Lesson Plan
RACE Reading Lesson Plan
Students will learn and practice the RACE strategy (Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain) to construct thorough written responses to text-dependent questions.
This lesson is important because it provides students with a structured approach to answering text-dependent questions, improving their reading comprehension, critical thinking, and written communication skills. Mastering RACE helps students articulate their understanding clearly and support their ideas with evidence.
Audience
5th Grade
Time
30 minutes
Approach
Direct instruction, guided practice, and independent application.
Materials
RACE Strategy Slide Deck, RACE Practice Worksheet, RACE Strategy Script, Pencils/pens, and Student notebooks or paper
Prep
Prepare Materials
10 minutes
- Review all generated materials, especially the RACE Strategy Slide Deck, RACE Strategy Script, RACE Practice Worksheet, RACE Warm-Up, and RACE Cool-Down.
- Print enough copies of the RACE Practice Worksheet for each student.
- Ensure your projector and screen are set up and ready to display the RACE Strategy Slide Deck.
Step 1
Warm-Up: How Do You Answer?
5 minutes
Begin the lesson with the RACE Warm-Up activity. Ask students to think about how they currently answer questions about what they read. Facilitate a brief class discussion, encouraging students to share their strategies.
Step 2
Introduction to the RACE Strategy
10 minutes
Using the RACE Strategy Slide Deck and following the prompts in the RACE Strategy Script, introduce the RACE acronym: Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain. Go through each component, explaining what it means and providing a simple example. Emphasize that this strategy helps create clear, complete, and well-supported answers.
Step 3
Guided Practice: Let's RACE Together!
10 minutes
Distribute the RACE Practice Worksheet. Display the practice passage and question from the worksheet on the board or projector. As a class, or in small groups, work through applying each step of the RACE strategy to formulate a complete answer. Guide students in restating the question, identifying the answer, finding relevant text evidence, and explaining how the evidence supports their answer.
Step 4
Independent Practice & Cool Down Reflection
5 minutes
Instruct students to complete the remaining question(s) on the RACE Practice Worksheet independently or in pairs. For the last few minutes, use the RACE Cool-Down prompt to have students reflect on one part of the RACE strategy they found most helpful or one challenge they faced. Collect worksheets for review.
Slide Deck
RACE: Your Answer Superpower!
Unlocking Stronger Reading Responses!
Welcome students and introduce the exciting topic of how to become experts at answering reading questions. Get them thinking about how they currently approach these questions.
What is the RACE Strategy?
A helpful way to answer questions about what you read.
R = Restate the Question
A = Answer the Question
C = Cite Text Evidence
E = Explain Your Evidence
Explain that RACE is an acronym, a memory trick to help them remember the steps for writing excellent responses. Briefly introduce each letter and what it stands for.
R = Restate the Question
Turn the question into part of your answer!
Example Question: Why did the character feel sad?
Restate: The character felt sad because...
Emphasize that 'Restate' helps keep their answer focused and ensures they address the actual question being asked.
A = Answer the Question
Give a direct answer to the question.
Example Question: Why did the character feel sad?
Restate & Answer: The character felt sad because their pet ran away.
Explain that this is the core of their response. It should be clear, concise, and directly address the question.
C = Cite Text Evidence
Prove your answer with details from the story.
Use phrases like: "The text states...", "According to the passage...", "The author wrote...", "For example..."
Example: The character felt sad because their pet ran away. The story says, "Fluffy, the playful kitten, was nowhere to be found."
Stress the importance of proving their answer. This isn't about guessing; it's about showing where the information came from in the text. Provide the example phrases for citing.
E = Explain Your Evidence
Tell how your evidence supports your answer. Make the connection clear.
Example: The character felt sad because their pet ran away. The story says, "Fluffy, the playful kitten, was nowhere to be found." This shows her sadness because Fluffy is a playful pet and her absence would make anyone upset.
Guide students to see that evidence alone isn't enough; they need to explain why that evidence matters and how it connects to their answer and the question.
Let's Practice!
Read the short passage and question on your RACE Practice Worksheet.
