CCRA.W.9: Drawing Evidence from Texts to Support Analysis, Reflection and Research

Overview

Lesson Procedure

60-60 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up5 minutes
2. Direct Instruction15 minutes
3. Guided Practice20 minutes
4. Independent Practice15 minutes
5. Closure5 minutes

1. Warm-Up5 minutes

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "A writer claims: 'The new lunch schedule works better than the old one.' Which would convince you more, 'Everyone likes it' or 'The average wait in the lunch line fell from 15 minutes to 6 minutes'? Explain your choice in one sentence."

   Take three or four answers. Draw out the idea that evidence convinces when it is specific and connected to the claim, and that "everyone says so" is not evidence. Tell students that today they will choose evidence from texts and explain it.

2. Direct Instruction15 minutes

   Use Diagram 1 to show the move this standard asks for: a claim, the evidence drawn from the text (a quotation, a paraphrase or a specific detail, with its paragraph number) and the explanation that connects the two. The same move serves three purposes. In analysis, the claim is about how the text works. In reflection, the claim is about an idea the text raises. In research, the text is a source that answers part of a question, and the writer also says what the source cannot show.

   Before using any evidence, run three tests: Is it relevant to this claim? Is it enough to carry the claim? Is it accurate, quoted word for word with any cut marked [...] and cited correctly?

   Progression of CCRA.W.9 in grades 6-12 (short paraphrases of the grade-level standards)

   Grade-level standard	Band	What this band adds
   W.6.9	Grade 6	Draw evidence from texts, applying grade 6 reading standards: for example, compare how texts in different forms or genres approach a similar theme, and tell apart claims supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not
   W.7.9	Grade 7	Applies grade 7 reading standards, for example: compare a fictional portrayal of a time, place or character with a historical account of the same period; judge whether reasoning is sound and evidence relevant and sufficient
   W.8.9	Grade 8	Applies grade 8 reading standards, for example: analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on myths, traditional stories or religious works; recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced
   W.9-10.9	Grades 9-10	Applies grades 9-10 reading standards, for example: analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material; judge whether reasoning is valid and identify false statements and fallacious reasoning
   W.11-12.9	Grades 11-12	Applies grades 11-12 reading standards, for example: show knowledge of foundational works of American literature from the eighteenth to the early twentieth century; evaluate the reasoning and premises in seminal U.S. texts
   WHST.6-8.9	Grades 6-8 (history, science, technical)	Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research in history, science and technical subjects
   WHST.9-10.9	Grades 9-10 (history, science, technical)	The same expectation for informational texts, with the more complex texts of grades 9-10
   WHST.11-12.9	Grades 11-12 (history, science, technical)	The same expectation for informational texts, with the more complex texts of grades 11-12

   The W standards keep the same main sentence in every grade. What grows is the reading the evidence serves, because each band applies that grade's reading standards. The WHST standards keep the expectation for informational texts in history, science and technical subjects. Work through the five examples, which use the invented mini-text and mini fact below so that the Hearn passage stays fresh for practice.

   Mini-text (written for this page): Nora checked the barometer twice, then tied the boat a second time. Her brother laughed at her. By midnight the harbor was full of broken masts.

   Mini fact (written for this page): A falling barometer reading often signals that a storm is coming.

   • Analysis: claim, evidence, explanation

     Claim: Nora's caution turns out to be justified. Which evidence carries it?

     Result: Evidence: she "tied the boat a second time," and "By midnight the harbor was full of broken masts." Explanation: the storm that broke other boats proves that her extra knot was a reasonable precaution.

   • Reflection on an idea the text raises

     Reflection claim: the mini-text suggests that preparing for danger can look foolish to others before the danger arrives.

     Result: Evidence: "Her brother laughed at her." Explanation: his laughter comes before the storm; the broken masts afterward reverse who looks foolish. The reflection stays with the text, not with the writer's own life.

   • Research: a story and a fact source together

     Research question: what signs can warn sailors of a storm?

     Result: The mini fact supplies the general rule (a falling barometer often signals a storm); the story only shows a character checking a barometer and never states the reading. A careful researcher cites the fact source for the rule and uses the story at most as an illustration.

   • Quoting accurately, with an omission marked

     A writer wants only part of the first sentence of the mini-text.

     Result: Accurate: Nora "checked the barometer twice [...]." Inaccurate: Nora "checked the barometer two times." Words inside quotation marks must be the author's; a cut is marked [...]; a change of wording is a paraphrase and goes outside quotation marks.

   • Evidence that does not fit the claim

     Claim: Nora is an experienced sailor. Evidence offered: "Her brother laughed at her."

