Third Grade · Reading · week 6

Text evidence: prove it!

Support an answer about a passage by pointing to the exact words in the text that prove it.

Text evidence means using the EXACT words from a passage to prove your answer, instead of just guessing. Good readers do not say "I think so" -- they say "I know so, because the text says..." and then point to the proof.

Text evidence can be a whole sentence or just a phrase. The key is that someone else could look at the same page and find the exact words you are pointing to.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • Ask "how do you know?" after almost every answer this week, and expect a pointed finger or a quoted phrase, not just a guess.
  • Model underlining or highlighting the exact proof sentence before answering out loud.
  • If the evidence does not actually match the question, gently send your child back to search again rather than accepting a near-miss.
  • Praise the SEARCH as much as the answer -- "prove it" is a habit, not a one-time trick.
Talk about it:
  • What does it mean to "prove it" with text evidence?
  • How is text evidence different from just guessing?
  • Find one sentence in a book near you that could answer a question about it.

Mastery looks like: They back up an answer with the exact words from the passage, not a guess or a paraphrase.

Common stumbles: Answering from memory or outside knowledge instead of the passage; picking a sentence that sounds close but does not actually answer the question.

Homework for this lessonType it, write it with a stylus, or print it for pencil & paper.open →
Records attendance + 15 min of Reading for this learner.
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