, collaborated with Martine and have been putting the student and their needs first. You are consistently support your teammates and bringing the positivity to the group! Thank you :)

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Thank you for taking initiative and learning the platforms so quickly. Your classrooms in Schoology look incredible and so organized. You have been so ahead of the game with all tasks and it is very impressive! Thank you! :)

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Thank you for your consistent positivity! You are now taking on more students in your ELA class with varying abilities due to losing a teacher. You took it and ran with it! Our students are lucky to have you :)