Together, we'll RACE through the first one!
Transition to guided practice. Explain they will now apply what they've learned using their worksheets. Have them find the first practice item.
Your Turn!
Now, use your RACE superpower to answer the next question on your worksheet!
Remember: Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain!
Encourage independent application. Remind them of the acronym one last time before they begin their independent work.
Script
RACE: Your Answer Superpower! - Teacher Script
Warm-Up: How Do You Answer? (5 minutes)
"Good morning/afternoon, everyone! Today, we're going to talk about a really important skill that will help you become incredible readers and writers. We all read stories, articles, and even instructions, and sometimes we need to show what we've learned by answering questions about what we've read."
"I want you to think for a moment: When your teacher asks you a question about a story you just read, how do you usually answer it? What steps do you take in your head or on paper?"
"Turn to a partner and share your ideas for about a minute. What do you do?"
(Allow students to discuss. Listen in for common strategies or challenges. Bring the class back together.)
"Okay, let's hear some thoughts. Who would like to share how they approach answering reading questions?"
(Call on a few students. Affirm their responses, like "That's a good way to start!" or "It's smart to look back at the text.")
"Today, we're going to learn a super-powered strategy that will help all of us write strong, clear, and complete answers every single time. It's called the RACE strategy!"
Introduction to the RACE Strategy (10 minutes)
(Display RACE Strategy Slide Deck - Slide 1: "RACE: Your Answer Superpower!")
"Get ready to activate your 'answer superpower' with RACE! This strategy is like a secret code to help you write awesome responses."
(Display RACE Strategy Slide Deck - Slide 2: "What is the RACE Strategy?")
"RACE is an acronym, which means each letter stands for a word that helps us remember the steps. Let's break it down."
(Display RACE Strategy Slide Deck - Slide 3: "R = Restate the Question")
"The 'R' in RACE stands for Restate the Question. This means you take the words from the question and turn them into the beginning of your answer. It's like echoing the question back in your response."
"Look at our example: If the question is 'Why did the character feel sad?', how would we start our answer by restating the question?"
(Pause for student responses.)
"Exactly! We'd start with: 'The character felt sad because...'. This tells your reader exactly what you're going to talk about and keeps your answer focused."
(Display RACE Strategy Slide Deck - Slide 4: "A = Answer the Question")
"Next is 'A' for Answer the Question. This is where you give the direct information that answers what was asked. No extra details yet, just the main point."
"So, if our question is 'Why did the character feel sad?', and we know the answer, we can add it to our restated part. Let's say we read that her pet ran away. Our answer now becomes: 'The character felt sad because their pet ran away.' "
(Display RACE Strategy Slide Deck - Slide 5: "C = Cite Text Evidence")
"The 'C' is for Cite Text Evidence. This is super important! It means you need to prove your answer by showing specific words or sentences directly from the text. Think of yourself as a detective, finding clues in the story!"
"You can use phrases to introduce your evidence, like: 'The text states...', 'According to the passage...', 'The author wrote...', or 'For example...'. These phrases tell your reader, 'Hey, I found this in the book!'"
"Let's add evidence to our example: 'The character felt sad because their pet ran away. The story says, "Fluffy, the playful kitten, was nowhere to be found." ' See how we used quotation marks to show the exact words from the story?"
(Display RACE Strategy Slide Deck - Slide 6: "E = Explain Your Evidence")
"Finally, we have 'E' for Explain Your Evidence. This is where you tell your reader how the evidence you cited proves your answer. You make the connection clear."
"Think of it this way: Why does 'Fluffy, the playful kitten, was nowhere to be found' show that the character is sad because her pet ran away? You need to connect those dots!"
"Here's how we might explain it: 'The character felt sad because their pet ran away. The story says, "Fluffy, the playful kitten, was nowhere to be found." This shows her sadness because Fluffy is a playful pet and her absence would make anyone upset.' You're basically saying, 'Here's my proof, and here's why my proof works!'"
"Fantastic! Now you know what RACE stands for: Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain. This strategy will help you write responses that are complete, clear, and always backed up by the text."
