Social Studies Middle School Guide

Scaffold for Writing Text Dependent Questions Grade 6-12

Key Ideas & Details

Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. • When does _____ happen? What happens at the end? • Who is the narrator? • What’s the funniest thing? • What is the story about? • What did you infer about ________? • Why does _________(main character) behave the way he/ she does? • Who is the audience for this text? How do you know? • What is happening in this section? • What is the time period of the text?

Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. • Summarize the text. • What is the central idea of the text? • The central idea of ________ is _____________ because _____________. • What key details and ideas support the central idea? • What type of text is this? • This is a ______ text because_________. • What message was the author trying to share? • In the _______(text), _______ begins by ________ then, ___________ etc. • Why does ___________ happen? What factors contributed?

Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

• What is the relationship between (list 2 characters)? • Is the character good? • How does the narrator change over the course of the text? • How does (character) feel at the beginning, middle and end of the story? • Did the character get what he/she wanted? • What kind of (setting) does the text have? Where is it? How do you know? • How does this book teach a reader? • Why is __ important? • How do the characters develop over the course of the text? • How does ________ attempt to relate to ___________ throughout the text. (point to specific phrases to inform)