1. Creating Great Text-Dependent Questions MCLP Technical Assistance

2. Purpose of this Session Participants will be able to Explain and avoid common mistakes in the development of close reading sequences or lessons. Write and revise text dependent questions. Ask questions about issues you are facing and get support

3. What is a Text Dependent Question? “As the name suggests, a text dependent question specifically asks a question that can only be answered by referring explicitly back to the text being read. It does not rely on any particular background information extraneous to the text nor depend on students having other experiences or knowledge; instead it privileges the text itself and what students can extract from what is before them.” (Student Achievement Partners)

4. CCSS Areas of Focus for TDQs Analyze paragraphs on a sentence by sentence basis and sentences on a word by word basis to determine the role played by individual paragraphs, sentences, phrases, or words. Investigate how meaning can be altered by changing key words and why an author may have chosen one word over another. Probe each argument in persuasive text, each idea in informational text, each key detail in literary text, and observe how these build to a whole

5. CCSS Areas of Focus for TDQs Examine how shifts in the direction of an argument or explanation are achieved and the impact of those shifts. Question why authors choose to begin and end when they do. Note and assess patterns of writing and what they achieve. Consider what the text leaves uncertain or unstated.

6. Common Mistakes in Developing TDQs Background knowledge questions What are the “death watches in the wall?” Hunt and peck Find two examples of how the narrator is acting anxious. Scavenger hunt What examples of personification can you find in this story? Universal truth Fear and obsession drive the narrator’s actions in the story. Describe how fear and obsession affect the narrator’s decision to admit his crime. “According to the text” According to the text, is the narrator insane? Too many “one-offs” How does Poe describe death?

7. Developing TDQs: Do Less/Do More Do Less Is the narrator insane? Support your claim with evidence from the text. Find two examples of how the narrator is acting anxious and frantic in paragraphs 17 and 18. Do More Why does the narrator choose the words calmly and healthily when describing how he is going to tell the story? What is the effect of Poe’s use of punctuation in paragraphs 17 and 18?

8. Developing TDQs: Do Less/Do More Do Less Fear and obsession drive the narrator’s actions in the story. Describe how fear and obsession affect the narrator’s decision to admit his crime. What types of adjectives describe the narrator in this section? Do More What drives the narrator to “admit the deed”? In paragraphs 14 and 15, what is the effect of the narrator’s question, “What had I to fear?”

9. Tips Don’t try to teach the whole text. Don't worry about writing perfect questions first. “Head ’em off at the pass” questions are okay. Focus on small sections, go deep.

10. Sample Questions for Paragraph 1 & 2 During what part of the action does Poe begin his story? What is the narrator's purpose in asking the two questions in paragraph 1? What is the effect of Poe’s choice to begin the story after the action has taken place? What distinction is the narrator making between nervous and mad?

11. Try This: Develop a TDQ Examine how shifts in the direction of an argument or explanation are achieved and the impact of those shifts. Question why authors choose to begin and end when they do. Note and assess patterns of writing and what they achieve. Consider what the text leaves uncertain or unstated.

12. Thanks for Participating! What resonated with you today? Are there learning takeaways for you that you could share? Is there something you wanted to know more about?