What is a Constructed Response? 

Constructed responses are non-fiction reading and writing experiences connected to content in all subject areas and geared toward students in grades K-6.These writing opportunities are critical to assessing student understanding of nonfiction texts, and they are heavily weighted on standardized tests.

This worksheet integrates Social Studies and Writing concepts. This two-page resource consists of the following stages of writing development:

1. Students will read a short passage about Mexican Cession, and how the Texas Territory was acquired by the United States.. 
2. Students will then complete a R.A.C.E.S. graphic organizer to plan out their response
3. Students record their answer as a constructed response paragraph, and use a checklist to verify that all parts are included.

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding 

In addition to independent student work time, use this worksheet as an activity for:

• Guided writing groups
• Lesson warm-up
• Lesson wrap-up
• Fast finishers 
• Homework assignment
• Whole-class review (via smartboard)

Fast Finisher Activity

• Challenge your fast finishers to extend their constructed response topic into a research project or essay development activity. 

Support Struggling Students

• Support struggling writers or ESL students by providing sentence frames to aid them in constructing their sentences.
• Read the passage together and highlight ideas that could be used as evidence and supporting details.

Easily Download & Print

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to download the PDF version of this resource. 

To save paper, we suggest printing this 2-page worksheet double-sided. 

Additionally, project the worksheet onto a screen and work through it as a class by having students record their answers in their notebooks. 

Get more worksheets to have handy!

This resource was created by Nicole Ellis, a teacher in New York, and Teach Starter Collaborator. 

Don’t stop there! We’ve got more activities to shorten your lesson planning time:  

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