Guided Practice: Let's RACE Together! (10 minutes)
(Display RACE Strategy Slide Deck - Slide 7: "Let's Practice!")
"Alright, my super-answer writers! It's time to put RACE into action. I'm going to hand out the RACE Practice Worksheet."
(Distribute the worksheets.)
"On your worksheet, you'll see a short passage and a question. We're going to work through the first question together, using our new RACE strategy."
(Project or write the practice passage and the first question from the worksheet on the board.)
"Let's read the passage together first." (Read the passage aloud with students, or have a student read it.)
"Now, let's look at the first question: Why did Leo decide to build a treehouse?. "
"R - Restate the Question: How would we start our answer for this question?"
(Guide students to restate. Write their collective restatement on the board.)
"A - Answer the Question: Based on the passage, what is the direct answer to this question? What's the main point?"
(Guide students to formulate a direct answer. Add it to the restatement on the board.)
"C - Cite Text Evidence: Now, let's be detectives! Look back at the passage. Where does it say something that proves our answer? What words or sentences can we use?"
(Help students find specific evidence. Remind them of citing phrases. Add the citation to the board using quotation marks.)
"E - Explain Your Evidence: Finally, how does this evidence connect to our answer? Why does this quote show that our answer is correct?"
(Facilitate discussion on connecting evidence to the answer. Add the explanation to the board.)
"Excellent work, everyone! Look at the complete, strong answer we created using RACE. This is what we're aiming for every time."
Independent Practice & Cool Down Reflection (5 minutes)
(Display RACE Strategy Slide Deck - Slide 8: "Your Turn!")
"Now it's your turn to practice your RACE superpower! On your worksheet, you'll see another question based on the passage. I want you to try to answer this question using all four steps of the RACE strategy. Remember: Restate, Answer, Cite, and Explain."
"You'll have about 3 minutes to work on this independently or with your partner. Do your best to apply all the steps we just learned."
(Monitor students as they work. Provide quick support as needed.)
"Alright, let's bring it back together. For our cool-down today, I want you to think about the RACE strategy. On the back of your worksheet, or on a sticky note if you have one, I want you to finish one of these sentences:"
"* 'One part of the RACE strategy I found most helpful today was...'*
-
- 'One part of the RACE strategy I found most challenging today was...'"
"Take about a minute to write down your reflection. This helps me understand what clicked and what we might need to practice more."
(Collect worksheets as students finish. Thank them for their hard work.)
"Great job today, super readers!"
Warm Up
RACE Warm-Up: Your Answering Habits
Think about the last time you had to answer a question about something you read.
- What's the first thing you usually do when you see a reading comprehension question?
- Do you typically go back to the text to find your answer, or do you try to remember it from your head? Why?
- How do you make sure your answer is complete and makes sense?
Cool Down
RACE Cool-Down: Reflecting on Your Superpower
Now that you've learned and practiced the RACE strategy, let's reflect on your experience.
Choose ONE of the following prompts and complete the sentence:
- One part of the RACE strategy (Restate, Answer, Cite, or Explain) I found most helpful today was...
- One part of the RACE strategy (Restate, Answer, Cite, or Explain) I found most challenging today was...
Worksheet
RACE Practice Worksheet: The Clever Squirrel
Read the Passage:
Leo loved exploring the woods behind his house. One sunny afternoon, he spotted a tiny squirrel scurrying up an oak tree. This squirrel was different; it seemed to be carrying something shiny. Leo watched, fascinated, as the squirrel carefully placed the item into a small hollow in the tree trunk. Later that day, Leo told his dad, "I saw a squirrel storing treasure! Maybe it's a pirate squirrel!" His dad chuckled, "Squirrels are very clever at storing things for winter, son." Leo decided right then that he would build a treehouse in that very oak, hoping to watch the clever squirrel's adventures all season long.
Practice Question 1 (Guided Practice):
- Why did Leo decide to build a treehouse?
Practice Question 2 (Your Turn! Independent Practice):
- What did Leo observe the squirrel doing, and what did his dad explain about it?