Teach students that constructed responses require textual evidence

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Teach students that constructed responses require textual evidence

february 23, 2012

Constructed-responses are a specialized type of writing that requires explicit, formulaic instruction. Smekens Education utilizes the Yes, MA’AM strategy to teach students the essential facets of the formula.

This simple acronym acts as a frame, ensuring all components are included. Strong responses require a combination of reader inferring (ME) and textual support (AUTHOR). Utilizing the concepts learned during Smekens Education workshops, Break-O-Day Elementary (Whiteland, IN) teacher Sara Ambler crafted the acronym Yes, MA’AM. Each letter of MA’AM reminds students of the type of information required (M=Me, A=Author, A=Author, M=Me).

M—Me
The first sentence of the response should reword the question and state a personal opinion or direct response to the question.

A—Author
The first “A” prompts the student to look at what the author said and to include a detail from the text to support his answer. Here are some suggested sentence starters:

• In the text…
• The text states…
• According to the passage…
• One example from the text…
• The author states…

A—Author
The second “A” reminds the student that a constructed response requires multiple supporting details from the author.

• In the text…
• The text also states…
• According to the passage…
• A second example from the text…

• The author also states…

M—Me
The response ends with the student (me) explaining or interpreting the significance of the evidence. One of these sentence starters might help:

• This shows…
• This demonstrates…
• I believe…
• Now I know…
• This proves…

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