Strategies
A student reads a passage but forgets to look at the title and headings before starting.
👉 Which step of PLAN did they skip, and how could it help them?
Predict — it helps understand what the text will be about before reading.
A passage explains how hurricanes form and includes diagrams and facts.
👉 What is the author’s purpose, and what evidence supports it?
To inform — includes facts, explanations, and diagrams.
A student adds more details to make their writing clearer.
👉 Which part of ARMS are they using and why?
Add — to improve clarity and detail.
A student copies a sentence from the passage but does not answer the question.
👉 Which part of RACE is missing?
Answer
A student spends too much time on one question and rushes the rest.
👉 What testing strategy should they use instead?
Pace yourself / move on and come back
A student writes notes in the margin like “main idea” and “this is important.”
👉 Which PLAN step is being used and how does it improve comprehension?
Annotate — it helps track thinking and understand the text better.
A story describes a girl overcoming her fear of public speaking.
To entertain — it tells a story with characters and events.
A student rearranges sentences to make their paragraph flow better.
👉 Which ARMS strategy is this and why is it important?
Move — improves organization and flow.
A student restates the question and answers it but gives no text evidence.
👉 Which step is missing and why is it important?
Cite — evidence proves the answer.
A student feels stuck between two answer choices.
👉 What strategy should they use to choose the best answer?
Eliminate wrong answers
A student answers a question but does not highlight or refer back to the text.
👉 Which PLAN step is missing and why does it matter?
Name it — without it, the answer is not supported with evidence.
An article tries to convince readers to recycle by giving reasons and benefits.
👉 What is the author’s purpose and what text evidence supports it?
To persuade — gives reasons and tries to convince the reader.
A sentence reads: i went to the park on sunday
👉 What corrections are needed using CUPS?
Capitalization (I, Sunday), punctuation (period).
A student includes a quote but does not explain it.
👉 Which step is missing and how does it affect the response?
Explain — without it, the answer lacks depth.
A student finishes early without checking their work.
👉 What should they do and why?
Go back and review answers to catch mistakes
While reading, a student underlines repeated words and bold print.
👉 Which PLAN step are they using, and why is it important?
Locate — it helps find important information and key ideas.
A passage includes both facts about animals and a story about a zookeeper.
👉 Which best describes the author’s purpose and why?
Mixed purpose (inform & entertain) — includes both factual info and storytelling.
A student removes a sentence that does not match the main idea.
👉 Which ARMS strategy is being used and why?
Substitute — removes irrelevant information.
A student writes a full RACE response but their evidence does not match their answer.
👉 What mistake did they make?
Incorrect or irrelevant citation — evidence must support the answer.
A student gets nervous during the test and forgets strategies.
👉 What is the best way to handle this?
Stay calm, take a breath, and use strategies like PLAN/RACE
Two students read the same passage. One uses PLAN, the other does not.
👉 Explain why the student using PLAN is more likely to score higher.
PLAN helps break down the text, find evidence, and support answers, leading to stronger comprehension and accuracy.
An author uses strong words like “must,” “should,” and “important” throughout a text.
👉 What does this reveal about the author’s purpose and tone?
To persuade — strong language shows the author wants to convince the reader.
A paragraph has correct spelling but confusing ideas and poor organization.
👉 Should the student use ARMS or CUPS first and why?
ARMS — because revising content comes before editing grammar.
Two responses are given. One includes all RACE steps clearly, the other is missing explanation.
👉 Which response would score higher and why?
The complete RACE response — it fully supports and explains the answer.
A student reads the question but answers based on what they think instead of the text.
👉 What mistake are they making and how can they fix it?
Not using text evidence — they should go back to the passage and prove their answer