     Result: The quotation is accurate but not relevant: it shows her brother's reaction, not her experience. Better evidence would be her checking the barometer twice, and even that only suggests experience, so the claim should be softened to "careful."

3. Guided Practice20 minutes

   Read the Hearn passage aloud. Before reading, give four glosses from earlier in Hearn's essay: Hamaguchi is the village's old headman; the people call him Ojiisan, which means Grandfather; as the richest man in the community he is called the Chōja; and Tada is his ten-year-old grandson. Hearn defines a tsunami as an enormous tidal wave caused by an earthquake or by volcanic action under the sea; scientists now avoid the term "tidal wave," because tides do not cause tsunamis. Tell students that the three dots in paragraph 5 are Hearn's own, and that [...] marks words this page has left out.

   1[...] And presently an earthquake came. It was not strong enough to frighten anybody; but Hamaguchi, who had felt hundreds of shocks in his time, thought it was queer,--a long, slow, spongy motion. [...]

   2As the quaking ceased Hamaguchi's keen old eyes were anxiously turned toward the village. [...] Thus it chanced that Hamaguchi became aware of something unusual in the offing. He rose to his feet, and looked at the sea. It had darkened quite suddenly, and it was acting strangely. It seemed to be moving against the wind. It was running away from the land.

   3Within a very little time the whole village had noticed the phenomenon. Apparently no one had felt the previous motion of the ground, but all were evidently astounded by the movement of the water. They were running to the beach, and even beyond the beach, to watch it. No such ebb had been witnessed on that coast within the memory of living man. Things never seen before were making apparition; unfamiliar spaces of ribbed sand and reaches of weed-hung rock were left bare even as Hamaguchi gazed. And none of the people below appeared to guess what that monstrous ebb signified.

   4Hamaguchi Gohei himself had never seen such a thing before; but he remembered things told him in his childhood by his father's father, and he knew all the traditions of the coast. He understood what the sea was going to do. [...] He simply called to his grandson:--

   5"Tada!--quick,--very quick! ... Light me a torch."

   6Taimatsu, or pine-torches, are kept in many coast dwellings for use on stormy nights, and also for use at certain Shinto festivals. The child kindled a torch at once; and the old man hurried with it to the fields, where hundreds of rice-stacks, representing most of his invested capital, stood awaiting transportation. Approaching those nearest the verge of the slope, he began to apply the torch to them,--hurrying from one to another as quickly as his aged limbs could carry him. The sun-dried stalks caught like tinder; the strengthening sea-breeze blew the blaze landward; and presently, rank behind rank, the stacks burst into flame, sending skyward columns of smoke that met and mingled into one enormous cloudy whirl. Tada, astonished and terrified, ran after his grandfather, crying,--

   7"Ojiisan! why? Ojiisan! why?--why?"

   8But Hamaguchi did not answer: he had no time to explain; he was thinking only of the four hundred lives in peril. For a while the child stared wildly at the blazing rice; then burst into tears, and ran back to the house, feeling sure that his grandfather had gone mad. Hamaguchi went on firing stack after stack, till he had reached the limit of his field; then he threw down his torch, and waited. The acolyte of the hill-temple, observing the blaze, set the big bell booming; and the people responded to the double appeal. [...]

   [...]

   9Through the twilight eastward all looked, and saw at the edge of the dusky horizon a long, lean, dim line like the shadowing of a coast where no coast ever was,--a line that thickened as they gazed, that broadened as a coast-line broadens to the eyes of one approaching it, yet incomparably more quickly. For that long darkness was the returning sea, towering like a cliff, and coursing more swiftly than the kite flies.

   [...]

   10"That was why I set fire to the rice."

   11He, their Chōja, now stood among them almost as poor as the poorest; for his wealth was gone--but he had saved four hundred lives by the sacrifice. [...]

   1. Find a claim worth proving. Ask: "What is one thing about Hamaguchi or the villagers that a reader could argue about?" List three or four claims on the board, for example "Hamaguchi acts before he can be sure" or "Hearn makes the sea seem alive."
   2. Hunt for evidence. Pairs choose one claim and highlight two pieces of evidence in one color. In a second color, they highlight one detail that seems related but does not support the claim. Teacher note: ask pairs to say why the second detail fails; this is the skill.
   3. Read a model. Grades 6-8 read the first model paragraph below and label its claim, its three pieces of evidence and its explanation. Grades 9-12 read the second model and also label the sentence that names a limit of the source.
   4. Cite and check. Pairs check each quotation in the model against the passage, word for word, and confirm each paragraph number.

