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Genius Teacher Idea

This Trick Will Change the Way You Teach Constructed Response

By Kathy Walseman
March 27, 2019

Cohenworks

I find that modeling constructed responses really helps my students understand how to write these tricky answers. I noticed that Scope’s very thorough answer key includes many terrific models. So, I began to share the answers with my students and found that their writing improved immensely.

What you’ll need:

  • any Scope writing prompt (included at the end of feature articles and stories), such as this one
  • a Scope answer key (included with every issue of the magazine), such as this one
  • a projector

 

Key skills:
writing a topic sentence, supporting a claim, text evidence, organization

 

Time:
30-40 minutes

Step 1

Students write an answer to a Scope writing prompt, such as this one from "The Choice"—the play from the April 2019 issue.

Step 2
Copy the answer from the answer key and project it for students to read.

Step 3
Have students compare the Scope response to their own.

 

Step 4
Analyze the Scope answer as a class. I have students analyze the topic sentence to see if it restates the prompt and/or can stand alone without the question and highlight text evidence in different colors depending on whether it’s a direct quote or a paraphrase.

 

Step 5
Ask students to write an exit ticket which states something they saw in the Scope example that they’d like to try to do in their next constructed response.

Kathy Walseman is a Scope advisor and a 6th-grade teacher in Dahlgren, Virginia.

About the Ideabook

The Scope Ideabook is for teachers looking for awesome ideas on all things ELA. It’s where you’ll find fresh, creative, practical ways to use the phenomenal resources available to you through this award-winning magazine.

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