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English lesson plan · 10th grade (Year 11 in England) · 45 minutes

Command of evidence (SAT/ACT)

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RI.11-12.1CCSS RL.11-12.1England: SAT Reading and Writing (Command of Evidence)England: ACT Reading

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Command of evidence (SAT/ACT).

I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
I can explain each step and say why it works.
I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Close reading for explicit meaning

Leads to: Using data from tables and graphs; Rhetorical synthesis (SAT); Completing a text logically (SAT Inferences)

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Close reading for explicit meaning). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

Unlike most of her contemporaries, who painted in studios, the artist worked outdoors in all weathers, believing that only direct observation could capture changing light. What does the text say the artist believed? (Direct observation outdoors was needed to capture changing light. / Bad weather ruins paintings. / Studios gave the best light. / Her contemporaries were more talented.) → Direct observation outdoors was needed to capture changing light.Prompt: Find the part of the text that talks about this.
The museum's new wing, funded largely by local donations rather than government grants, will house the region's first permanent exhibition on textile history. According to the text, how was the new wing mainly funded? (by local donations / by ticket sales / by a textile company / by government grants) → by local donationsPrompt: Find the part of the text that talks about this.
The bridge, completed in 1932, was initially criticised as an eyesore; within a decade, however, it had become the city's most photographed landmark. According to the text, how did opinions of the bridge change? (It was always admired. / It was demolished after a decade. / It went from being criticised to becoming a popular landmark. / It was praised at first and later criticised.) → It went from being criticised to becoming a popular landmark.Prompt: Find the part of the text that talks about this.

Hook · 5 min

Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
Share the objective: Command of evidence (SAT/ACT). Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
Example: A historian argues that the canal transformed the town's economy. A: The canal was 12 miles long. B: Construction began in a rainy spring. C: Within ten years of its opening, the number of mills in the town tripled. D: The canal was later used for leisure boating. Which finding would most directly support the argument?
Step 1: The best evidence directly supports the claim.
Step 2: So the answer is: C
Answer: C
Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

A scientist claims that a new fertiliser increases tomato yield without affecting taste. A: Plants with the fertiliser produced 30% more fruit, and taste-testers could not tell the tomatoes apart. B: The fertiliser is green. C: Tomatoes need sunlight. D: The plants with fertiliser were taller. Which finding would best support BOTH parts of the claim? (A / B / C / D) → APrompt: First decide what the answer to the question is.
A student claims that the poet viewed nature as indifferent to human concerns. A: "The river ran on, not caring whose names were carved upon its banks." B: "The meadow welcomed us with open arms." C: "We picnicked by the gentle stream." D: "The birds sang just for me." Which quotation most effectively illustrates the claim? (A / B / C / D) → APrompt: First decide what the answer to the question is.

You do: independent practice · 10 min

Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

A scientist claims that a new fertiliser increases tomato yield without affecting taste. A: Plants with the fertiliser produced 30% more fruit, and taste-testers could not tell the tomatoes apart. B: The fertiliser is green. C: Tomatoes need sunlight. D: The plants with fertiliser were taller. Which finding would best support BOTH parts of the claim? (A / B / C / D) → APrompt: First decide what the answer to the question is.
A researcher hypothesises that bees prefer blue flowers to yellow ones. A: Bees visited both colours in the morning. B: Bees made 62% of their visits to blue flowers and 38% to yellow flowers of the same size and scent. C: Yellow flowers were more common in the field. D: Some bees did not visit any flowers. Which finding, if true, would most directly support the hypothesis? (A / B / C / D) → BPrompt: First decide what the answer to the question is.

Watch out for

Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

Review first: Close reading for explicit meaning.
Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

Move on to: Using data from tables and graphs; Rhetorical synthesis (SAT); Completing a text logically (SAT Inferences).
Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-10.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Command of evidence (SAT/ACT)

Name

Date

Score/ 8

Beavers Come Home

Four hundred years after they were hunted to extinction in Britain, beavers are back. Small populations now live wild in parts of Scotland and England, and several other European countries have reintroduced them too. Ecologists describe beavers as "ecosystem engineers". By building dams, they create ponds and wetlands that slow the flow of water, trap sediment and provide homes for insects, amphibians and birds. In one Devon study, the amount of water flowing downstream during heavy rain was noticeably lower below beaver dams than above them, suggesting that dams can help reduce flooding. Not everyone is delighted. Some farmers report flooded fields and felled trees, and they worry about the cost. Their concerns are real, and schemes in some areas now compensate landowners or move beavers whose dams cause serious damage. Supporters argue that the benefits outweigh the costs. Wetlands created by beavers can store water during droughts, improve water quality and attract visitors. Yet researchers caution that results vary from river to river, and long-term data are still limited. What is clear is that the return of beavers forces us to ask a broader question: how much room are we willing to make for wild animals in a crowded country?