   In "A Living God," Lafcadio Hearn shows that Hamaguchi saves the village because he reads warning signs that others miss. The earthquake is "not strong enough to frighten anybody," but Hamaguchi, who "had felt hundreds of shocks in his time," notices that it is "a long, slow, spongy motion" (paragraph 1). When the sea pulls back, the villagers run "to the beach, and even beyond the beach, to watch it" (paragraph 3), toward the place where the danger will strike. Hamaguchi, on the other hand, remembers "the traditions of the coast" and understands "what the sea was going to do" (paragraph 4). This evidence shows that his experience and memory, not luck, let him act in time.

   Hearn lets the reader know what Hamaguchi knows while the people around him do not, and that gap shows the size of his choice. The narrator reveals early that Hamaguchi "understood what the sea was going to do" (paragraph 4), yet Hamaguchi "did not answer" his grandson's repeated question, because "he had no time to explain" (paragraph 8). Tada's belief that his grandfather "had gone mad" (paragraph 8) is a fair reading of what a child can see, and it makes the act look costly as well as strange: the stacks represent "most of his invested capital" (paragraph 6). The villagers hear his reason only after the wave, in one quiet line, "That was why I set fire to the rice" (paragraph 10), so the explanation comes when the danger has just been shown. One limit matters for any research use: Hearn retells an event from long before he wrote, so the passage is evidence of how he tells the story, not a firsthand record.

4. Independent Practice15 minutes

   The paragraph below was written for this page with weaknesses on purpose. It is not a model. Students list its problems with evidence, then rewrite it with one clear claim and two pieces of cited evidence, each followed by an explanation. Grades 9-12 add a sentence that says what the passage cannot show.

   Hamaguchi is a very rich man who does not care about his rice. "The sun-dried stalks caught like tinder." This shows he is rich. Also the villagers were not smart because they went to the beach. "Ojiisan! why? Ojiisan! why?--why?" In conclusion, Hamaguchi is a hero because he saved everyone and the text proves it in many places.

   For the research purpose, students also read this short fact sheet, written for this page. It summarizes general coastal safety advice and is not a quotation from any agency. The quiz and homework use it together with the Hearn passage.

   1A tsunami is a series of large waves, usually caused by an earthquake under or near the sea. Official warnings matter, but a tsunami can reach a nearby coast before any warning is sent, so people who live on coasts are taught to recognize natural signs.

   2Three natural signs are often taught. The first is an earthquake that is strong or that lasts a long time. Shaking does not have to be violent to count: a long earthquake is a warning sign too. The second is the sea drawing back suddenly and much farther than usual, uncovering sand, rocks or reefs. The third is a loud roar from the ocean.

   3If you notice any of these signs near a coast, move at once to high ground or inland. Do not go to the shore to look. Because a tsunami is a series of waves and the first wave may not be the largest, stay away from the shore until officials say it is safe.

5. Closure5 minutes

   Exit ticket: Write one claim about the Hearn passage and one quotation that supports it, cited by paragraph number. Then write one sentence explaining the connection. Look for evidence that is relevant and quoted word for word.

   Teacher note on the source: The title page of the 1897 edition describes Hearn as a lecturer on English literature at the Imperial University of Japan. His essay is titled "A Living God" because, he writes, Hamaguchi was one of the people honored while still alive by having a temple built for his spirit. The passage mentions Shinto festivals and the hill-temple, which Hearn identifies earlier, in a sentence cut from paragraph 4, as the Buddhist temple; these are cultural facts of the village. Hearn presents the story as true. It is based on a real event, the tsunami that followed the 1854 Ansei-Nankai earthquake, but Hearn wrote more than forty years later and changes some details, so students should treat it as his account, not as a verified record. Words such as "mad" (paragraph 8) are used in the older sense of "out of his mind," as Tada believes.

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   A student claims, "Hamaguchi noticed the earthquake when other people did not." Which quotation from the Hearn passage best supports this claim?

   A"Apparently no one had felt the previous motion of the ground" B"Within a very little time the whole village had noticed the phenomenon" C"He rose to his feet, and looked at the sea" D"The child kindled a torch at once"

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which detail in paragraph 2 best shows that the sea was behaving in a way the weather could not explain?

   A"It had darkened quite suddenly" B"Hamaguchi's keen old eyes were anxiously turned toward the village" C"It seemed to be moving against the wind" D"He rose to his feet, and looked at the sea"

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   A student claims, "The ebb uncovered parts of the coast that were normally underwater." Which quotation is the strongest evidence?

   A"It had darkened quite suddenly, and it was acting strangely. It seemed to be moving against the wind" B"unfamiliar spaces of ribbed sand and reaches of weed-hung rock were left bare" C"They were running to the beach, and even beyond the beach" D"Within a very little time the whole village had noticed the phenomenon"

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In paragraph 5, Hamaguchi says, "Tada!--quick,--very quick! ... Light me a torch." What do the repetition and the breaks in this line best show?

