This module is for ElementaryActivity 4

Activity 4 – Passage 3

Now try again with a new passage from the story.  

Think back again to the steps for generating a text-dependent question. Continue to focus on Step One, which requires students to focus on core understandings. Notice the portions of the standards that are highlighted, and direct your attention to what is most important. Also dig into Step Five, which requires teachers to generate a coherent sequence of questions that keep the reader focused on the author’s message.

  • ELA-Literacy RL.3.1 - Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
  • ELA-Literacy RL.3.2 - Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.

In this next passage from the story, the author describes the terror that Trisha feels when she encounters the bully, Eric. In terms of a question sequence, think about how Trisha’s thoughts and feelings are changing as she progresses through the story. Think about the importance of this scene in revealing the author’s overall message. The words and phrases below describe how Trisha feels as a result of Eric’s behavior by paying particular attention to how unsafe and vulnerable she feels.

  • “dark place she felt completely safe.”
  • “secret hiding place.”
  • “buried her head in her arms and curled up in a ball.”

In your mind, contrast these feelings to the safety she felt with her grandmother when looking at the stars in the sky in Passage 2.

Locate Passage 3:

If you are reading the book, start on page 23 with the sentence that begins with, "But the nicer Mr. Falker was to Trisha, the worse Eric treated her."

End the first passage on page 25 with the sentence, "Or she would wait for Mr. Falker to help her with a sentence, then she'd say the same thing that he did. "Good," he would say."

If you are watching the video, begin listening at 9:38 and stop reading at 11:10.

Thank you, Mr. Falker read by Jane Kaczmarekopens in new window (Source: YouTube)

Check Your Understanding

Now determine the best text-dependent question for this passage.


When constructing text-dependent questions, you should have a good understanding of the kinds of responses to expect from students and a target response that best demonstrates close reading, use of accurate, relevant text support, and a deep understanding of the core ideas in the text.