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Reading and Writing 6-8 / Week 01 / Press Day
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Week 01 · Evidence Hunters

Press Day

Press Day: Proof in Print
// Say what you see, then say what it means
⏱ about 20 min

Press Day: Proof in Print

Saturday morning, the Signal Desk is covered in folded paper. The first issue is ready.

Rocket stands at the top of the porch steps with his repair day report in both hands.

His voice shakes on the first line. Raven nods at him from the bottom step. He finds the second line, and his voice steadies.

When he reads the neighbor's words, "It is our ramp," three people on the sidewalk clap.

Nova hovers above the stack of issues, her light warm and gold. "Two pieces of proof," she says quietly. "It held."

Raven hands an issue to Priya, who has Biscuit on a leash. Biscuit sniffs the paper and sits.

"Next week," Raven says, "we go deeper than proof. We find what a story is really about."

  1. Evidence is the words of the text. Cite the exact line.
  2. Explicit evidence is stated outright. An inference joins a clue to what you know.
  3. Two or three pieces of evidence make a case. One can be a coincidence.
  4. The strongest evidence supports a point most directly, with the least guessing.
  5. Say what you see. Then say what it means.
◇ READ IT ALOUD
Read your Writing Lab paragraph aloud to someone at home.
Ask them for one compliment and one question about your evidence.
Swap roles: they tell you about something they read this week, and you ask, "What in the text makes you think so?"
PRESS DAY CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
A reader says, "Rocket was nervous, I can just tell." What should Raven ask?
Two lines support your point. One states it, one hints at it. Which do you quote first?
Which lead-in fits a quote from a Signal report?
Try it
Fold a sheet of paper in half twice to make a four-page booklet.
Write your headline on the front page and your evidence piece inside.
StatementTrue or false?
Rocket's voice steadied after the first line.?
Priya came to Press Day without Biscuit.?
Next week the crew looks at what a story is really about.?
WHY THIS EXERCISERaven nodded, and his voice steadied. Priya had Biscuit on a leash. Next week is theme.

Write it: finish your piece

Issue one is out. Next week: theme and central idea, or what a story is really about.

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