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Question 1
Read "Beavers Come Home". Which detail best supports the idea that beaver dams may reduce flooding?
- A. wetlands attract visitors
- B. less water flowed downstream during heavy rain below the dams than above them
- C. beavers were hunted to extinction
- D. farmers report felled trees

The Four-Day Week: Promise and Pitfalls

In recent years, a growing number of companies have experimented with a four-day working week, in which employees work about 80 per cent of their usual hours for 100 per cent of their pay, on the condition that they maintain their output. Supporters argue that the model could transform working life. Critics warn that its benefits may be exaggerated. The most widely reported trials have produced striking results. In one large study involving several dozen organisations, most companies chose to continue the four-day week after the trial ended. Employees reported less stress, better sleep and fewer days off sick, while company revenue remained broadly stable. For businesses struggling to recruit, the promise of an extra day off can be a powerful attraction. Yet these findings come with important caveats. Companies that volunteer for such trials may already be enthusiastic about flexible working and well suited to it. Their success may not be representative of all workplaces. Moreover, many of the participating organisations were offices or creative businesses, where output is relatively easy to reorganise. In hospitals, schools or factories, where staff must be present to deliver a service, reducing hours without hiring more people may simply be impossible. There are also questions about what happens in the long term. Early enthusiasm can fade, and the pressure to fit five days of work into four may eventually lead to longer, more intense working days, cancelling out the benefits to wellbeing. None of this means the idea should be dismissed. It does suggest that the four-day week is less a universal solution than a tool that may suit some sectors far better than others. The challenge for policymakers is to learn from the trials without assuming that what worked for a marketing agency will work for an emergency ward.

2
Question 2
Read "The Four-Day Week: Promise and Pitfalls". Which finding from the trials is reported in paragraph 2?
- A. All hospitals adopted the model.
- B. Revenue doubled.
- C. Employees reported more stress.
- D. Most companies chose to keep the four-day week.

3
Question 3
A historian argues that the canal transformed the town's economy. A: The canal was 12 miles long. B: Construction began in a rainy spring. C: Within ten years of its opening, the number of mills in the town tripled. D: The canal was later used for leisure boating. Which finding would most directly support the argument?
- A. A
- B. B
- C. C
- D. D

Cooling the City (with data)

On hot summer afternoons, the centres of large cities can be several degrees warmer than the surrounding countryside. This "urban heat island" effect occurs because dark surfaces such as asphalt and roofing absorb sunlight and release it slowly as heat, while buildings trap warm air and reduce the cooling effect of wind. A lack of vegetation makes the problem worse: trees and plants cool the air by providing shade and releasing water vapour. In a recent study, researchers measured the average afternoon surface temperature in July across four neighbourhoods of one city, alongside the percentage of each area covered by trees. Their results are summarised below. Neighbourhood | Tree cover (%) | Average July afternoon surface temperature (°C) Northgate | 8 | 41 Riverside | 15 | 38 Elm Park | 27 | 34 Hillcrest | 35 | 32 The researchers caution that tree cover is not the only factor: Riverside, for instance, is next to a large river, which may have cooled it independently. Nevertheless, they conclude that expanding urban tree cover is a promising strategy for reducing extreme heat, particularly in neighbourhoods where many residents lack air conditioning.

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Question 4
Read "Cooling the City (with data)". Why do the researchers mention the river near Riverside?
- A. to show that rivers cause heat islands
- B. to explain why Riverside has no trees
- C. to argue that trees are useless
- D. to acknowledge another factor that could affect the temperature

Two Texts on Memory

TEXT 1 For much of the twentieth century, many people imagined memory as a kind of recording device. An experience, according to this view, was stored somewhere in the brain like a film on a shelf; remembering meant taking the film down and playing it again. Forgetting was simply the film fading with age. This model was appealing because it matched how memory often feels: vivid, detailed and certain. TEXT 2 Decades of experiments have undermined the idea that memories are fixed recordings. In one well-known type of study, participants watch a video of a car accident and are later asked how fast the cars were going when they "smashed" or when they "hit" each other. Those who heard "smashed" not only gave higher speed estimates but were more likely, a week later, to report seeing broken glass – although there was none in the video. Such findings suggest that each act of remembering is partly an act of reconstruction, shaped by later information, expectation and language. A memory can feel certain and still be wrong.

5
Question 5
Read "Two Texts on Memory". In Text 2, what is the significance of participants reporting broken glass?
- A. It shows participants had poor eyesight.
- B. It shows the cars were travelling slowly.
- C. It shows that a word heard later altered their memory of the event.
- D. It proves the video showed broken glass.

6
Question 6
A student claims that the poet viewed nature as indifferent to human concerns. A: "The river ran on, not caring whose names were carved upon its banks." B: "The meadow welcomed us with open arms." C: "We picnicked by the gentle stream." D: "The birds sang just for me." Which quotation most effectively illustrates the claim?
- A. A
- B. B
- C. C
- D. D
7
Question 7
A researcher hypothesises that bees prefer blue flowers to yellow ones. A: Bees visited both colours in the morning. B: Bees made 62% of their visits to blue flowers and 38% to yellow flowers of the same size and scent. C: Yellow flowers were more common in the field. D: Some bees did not visit any flowers. Which finding, if true, would most directly support the hypothesis?
- A. A
- B. B
- C. C
- D. D
8
Question 8
A scientist claims that a new fertiliser increases tomato yield without affecting taste. A: Plants with the fertiliser produced 30% more fruit, and taste-testers could not tell the tomatoes apart. B: The fertiliser is green. C: Tomatoes need sunlight. D: The plants with fertiliser were taller. Which finding would best support BOTH parts of the claim?
- A. A
- B. B
- C. C
- D. D

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Answer key: Command of evidence (SAT/ACT)

1. B. less water flowed downstream during heavy rain below the dams than above them
2. D. Most companies chose to keep the four-day week.
3. C. C
4. D. to acknowledge another factor that could affect the temperature
5. C. It shows that a word heard later altered their memory of the event.
6. A. A
7. B. B
8. A. A