Revise Our Thinking

Overview

In Lesson 8 of 10 in Investigating Text Through Evidence, students revisit their initial predictions and questions about the unit topic. They sort evidence by strength and relevance, then revise an evidence-based explanation, building on prior work locating details and quoting accurately from several informational texts.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Compare their initial ideas with their current understanding.
• Sort evidence according to its strength and relevance.
• Revise an explanation using accurate evidence from multiple texts.
• Explain what changed, what stayed the same, and what remains uncertain.
• Participate respectfully in a small-group discussion about evidence and ideas.

Success criteria

• I can compare my initial idea with my current idea.
• I can use at least three relevant pieces of evidence from the texts.
• I can explain why my thinking changed or stayed the same.
• I can identify something I am still unsure about.

Curriculum links

• Reading Informational Text — quote accurately when explaining explicit ideas and drawing inferences.
• Reading Informational Text — explain how authors use reasons and evidence to support points.
• Reading Informational Text — integrate information from several texts on the same topic.
• Writing — draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Revisit our thinking. Teacher displays the opening question and models a brief think-aloud: “At first I thought ___. Now I think ___ because the evidence shows ___.” Students review their original prediction and question in the before-and-after evidence organizer and mark one idea they want to reconsider.

2. 4–9 min · Model productive revision. Teacher uses a short example from the class texts to model how to compare evidence, reject a weak or unrelated detail, and revise an explanation without treating the original idea as a failure. Open the revision modeling slides and emphasize: “Good readers change their thinking when stronger evidence gives them a better understanding.” Students identify the original claim, the stronger evidence, and the revised claim.

3. 9–16 min · Sort evidence. Teacher gives each student three to five previously selected quotations or paraphrased details from the unit texts and asks students to place them in the evidence organizer. Students label each piece as strong/relevant, needs more explanation, or weak/unrelated, then explain their choices to the group. Prompt: “Which point does this evidence support, and how do you know?”

4. 16–24 min · Revise an explanation. Teacher conferences briefly with each student, asking: “What did you think before? What do you understand now? Which three pieces of evidence best support your new explanation?” Students write, type, draw and dictate, or orally rehearse a revised explanation using at least three pieces of evidence. Encourage accurate quotation or close paraphrase and require students to name the source text when possible. Return to the revision modeling slides for sentence frames and the checklist.

5. 24–28 min · Share and discuss. Teacher facilitates a three-person discussion in which each student shares one change or uncertainty. Students listen, ask one follow-up question, and refer to a class text when responding. Use the group discussion cards to support turn-taking and evidence-based prompts such as “What evidence supports that?” and “I agree because…”

6. 28–30 min · Exit reflection. Teacher distributes the reflection prompts exit ticket slips and asks students to complete the prompt: “My thinking changed/stayed the same because ___. One piece of evidence I used was ___. A question I still have is ___.” Students submit the slip with their organizer.

Resources

• Student copies or excerpts of the informational texts used in earlier lessons
• Previously recorded predictions, questions, quotations, and notes
• the revision modeling slides
• the before-and-after evidence organizer
• the group discussion cards
• the reflection prompts exit ticket slips
• Pencils, highlighters, and optional headphones
• Text-to-speech and speech-to-text tools

Assessment

• During the evidence sort, listen for whether students distinguish relevant, strong evidence from details that do not support the claim.
• Review each revised explanation for a clear comparison between initial and current thinking, at least three pieces of evidence, and an explanation of what changed or remains uncertain.
• Use the exit slip to identify students who need further support connecting evidence to a specific point or integrating information from more than one text.

Differentiation

• Provide the organizer with completed headings, a before/after column, color-coded evidence labels, and sentence frames: “At first I thought ___, but now I think ___ because ___.” and “This evidence supports ___ because ___.”
• Conference individually with students who need support selecting evidence. Offer two or three preselected excerpts rather than requiring students to search all texts again.
• For dyslexia-friendly access, provide uncluttered excerpts, a clear two-column layout, larger readable text, text-to-speech, and speech-to-text. Students may speak, draw, type, or dictate their explanation.
• Extension: students identify a new question created by the investigation, explain why it matters, and propose which type of source or research method could help answer it.