   AThat Hamaguchi is angry with Tada for being slow BThat Hamaguchi is playing a festival game with Tada CThat Hamaguchi is unsure what he wants Tada to do DThat Hamaguchi feels there is no time to lose

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In paragraph 8, what is the "double appeal" that the people respond to?

   AThe blazing rice and the booming temple bell BHamaguchi's shout and Tada's crying CThe earthquake and the strange ebb of the sea DThe temple bell and the harvest festival

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which quotation best supports the claim that Hamaguchi set the fire to save people, not to destroy the rice?

   A"Hamaguchi went on firing stack after stack, till he had reached the limit of his field" B"the child stared wildly at the blazing rice" C"he was thinking only of the four hundred lives in peril" D"then he threw down his torch, and waited"

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   The weak paragraph ends, "the text proves it in many places." What is the main problem with this sentence as evidence?

   AIt quotes the passage too often BIt uses a quotation that is not in the passage CIt repeats the title of the essay DIt claims support without citing any of it

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   The weak paragraph quotes "The sun-dried stalks caught like tinder" and says, "This shows he is rich." What is wrong with this use of evidence?

   AThe quotation is not found anywhere in the passage BThe quotation is about how fast the stalks burned, not about wealth CThe quotation should have been paraphrased in the writer's own words instead DThe quotation is too long to use in one paragraph

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   The weak paragraph says the villagers "were not smart because they went to the beach." Which quotation best shows that this judgment is unfair?

   A"No such ebb had been witnessed on that coast within the memory of living man" B"all were evidently astounded by the movement of the water" C"unfamiliar spaces of ribbed sand and reaches of weed-hung rock were left bare" D"It seemed to be moving against the wind"

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Which sentence integrates a quotation from the passage correctly, with an accurate citation?

    AHamaguchi moves at once. "The child kindled a torch at once." BHamaguchi moves at once: he "hurries with the torch out to the fields" (paragraph 6). CHamaguchi moves at once: he "hurried with it to the fields" (paragraph 4). DHamaguchi moves at once: the old man "hurried with it to the fields" (paragraph 6).

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    A student wants to shorten this sentence from paragraph 6: "The sun-dried stalks caught like tinder; the strengthening sea-breeze blew the blaze landward; and presently, rank behind rank, the stacks burst into flame." Which version is quoted correctly?

    A"The sun-dried stalks caught like tinder and presently the stacks burst into flame." B"The sun-dried stalks caught like tinder; then, one stack after another, rank behind rank, the stacks all burst into flame." C"The sun-dried stalks caught like tinder [...] and presently, rank behind rank, the stacks burst into flame." D"The [...] sea-breeze blew the [...] stacks [...] into flame."

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    The fact sheet says that one natural sign of a tsunami is the sea drawing back suddenly and much farther than usual. Which detail from the Hearn passage matches this sign?

    A"It had darkened quite suddenly" B"It was running away from the land." C"the strengthening sea-breeze blew the blaze landward" D"set the big bell booming"

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Which is the best reason to use "A Living God" with care as evidence in a research paper about tsunami safety?

    AIt retells an event from long before Hearn wrote, and it is not a safety guide BIt was published before 1930, so the facts in it are sure to be out of date or false CIt is too short to give any useful evidence at all DIt is a story, so nothing in it can count as evidence

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Which claim can NOT be supported with evidence from the passage?

    AHamaguchi's knowledge came partly from what his grandfather told him BTada did not understand what his grandfather was doing CThe dry rice-stacks burned quickly DHamaguchi had seen a tidal wave once before, as a young man

15. Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer

    Why might fire work better than another kind of warning in this situation? Write a claim and support it with one quotation from paragraph 6, cited by paragraph number.

    Show model answer

16. Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer

    Rewrite the weak paragraph's final claim, "Hamaguchi is a hero," as a more specific claim. Add one quotation with a paragraph number and one sentence of explanation.

    Show model answer

17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    Paraphrase this sentence from paragraph 2 in your own words: "Thus it chanced that Hamaguchi became aware of something unusual in the offing." Then explain in one sentence when a writer should paraphrase instead of quote.

    Show model answer

18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    Write one research sentence that combines one fact from the fact sheet with one quotation from the Hearn passage, citing both sources.

    Show model answer

19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    Reflection: in two or three sentences, explain what the passage suggests about what a community owes to one person's sacrifice. Support your reflection with one piece of evidence from paragraph 10 or 11.

    Show model answer

20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Write one focused research question that the Hearn passage raises but cannot answer, and name one kind of source that could help answer it.

    Show model answer

These are the grade-level standards that carry anchor CCRA.W.9 in grades 6-12, plus closely related anchors.

Standard text: Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.