Answers the Text Says Explicitly
A 40-minute Grade 3 lesson on asking and answering questions and referring explicitly to the text as the basis for an answer.
Answers the Text Says Explicitly is a free 40-minute Grade 3 English lesson plan for Common Core standard RL.3.1 — answer questions about a story by pointing at the words that prove it. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the meaning, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Grade 3
- Length:
- 40 minutes
- Standard:
- RL.3.1
Grade 3 · Reading: Literature
RL.3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
Objective
Students will be able to answer a question about a story in their own words and then copy, inside quotation marks, the fewest exact words from the text that prove the answer.
Students are successful when they can
- Writes an answer to the question in a full sentence of their own.
- Copies the supporting words exactly, letter for letter, inside quotation marks.
- Cuts the quotation to a phrase of roughly 3-10 words that still proves the answer on its own.
- Can say aloud why the quotation proves the answer, using "because the text says."
What you need
- "The Red Mitten" (the six-sentence story in the Teach section) on chart paper
- Copies of "The Red Mitten," one per pair
- Highlighters and a pair of scissors for the cutting demonstration
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — point, then quote
5 min- Write one sentence on the board: "Dev wore his raincoat because the clouds were black and low." Ask: "Why did Dev wear his raincoat?"
- Take an answer ("It was going to rain"). Ask the student to come up and point at the words that told them. They point at "the clouds were black and low."
- Now say: "Pointing was Grade 2. In Grade 3 we write the exact words down." Write beneath the sentence: Answer — It looked like rain. Proof — "the clouds were black and low."
“Quotation marks are a promise: everything inside them is the author's words, copied exactly.”
Teach — the shortest quotation
13 min- Read "The Red Mitten" from the chart: "Mara pulled on her boots and ran to the gate. Her brother Leo was already halfway down the lane, swinging his empty lunch box. 'Wait!' she shouted, but the wind took her voice away. At the corner she stopped. One red mitten lay in the snow, and she knew it was Leo's because Grandma had stitched an L on the thumb. Mara tucked it into her pocket and ran faster."
- Write the question on the board: "How did Mara know the mitten belonged to Leo?" Answer it aloud in your own words: "She recognized Grandma's stitching."
- Now over-quote on purpose: highlight the whole last three sentences and write them out as your proof. Ask: "Which part of this actually proves my answer?" Students should point to the mitten sentence.
- Cut the strip with scissors to: "she knew it was Leo's because Grandma had stitched an L on the thumb." Read answer and quotation together. It still works.
- Cut again to: "Grandma had stitched an L on the thumb." Ask: "Does it still prove it?" Yes — the L is the reason. This is the target length.
- Cut too far: "on the thumb." Read it with the answer. Ask what is missing. Fish for: "It does not say L, so it does not say Leo." Write on the board: "Shortest quotation that still proves it."
- Model one more without scissors: "Why didn't Leo wait?" Proof: "the wind took her voice away."
“Cut it down. How few words can you use and still prove your answer? If I cut so far that the proof disappears, I have cut too much.”
Guided practice — answer and cut
12 min- Pairs answer three new questions about the same story: "Was it a warm day or a cold day?" ("One red mitten lay in the snow"), "Had Leo eaten his lunch yet?" ("swinging his empty lunch box"), "What did Mara do with the mitten?" ("tucked it into her pocket").
- For each, they first copy the whole sentence the answer came from, then cross out words until only the proof is left.
- They swap with another pair, who read each answer aloud followed by "because the text says" and the quotation. If it sounds wrong, it goes back.
- Collect the lunch-box answer: the single word "empty" is what proves it.
Independent practice
8 min- Students complete the text-evidence page. The passage is on the sheet.
- Check every student's first quotation for exact copying before they go on.
Close
2 min- Ask: "Why did Mara run faster at the end?" Take an answer and its shortest quotation, and note the story only hints here, so the proof is weaker.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Copies a whole paragraph as proof, e.g. all of the last three sentences for "How did Mara know it was Leo's?"
Why: The answer is in there somewhere, and a longer quotation feels safer: if everything is quoted, the right words must be included. They have not yet asked themselves which words are doing the proving.
Fix: Repeat the scissors cut with their own quotation. Ask them to cross out one word at a time and read the answer plus quotation aloud after each cut, stopping just before it stops proving the answer.
Writes a paraphrase in quotation marks, e.g. "Grandma sewed a letter on it."
Why: Their own words are clearer to them than the author's, and they think quotation marks mean "the important bit" rather than "copied exactly."
Fix: Hold their version beside the text and ask them to find the word "sewed" in the story. It is not there. Restate the promise: inside quotation marks means letter for letter. Their paraphrase becomes their Answer line; the Proof line must be copied.
Quotes a true sentence that does not prove the answer, e.g. "At the corner she stopped" for "How did she know?"
Why: The sentence sits right next to the answer in the story, so it feels connected. They have found the right area, not the right words.
Fix: Read answer and quotation together with "because the text says" between them: "She knew it was Leo's because the text says at the corner she stopped." The mismatch is audible, and they hear it before you say anything.
If they are not there yet
- Give the sentence that holds the answer already underlined, so the task is only to cut it down to the proof.
- Two questions rather than three, both with answers stated in a single sentence ("Why didn't Leo wait?" and "What did Mara do with the mitten?").
- Provide a sentence frame: "I know ___ because the text says '___.'"
If they finish early
- Answer "Does Mara care about her brother?" using two quotations from different sentences, and explain how each one helps.
- Write one question about the story whose answer the text never states directly (e.g. "How old is Leo?") and explain why no quotation can prove an answer to it.
- Given two quotations for "Was it cold?" — "pulled on her boots" and "lay in the snow" — decide which is stronger proof and write one sentence explaining why.
Exit ticket
Read: "Sam left the party early. His new shoes pinched his toes, so he walked home slowly." Why did Sam leave early? Answer, then quote the fewest words that prove it.
What to look for: An answer like "His feet hurt" plus "His new shoes pinched his toes" or "shoes pinched." Copying both sentences means the cutting step needs redoing; "he walked home slowly" means they quoted nearby words, not proof; no quotation marks or changed words means exact copying needs reteaching.
Printable practice for RL.3.1
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- Answer with the TextCircle the words that prove it.
Questions about Answers the Text Says Explicitly
How long does the Answers the Text Says Explicitly lesson take?
40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does Answers the Text Says Explicitly teach?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1 — RL.3.1, Reading: Literature for Grade 3: “Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.” In plain terms, answer questions about a story by pointing at the words that prove it.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
"The Red Mitten" (the six-sentence story in the Teach section) on chart paper, copies of "The Red Mitten," one per pair, highlighters and a pair of scissors for the cutting demonstration and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: copies a whole paragraph as proof, e.g. all of the last three sentences for "How did Mara know it was Leo's?"; writes a paraphrase in quotation marks, e.g. "Grandma sewed a letter on it." and quotes a true sentence that does not prove the answer, e.g. "At the corner she stopped" for "How did she know?". The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “Read: "Sam left the party early. His new shoes pinched his toes, so he walked home slowly." Why did Sam leave early? Answer, then quote the fewest words that prove it.” An answer like "His feet hurt" plus "His new shoes pinched his toes" or "shoes pinched." Copying both sentences means the cutting step needs redoing; "he walked home slowly" means they quoted nearby words, not proof; no quotation marks or changed words means exact copying needs reteaching. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with Answers the Text Says Explicitly?
Yes — 1 printable RL.3.1 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is Answers the Text Says Explicitly free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on October 8, 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-10-08. Aligned to RL.3.1 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.