English lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 45 minutes
Which sentence from the text best supports the answer?
Reading Comprehension
CCSS RL.5.1CCSS RI.5.1England: Y5/6 Reading (justifying with evidence)England: KS2 SATs Reading
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Which sentence from the text best supports the answer?.
- 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: Choose the best summary of a short text; Finding and retrieving information
Leads to: the next skill in this area.
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 (Choose the best summary of a short text; Finding and retrieving information). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Wind turbines turn moving air into electricity. The wind spins the blades, which turn a generator inside the tower. Wind power does not burn fuel, so it does not release smoke, but turbines only work when the wind blows. Which is the best summary? (Wind turbines are the best invention ever. / Wind turbines use spinning blades to make clean electricity, but only when it is windy. / Turbines have blades. / There is a generator in the tower.) → Wind turbines use spinning blades to make clean electricity, but only when it is windy.Prompt: A summary is short and covers the WHOLE text, not just one part.
- The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived. It can grow longer than two buses and eats tiny shrimp-like animals called krill. What do blue whales eat? (sharks / seaweed / fish / krill) → krillPrompt: Find the part of the text that talks about this.
- The school fair raised $460. The money will buy new books for the library and a bench for the playground. What will the money buy? (books and a bench / computers / a new school bus / football kits) → books and a benchPrompt: 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: Which sentence from the text best supports the answer?. 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: Mira's robot kept bumping into walls. She rewrote the code three times, tested it every evening and asked her brother for ideas. On Friday, it rolled smoothly round the whole room. Which sentence best shows that Mira does not give up?
- Step 1: The best evidence directly proves the point. Other sentences may be true but do not support the claim as well.
- Step 2: So the answer is: She rewrote the code three times, tested it every evening and asked her brother for ideas.
- Answer: She rewrote the code three times, tested it every evening and asked her brother for ideas.
- 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.
- Honey can last for a very long time. Archaeologists have found pots of honey in ancient Egyptian tombs that had still not gone bad. Bees make honey from flower nectar. Which sentence best supports the idea that honey does not spoil easily? (Archaeologists have found pots of honey in ancient Egyptian tombs that had still not gone bad. / Bees live in hives. / Bees make honey from flower nectar. / Honey is sweet and sticky.) → Archaeologists have found pots of honey in ancient Egyptian tombs that had still not gone bad.Prompt: Read the claim in the question first.
- The town council asked people what to do with the empty car park. Most people voted for a skate park. Others wanted a community garden. In the end, the council built both, side by side. Which sentence best shows that the council listened to more than one group? (The car park was empty. / In the end, the council built both, side by side. / The council asked people what to do. / Most people voted for a skate park.) → In the end, the council built both, side by side.Prompt: Read the claim in the question first.
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.
- Coral reefs cover less than one percent of the ocean floor. Yet about a quarter of all ocean species depend on them for food or shelter. Reefs are built by tiny animals called coral polyps. Which sentence best supports the idea that coral reefs are very important to sea life? (Coral can be many colours. / Coral reefs cover less than one percent of the ocean floor. / Reefs are built by tiny animals called coral polyps. / Yet about a quarter of all ocean species depend on them for food or shelter.) → Yet about a quarter of all ocean species depend on them for food or shelter.Prompt: Read the claim in the question first.
- Mira's robot kept bumping into walls. She rewrote the code three times, tested it every evening and asked her brother for ideas. On Friday, it rolled smoothly round the whole room. Which sentence best shows that Mira does not give up? (Mira's robot kept bumping into walls. / Mira has a brother. / On Friday, it rolled smoothly round the whole room. / She rewrote the code three times, tested it every evening and asked her brother for ideas.) → She rewrote the code three times, tested it every evening and asked her brother for ideas.Prompt: Read the claim in the question first.
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: Choose the best summary of a short text.
- 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
- 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-5.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder