Free teaching resource

Support an Answer with Textual Evidence

Current teacher guidance: 2 November 2026. Student tasks retain their stated core editions. Use the current stage choices and matching guide below.

Changes in the current files · 2 November 2026

The teacher guide includes annotated fictional sound, partial and error responses, with concrete teaching actions and evidence to seek next.
Browser printing keeps task prompts with their response space; the underlying tasks retain their stated editions.
Browser teacher-guide organizers retain their original ruled writing spaces. Use the separate student selections when distributing classroom tasks.

Prepare the materials

Prepare this lesson or activity

Recommended selection edition 0.1.3. Original source files retain their displayed editions.

These are selected activities. Use the matching guide to decide how they fit your teaching; do not assume that these files alone provide a complete teaching and follow-up sequence.

Current teacher guidance: 2 November 2026. Student tasks retain their stated core edition; use the matching current guide linked here. Earlier files are kept separately in the archive.

Audience / fit: Grade 6 ELA
Teaching or planning target: Answer a text question, choose two accurate details, and explain how they support the answer.
Essential prerequisites: Read a short informational passage with teacher or independent access. Write a sentence that answers a question in the learner’s own words.
Preparation: About 8 minutes.
Use time: About 45 minutes. Planned 45-minute sequence in the teacher directions; estimated rather than classroom-timed.
Materials: Learner passage and task page in this pack. Pencil or keyboard; optional highlighter. Board or display for the teacher model (optional; the model is also printed in the pack).
What to print: Print the chosen activity. Follow the source or reveal instructions beside it.

Evidence to notice: Look for accurate details that answer the question and explanations connecting those details to the answer.

Preview the actual student page

Student page 1: Model and guided practice — Actual student PDF page 1 of 2: Model and guided practice. This page belongs to the named task; a teaching stage may intentionally show a model. Keep the matching teacher answers and reserved tasks separate.

Start with the selected task

Model and guided practice · PDF · 2 pages

Matching teacher guide and answers — keep separate: Matching teacher guide and answers · 10 pages.

Teaching pages, independent activities and editable copies

Teaching and guided practice

Model and guided practice · 2 pages
PDF · Editable Word · Read in browser

Independent responses

Independent response · 1 page
PDF · Editable Word · Read in browser

Teacher files — separately

Matching teacher guide and answers · 10 pages · Teacher PDF · Editable teacher Word · Read in browser · teacher copy

Archived page guidance and source files · Write a local teaching plan

Archive: Additional formats, earlier editions and teaching guidance

Earlier guidance and source files are retained as historical records. For classroom teaching and printing, use the current stage files and matching guides above. Older guidance, timing and layouts are superseded; some retained browser/Word files have limited writing space or sparse extra pages. Keep historical student files with their historical keys and do not mix editions.

Is this the right resource?

Audience / fit: Grade 6 ELA
Teaching or planning target: Answer a text question, choose two accurate details, and explain how they support the answer.
Essential prerequisites: Read a short informational passage with teacher or independent access. Write a sentence that answers a question in the learner’s own words.
Preparation: About 8 minutes.
Use time: About 45 minutes. Planned 45-minute sequence in the teacher directions; estimated rather than classroom-timed.
Materials: Learner passage and task page in this pack. Pencil or keyboard; optional highlighter. Board or display for the teacher model (optional; the model is also printed in the pack).
What to print: Use the stage-specific student choices below and the matching teacher guide. Give independent, new-evidence and later-assessment pages only at their intended stage.

Start teaching

Model and guided practice · PDF (2 pages)

Independent response · PDF (1 page)

Read the teacher guide and answers · PDF (7 pages)

Print model and guided practice first. Keep the independent response with the teacher until guided practice is complete. Use the complete teacher guide for the named task’s criteria and answers.

Editable Word, browser copies and other files

Print and adapt for your own planning and classroom use; printed copies may be shared within your classroom or school team, provided the source is not sold. Keep attribution and resource-specific notices. For redistribution and third-party materials, read the Terms of Use. Recommend this resource using its page link.

Browse free resources

In this 45-minute reading lesson, learners answer a how question about an original informational passage, select accurate details from different parts of the text, and explain how those details support the answer.

All files are free. No email address, account, payment, trial or subscription is required.

Who it is for: Grade 6 ELA
Preparation: About 8 minutes.
Teaching time: About 45 minutes. Planned 45-minute sequence in the teacher directions; estimated rather than classroom-timed.
Teacher guidance: Separate teacher files include completed examples or answer and scoring guidance.

Materials

Learner passage and task page in this pack.
Pencil or keyboard; optional highlighter.
Board or display for the teacher model (optional; the model is also printed in the pack).

Choose a stage and format

Give only the stage being used. Keep later tasks and all teacher keys with the teacher until needed.

Archive: Formats and all files

Complete reference files may include teaching, independent tasks, later evidence or teacher answers. Keep them with the teacher; use the separate stage selections above for handouts.

Read or download the complete resource

Keep teacher guidance and answers separate from student copies. Word files contain editable text; the PDF files are ready to print.

Archive: Previous classroom editions

Support an Answer with Textual Evidence — student: Read in browser (previous edition) · Editable Word (previous edition) · PDF (previous edition)

Support an Answer with Textual Evidence — teacher: Read in browser (previous edition) · Editable Word (previous edition) · PDF (previous edition)

Support and adaptation

If you need help organizing, split the passage into two parts. Mark a detail about water entering the air and a different detail about water returning to the surface. Write your own answer and explain how the details connect; this organizer does not choose details for you.
A read-aloud, text-to-speech, enlarged copy, vocabulary preview, or added processing time may improve access. If used, record which support was offered; read-aloud may change what can be inferred about independent decoding, while the evidence-based-answer target remains.

Extension

Write a new question about the water passage that needs two separate details for a complete answer. Mark the details and explain how they work together.

Choose a next move

Choose a route that fits the response and your teaching goal. These are links to materials already supplied, not a prescribed sequence or a placement decision.

Choose Evidence That Answers the Question — When a detail is accurate but does not answer the question, use the evidence-selection and explanation routes.
Write an Evidence-Based Paragraph — When the answer and relevant details are ready, build a paragraph that explains their connection.

Save follow-up passages until students are ready to try them on their own. Once a passage has been shown, modeled or practiced, use it for practice. Keep answer keys with the teacher and use each resource’s own learning target and criteria.

About the materials

Use the editable files to adapt the materials to your learners and local curriculum.

You may print, copy and adapt the resource for your planning and classroom use under our Terms of Use. Report a resource issue.

When the question needs first teaching

Read the Question and Support Your Answer — Use the short-fiction bridge when question understanding or a one-detail answer needs first teaching.