To support educators in building literacy lessons in all content areas, this resources provides information about text-dependent questions. Educators explore a definition, examples, criteria and over-arching ideas.

"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave" Text-Dependent Question organizer adapted from Acheivethecore.org.

Thorough explanation of the how and why of text-dependent questions for close, analytic reading. Includes examples.

The Common Core State Standards for reading strongly focus on students gathering evidence, knowledge, and insight from what they read. Indeed, eighty to ninety percent of the Reading Standards in each grade require text dependent analysis; accordingly, aligned curriculum materials should have a similar percentage of text dependent questions.

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.

This module is suitable for K-12 ELA / Literacy instructors, as well as teachers of history/social studies, science, and technical subjects.

This assessment task will be completed in two parts and focuses on the informational text, "My Librarian is a Camel." The prewriting/planning in part one involves reading, plus note-taking and speaking and listening in response to text-dependent questions. In part two, students are asked to write an opinion piece.

These Text-Dependent Questions accompany “Mass Incarceration as a Form of Racialized Social Control.”

This lesson provides teachers with support for using text-dependent questions and Common Core literacy strategies to help students derive big ideas and key understandings while developing vocabulary using the story Skylark. In this story, a family struggles on a prairie farm during a drought. They are forced to make a painful choice when their water soon runs out.

Akiak is the story of a dog that desires to win the Iditarod with her owner, Mick. Akiak is injured and is disqualified from finishing the race, but she follows Mich and the team of dogs to the finish line. This lesson provides teachers with support for using text-dependent questions to help students derive big ideas and key understandings while developing vocabulary.

This lesson provides teachers with support for using text-dependent questions to help students derive big ideas and key understandings while developing vocabulary using the fictional text The Bridge Dancers. In this book, two sisters, Maisie and Callie, are faced with a challenging situation. Callie gets hurt while their mother is away and Maisie must decide if she can rely on her knowledge of herbal medicine to save her sister's life.

This lesson provides teachers with support for using text-dependent questions and Common Core literacy strategies to help students derive big ideas and key understandings while developing vocabulary using the text, "A Very Important Day." In this story, several different families from other countries prepare to become US citizens. Characters from different cultures share one exciting and important event.

This lesson provides teachers with support for using text-dependent questions and Common Core literacy strategies to help students derive big ideas and key understandings while developing vocabulary using the text, "Heat Wave." A fantastic heat wave hits a Kansas farm, roasting the geese, popping the corn in the fields, and causing other distressing events. The farm girl tries a few clever ways to get rid of it, and finally succeeds when she plants iceberg lettuce.

This lesson provides teachers with support for using text-dependent questions and Common Core literacy strategies to help students derive big ideas and key understandings while developing vocabulary using the text, "The Last Dragon." A young boy, Peter, is hesitant to spend the summer with his great aunt in Chinatown. Peter finds an aging parade dragon in a store and, in restoring it, learns to connect with the dragon and the Chinese community.

This lesson provides teachers with support for using text-dependent questions to help students derive big ideas and key understandings while developing vocabulary from the series of poems, Danitra Brown Leaves Town. Danitra and Zuri are two city-girls and best friends, and Danitra goes away to her auntĺ䁥_s house for the summer. These poems tell a story about how the girls stayed in touch by writing letters to each other, and how they discovered that they could have fun apart from one another while still remaining friends.

This lesson provides teachers with support for using text-dependent questions and Common Core literacy strategies to help students derive big ideas and key understandings while developing vocabulary using the biographic text, Gloria Estefan. Along with her worldwide musical fame, Gloria Estefan also experienced tragedy, but continued to help others in unfortunate situations. Gloriaĺĺs success has allowed her to receive multiple honors and awards for her selfless work leading to her being referred to as "a star with a heart."

This lesson provides teachers with support for using text-dependent questions and Common Core literacy strategies to help students derive big ideas and key understandings while developing vocabulary using the text, "Sing to the Stars." Ephram loves to play the violin, and when he discovers that a blind neighbor was once a musician, but stopped playing the piano due to a family tragedy, he encourages the man to return to his music. Each encourages the other, and they perform together at a community concert.