7th grade RACE Thank You M'am with E.pdf

How to support your writing by USING evidence

•RESTATE
•ANSWER
•CITE
•EXPLAIN
RACE

RACE
•Question: Explain the main idea of
“Thank You M’am”. Use evidence from
the text to support your answer.
• Main idea is what the passage or story is mostly about
• It is NOT a detail

RACE First Step: Restate the
question
•Question: Explain the main idea of
“Thank You M’am”. Use evidence from
the text to support your answer.
•Restate: The main idea of
“Thank You M’am” was

RACE Second Step: ANSWER the
question
•The ANSWER statement should
be a sentence that generally
states what your answer is going
to be. There is no need to go
into great detail here, just
briefly state your answer as a
main idea.

Example
•Question: Explain the main idea of
“Thank You M’am”. Use evidence from
the text to support your answer.
The main idea of “Thank You
M’am” was to show a unique
relationship between two members
of an underprivileged community.

• Question: Explain the main idea of “Thank You M’am”.
Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
The main idea of “Thank You M’am” was Roger
learned to never take people’s things to get what he
wants.
• a boy does not have a good life so he tries to
steal money from an old lady because he wanted
blue suede shoes.
• that Roger a teen attempts to steal Mrs. Jones
pocketbook.
• a kid tries to steal but got forced to go in a lady’s
house and be good.

• Question: Explain the main idea of “Thank You M’am”.
Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
The main idea of “Thank You M’am” was Roger
tried to steal a pocketbook for some shoes but he
doesn’t get away with it.
The main idea of “Thank You M’am” was a boy
tries to steal a purse from an old woman, but she
teaches him not to steal instead.
• The main idea of “Thank You M’am” was a kid
named Roger tried to steal a pocketbook from a
random woman on the street because he wanted
some new shoes.

RACE Third Step: CITE an example
from the story
•For this step you simply choose
something directly from the story that
supports your answer. You may want to
start with some indirect information
and then use a direct quotation from
the reading for support because it
always makes your answer stronger!

Example
Explain the main idea of “Thank You M’am”. Use
evidence from the text to support your answer.
The main point of “Thank You M’am” was a boy tries
to steal a purse from an old woman, but she teaches him not
to steal instead. Mrs. Jones, the woman in this
story, shows unusual kindness to a boy who
was trying to steal her pocketbook. She took
him into her house and showed her
generosity by saying “Eat some more, son.”

Explain the main idea of “Thank You M’am”.
Use evidence from the text to support your
answer. Student example:
The main idea of “Thank You M’am” was
a boy tries to steal a purse from an old
woman, but she teaches him not to steal
instead. One example is when he makes the
decision not to run from the woman.
(indirect) Another example is when he
asked “Do you need somebody to go to the
store to maybe get milk or something.”
(direct)

RACE Fourth Step: EXPLAIN your
example
•In this step you must explain in your
own words why your example proves
that your answer is correct. Often if you
are stuck on this part, if you begin the
explanation with “This example shows
that….” you will be on the right track.

Example
• Explain the main idea of “Thank You M’am”. Use
evidence from the text to support your answer.
The main point of “Thank You M’am” was to show a
unique relationship between two members of an
underprivileged community. Mrs. Jones, the woman in
this story, shows unusual kindness to a boy who was
trying to steal her pocketbook. She took him into her
house and showed her generosity by saying “Eat some
more, son.” This example shows the unexpected
relationship between the two characters because even
though Mrs. Jones had practically nothing herself, she
was willing to give her food to Roger.

What does this RACE answer
still need?
The main idea of “Thank You M’am” was to
show a unique relationship between two members
of an underprivileged community. Mrs. Jones, the
woman in this story, shows unusual kindness to a
boy who was trying to steal her pocketbook. She
took him into her house and showed her
generosity by saying “Eat some more, son.” This
example shows the unexpected relationship
between the two characters because even though
Mrs. Jones had practically nothing herself, she was
willing to give her food to Roger.

Student example:
The main idea of “Thank You M’am” was Roger
tried to steal from a woman and ended up learning a
valuable lesson. Originally he tried to steal her
purse in order to get blue suede shoes , but thanks
to the woman’s kindness, he changed his mind. One
example is when he makes the decision not to run
from the woman. (indirect) Another example is
when he asked, “Do you need somebody to go to the
store to maybe get milk or something.” (direct).
This information shows that he’s willing to do
something nice without being told, like a good deed.
All in all, this is the main idea in “Thank You M’am”.
.

Does your writing:
• Restate
• Answer the question with a main idea or topic
sentence
• Cite –
• some indirect information (not a quote, but
support/example in own words)
• Have a “quote” from the passage
• Evidence – USE/explain the quote
• Transition
• Concluding sentence

RACE -- find a non-fiction passage (article from a
magazine, internet or textbook)
•Question: Explain the main idea of
_______________. Use evidence from
the text to support your answer.
• Main idea is what the passage or story is mostly about
• It is NOT a detail
• USE the RACE format to answer. Make sure that you
have transition words and a concluding sentence.
• HOMEWORK to finish this one and the “Thank You
M’am” RACE answers