Select direct quotes to answer and infer, and trace how an author uses reasons and evidence

Learning goal: This lesson teaches Ohio's 2026 standards RI.5.1 and RI.5.8, first implemented in 2027-28. You will use text evidence and direct quotes to demonstrate understanding of an informational text: select relevant direct quotes to answer questions and use relevant direct quotes to make and support inferences. You will also explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points, and make inferences based on those points.

Text evidence and direct quotes. Text evidence is anything in the text that supports an answer: a fact, a number, an example, a sentence. A direct quote is the author's exact words, copied letter for letter and placed inside quotation marks. A paraphrase restates the author's idea in your own words and needs no quotation marks, but it must keep the author's meaning. Use a direct quote when the exact words matter: when they prove something precisely, when the wording itself is strong, or when a reader might doubt your paraphrase.

Selecting a relevant quote. A quote is relevant when it answers the question you were asked, not when it merely contains the same words as the question. Choose the shortest part of the text that proves your answer. Copy it exactly; you may not change, add or drop words inside quotation marks. Then do three things: introduce it ("The author writes," "According to the article"), quote it, and explain it ("This shows that..."). A quote never speaks for itself. Your explanation connects it to the question.

Inferences from quotes. An inference is a conclusion the author does not state but that the text supports. You make it by combining what the quote says with reasoning. A good inference can be traced back: "The author writes X; because of X, it is reasonable to conclude Y." An inference with no support in the text is a guess. Support can be a paraphrased detail or several events, but in this lesson you show it with a direct quote.

Points, reasons and evidence. In an informational text that tries to convince, an author makes points: statements the author wants you to accept. A reason explains why a point is true. Evidence is the proof offered for the reason: measurements, facts, examples, quotations from people who know. When you explain how an author supports a point, say which reason and which evidence go with which point. Some points are supported by stronger evidence and some by weaker evidence; some by none. Judge each piece of evidence by how it was gathered, whether it fits the point, and whether anything else backs it up. A careful measurement in a fair comparison is usually stronger than one person's memory, but a measurement taken carelessly can mislead, and a firsthand observation from someone who has watched for years can be valuable. Noticing the difference is part of reading carefully.

Original article — Shade on Elm Street: Why Our Block Needs Trees

This article was written for this lesson. The Elm Street Neighbors group, its measurements, Hector Ruiz and the nursery care card are invented.

Walk down the 400 block of Elm Street on a July afternoon and you will notice something: there is nowhere to stand in the shade. The old maples were removed years ago, and only one tree is left, at the corner. Our group believes the block needs new trees, and we are asking neighbors to help plant and water ten of them next spring.

Trees cool the places where we walk. Leaves block sunlight before it reaches the ground, so the surface below a tree stays cooler. On a sunny July afternoon at 3 p.m., our group measured the sidewalk surface with a thermometer that reads surface temperature. In full sun the concrete measured 128°F. Under the corner maple, just a few steps away, it measured 94°F. That is a difference of 34 degrees on the same sidewalk at the same moment. Children walking to the pool and older neighbors walking to the bus stop use this sidewalk every summer day.

Trees help when it rains. Leaves catch some rain before it hits the ground, and roots help water soak into the soil instead of running straight into the street. Hector Ruiz, who has cleared storm drains for our neighborhood for twelve years, told us: "After a heavy rain, the drain at Elm and Fourth backs up almost every time. The block over on Oak, the one with the big trees, hardly ever floods." One person's experience does not prove the trees are the only reason, but it matches what we know about how leaves and roots slow rainwater.

Trees need us, too. A new tree is not a decoration you set down and forget. The nursery's care card that came with our sample tree says: "Water weekly for the first two years, more often in dry weeks." That means someone must carry water to each tree through two summers. We are not pretending this is easy. We are asking for ten households, one for each tree, to sign up to water.

What we are asking. Come to the planting on the second Saturday in April. Bring gloves. If you can water a tree, put your name on the sign-up sheet at the corner store. A shaded block will not appear in one spring, but it will not appear at all unless we start.

Tracing the author's support. The author makes three points. Point 1: trees cool the places where we walk. The reason is that leaves block sunlight. The evidence is the measurement: 128°F in sun and 94°F in shade, a 34-degree difference. Point 2: trees help when it rains. The reason is that leaves catch rain and roots help water soak in. The evidence is Hector Ruiz's quotation, which is one person's experience; the author admits it "does not prove the trees are the only reason." Point 3: trees need care. The evidence is the care card quote. The author uses Point 3 not to argue against trees but to be honest about the work and to explain why ten households are needed.

Making inferences based on the points. The author never says who would benefit most, but the first point supports an inference: the author writes, "Children walking to the pool and older neighbors walking to the bus stop use this sidewalk every summer day," so it is reasonable to infer the author expects people who walk the block on hot days to benefit most. The author also never says, "Some neighbors will object." Yet Point 3 and the sentence "We are not pretending this is easy" support an inference that the author expects readers to worry about the work and chose to answer that worry before being asked. Each inference is built from a point and a quote.

A misconception to avoid. A student asked "What evidence supports the idea that trees cool the sidewalk?" might copy "Leaves block sunlight before it reaches the ground." In this article that sentence is the author's reason: it explains why trees cool the ground. An explanation like that can help support a point, but the question asks what shows that trees do cool the sidewalk, and the group's measurement shows it most directly. Match the quote to the job the question asks for.

Worked example 1 — Selecting a quote to answer a question. Question: How much cooler was the shaded sidewalk? Weak choice: "Walk down the 400 block of Elm Street on a July afternoon and you will notice something." It shares words with the topic but does not answer. Strong choice: The author writes, "That is a difference of 34 degrees on the same sidewalk at the same moment." This answers the question exactly, and the phrase "same sidewalk at the same moment" makes the comparison fairer: the two readings were taken a few steps apart at the same time. The article does not say whether anything besides the shade was different, so the comparison is careful, not perfect.

Worked example 2 — Using a quote to support an inference. Question: Does the author think planting trees will solve the flooding completely? The text does not say directly. The author writes that Hector Ruiz's experience "does not prove the trees are the only reason." From this, we can infer that the author believes trees help with flooding but is careful not to promise they will stop it. The inference is traced to exact words.

Worked example 3 — Matching evidence to points. Complete the chain for Point 3. Point: new trees need care. Reason: a young tree needs regular water to survive. Evidence: the care card says, "Water weekly for the first two years, more often in dry weeks." How the author uses it: the evidence explains why the request is for ten households, one per tree, and makes the request sound honest rather than easy. Inference based on this point: the author expects the watering to be the hardest part of the project, since it is the only part that lasts two years.

Representation task — evidence map. Draw three boxes across the top of a page, one for each of the author's points. Under each box write the reason, then copy the direct quote that serves as evidence, then rate the evidence stronger or more limited and say why, naming how it was gathered and what it cannot show. At the bottom, write one inference you can make from each point, with the quote that supports it.

Independent performance. Read a new informational article chosen with your teacher, preferably one in which an author argues for something. Answer three questions your teacher gives you with a relevant direct quote for each, then write one paragraph explaining how the author supports two of the points with reasons and evidence, and one inference you can make from those points.

Success criteria: Every quote is copied exactly and placed in quotation marks. Each quote answers the question asked, not just the topic. Each quote is introduced and followed by an explanation. You name at least two points and say which reason and which evidence goes with each. You tell whether each piece of evidence is stronger or more limited and why, naming how it was gathered and what it cannot show. Your inference is not stated in the text and is traced to a specific quote.